Baroness Bull to lead cultural education plan advisory panel

The government has appointed a new panel of 22 experts to support the development of the cultural education plan.

The panel includes teachers, education leaders, and representatives from the performing arts, museums, heritage and youth sectors and creative industries.

They have been selected to advise the government on the development of the plan which will articulate and highlight the importance of high-quality cultural education in schools. It will also promote the value of cultural and creative education, outline and support career progression pathways, address skills gaps and tackle disparities in opportunity and outcome by ensuring that all young people, regardless of their background, can access highquality cultural education.

The panel will be chaired by Baroness Bull, who has extensive expertise in the arts, as a performer in the Royal Ballet, within creative leadership at the Royal Opera House and in governance roles on the boards of the South Bank Centre and Arts Council England. It also includes important figures from across these sectors such as Sir Hamid Patel, chief executive of Star Academies as vice-chair education and Lizzie Crump, UK strategic lead from What Next?, as vice-chair culture.

The development of the plan will be informed by extensive engagement with children and young people, teachers, school leaders and professionals in the cultural, creative, education and youth sectors.

The National Association of School-Based Teacher Trainers (NASBTT) is calling for a “more holistic discussion on flexible working” as its latest survey shows that 89 per cent of ITT providers think that greater opportunities for flexible working would attract more applicants to the sector.

Last week the Department for Education announced Flexible Working Ambassador Multi-Academy Trusts and Schools (FWAMS) to support school leaders in implementing and embedding flexible working in their schools. Interested schools and trusts can also seek free access live webinars, workshops, ondemand training and resources via a dedicated website set up to “increase awareness of the benefits of flexible working and the full range of flexible working practices available, which can include part-time working, job sharing, home or remote working, phased retirement and personal/family day”.

In research undertaken by NASBTT in May and June 2023, 53.5 per cent of ITT providers said they do not currently offer flexible working opportunities for trainees. However, as part of their strategic planning, 46.5 per cent of providers are considering flexible working opportunities to applicants.

When asked if potential applications discuss the importance of working flexibly as something that is important to them, only a third said ‘yes’. But 75 out of 84 respondents think that greater opportunities for flexible working would attract more applicants. Providers also reported that only half of schools in wider ITT partnerships currently offer flexible working for their staff...

Be in with a chance of winning a £500 book voucher for your school’s library this summer.

For more information, visit www.venesta.co.uk