The Interim Strategic Leader for School Improvement, Learning and Skills introduced the report which set out the work of the Royal Opera House (ROH) in increasing the participation of Thurrock’s children and young people as part of a cultural entitlement.

A publication by the Royal Opera House Bridge entitled ‘The Paths We Take, Royal Opera House Bridge 2012 to 2015 and beyond’ was tabled at the meeting which further demonstrated the good work that had been undertaken.

The Parent Governor Representative felt that schools adopted different approaches with publicising the programme and engaged with the cultural entitlement offer with varying success, and further remarked that in her own experience one school had been significantly more proactive than another in promoting school holiday programmes and events.

The Committee were informed that 28 out of a total of 52 Thurrock schools participated in the programme but that Head Teacher involvement and Senior Management team support was critical to success.

Councillor Halden commended the positive work but explained that he had hoped to see more evidence of strong cultural heritage, and was concerned that some children still did not have access to such cultural opportunities due to varying personal circumstances. He questioned how progress was monitored to ensure that all schools made the very best effort for young people.

Officers advised that the Royal Opera House facilitated the work of a range of cultural providers but affirmed that more could always be done to improve publicity.

Councillor Roast asked whether the programme was relevant to children’s day nurseries and whether this could be rolled out to them. The Interim Strategic Leader for School Improvement, Learning and Skills acknowledged that he was unsure if the cultural offer could apply to nursery and pre-school settings but he welcomed the idea and stated that he would investigate and report back outside of the meeting.

Reverend Barlow queried what could be done differently to engage with the other 24 schools in order to get them on board with the programme. In response officers explained that they wanted a cultural champion in every school, or a cluster of schools, and to increase partnership working between schools.

It was further reported that the Cultural Entitlement Programme further built upon the work of the Committee in relation to Supporting Pathways into Work for Young People as successful apprenticeships had been delivered through the programme.

A Youth Cabinet Representative outlined the work that he had undertaken in offering apprenticeship advice for young people, some of whom had applied to the Royal Opera House for an apprenticeship.

The Committee were advised that story festival activities would be repeated through the Village Beach event.

The Chair proposed a new recommendation, which requested that officers obtain further information from Royal Opera House regarding the schools that had not been engaged with the programme and to determine the profile of children and young people who currently participated in activities so that further outreach could be undertaken with those who were under-represented.

The Committee indicated their agreement to the new recommendation, as they sought assurances that every effort was being made to improve outreach.

RESOLVED:

1.         The Committee endorse the work of the Royal Opera House and encourage all Thurrock schools to participate in the challenge.

2.         As part of this cultural entitlement, the Committee is asked to explore new opportunities to secure funding from sponsors to widen access to arts and culture across the borough.

3.         That officers be instructed to seek more information from Royal Opera House regarding the schools which had not bought into the Cultural Programme and to establish the profile of children and young people who were currently engaged so that further work could be undertaken to improve outreach.