News

We're pleased to introduce one of our latest Cultural Partners, New Line Graffiti. The group offer graffiti workshops to children and young people, giving them an opportunity to explore the artform and discover the positive impact it can have upon their space.

New Line Graffiti have recently completed a project with West Jesmond Primary School, at the school's temporary site. Concerned that unpleasant graffiti was frequently appearing in the playground, the school decided to commission the artists to run workshops that would fill the playground with the children's artwork.

The theme of 'the jungle' was chosen, and after a week of workshops with New Line Graffiti, the children had brought their playground to life with words, animals and plants based upon the theme.

The teachers, children and artists were thrilled with the results. "We've had a great five days working with some of the nicest and most enthusiastic children you could meet," said the artists, "They worked really well over the five days and we covered years three to six. The kids created some really great work and they all learned a lot, and more importantly had a great time whilst doing it!"

New Line Graffiti are available for workshops with children and young people of all ages. To find out how they can work with your learning setting, email Robby at info@newlinegraffiti.com or see the website www.newlinegraffiti.com

Artist Jane Swan, great granddaughter of Joseph Swan, has donated an original work of art to the school that shares the inventor's name. Jane is based in Cornwall, but travelled to Newcastle last year for the launch of The Joseph Swan Institute for Energy Research at Newcastle University. It was there that she met Headteacher Allan Fuller, and offered to create an artwork especially for the school.

4pm-6pm @ Joseph Swan School
Saltwell Rd South, Gateshead NE9 6LE

Come along to hear what's new for 2009 and have your say!
Contact hannahmackay@gateshead.gov.uk to register.

Here's wishing you all a wonderful summer break.

Keep an eye on the site for changes and for news of autumn activities.

If you want to know more about NewcastleGateshead's first festival specially for all Children and Young People, register for more info at www.newcastlegateshead.com/cyp
It runs from September-November with something for everyone aged 0-18. Keep eyes here for all the news!

Best wishes for a wonderful summer - see you in September!

Caroline, Karolynne, Jeanne and Ednie

This autumn 2008, Newcastle and Gateshead will be offering a Festival for all children and young people. We also want to attract visitors from across the country and from abroad. So, we need to make sure that the Festival has the best name possible and that's where you come in.

Can you come up with the name for the festival?

The winning entry will be chosen by a panel and will be the name of the event. The group or individual who entered the name will win a Golden Ticket for free entry to all the main events in the season.

Deadline: June 20 2008

Download Competition Form

I have recently been made aware of very important changes to the Creative Partnership's programme which will be implemented from April 2008 when the current phase of CP will end.

As Gateshead was not a designated CP area, schools within the borough have not been eligible for regular funding from Creative Partnerships. However, there will be a number of changes which will result in schools in a non-CP area being able to apply for regular, substantial funding for their creative curriculum. The attached document explains the changes in more depth and also how to register your schools interest. I feel that it is important for your school to be made aware of the funding which will be available, and wish to stress the importance of signing up on the CP website:

Download file

Further to the success of the Cultural and Creativity Ambassadors network in Gateshead, Newcastle City Council is hosting an inaugral meeting with head teachers to look at developing the scheme to incorporate Newcastle schools.

The meeting is held on 10th May from 4.30pm to 6pm at The Great Hall, Discovery Museum, Newcastle upon Tyne. For further information on the inaugral meeting and the network in general, please contact the CCA Co-ordinator for Newcastle, Mo Lovatt on 0191 211 5601 or mo.lovatt@newcastle.gov.uk

This story courtesy of Steve Heal and colleagues in Gateshead Council's Communications Team

A Gateshead school has been praised by a Government watchdog after receiving an amazing set of scores in an official report.
St Thomas More Catholic School in Gateshead has gained a clean sweep of the top marks across all the main categories, under the Government’s new testing framework.

Teachers, pupils and governors were delighted to learn that the school had received an overall judgement of outstanding, in a newly published report from the Office for Standards in Education (OFSTED).

This interesting piece appears on the Council's main website today and appears here courtesy of Steve Heal in the Communications Team.
Children who drop litter now run the risk of being issued with a formal written warning, under a schemed pioneered by Gateshead Council’s Neighbourhood Wardens.
Young people under the age of 15 seen dropping litter could now have a letter sent to their parents or guardian alerting them to their child’s behaviour - and urging action to correct it.

Read on for the full text...

If you haven't already heard, the first National Youth Arts Network for England was launched in the North East at Arts Council England Offices in Newcastle this Autumn.

To celebrate the season of goodwill, they are offering anyone who subscribes to ENYAN or upgrades their membership from free to full, in the month of December a YAD (Youth Arts Directory) absolutely free (usual price £19.50 + £3.55 p&p).

The Youth Arts Directory is a definitive guide to youth arts in the UK including information regarding funders, organisations, practitioners, partners, training, qualifications and much more!

Following this special offer in December, you will still be able to purchase a YAD for the incredible price of just £10 (usual price £19.50 + £3.55 p&p).

To subscribe simply go to the following link: http://www.enyan.co.uk/user/signup

To upgrade your membership from free to full simply log into the site using your user name and password and click on 'my account' in the top menu bar and then click on 'subscriptions'.
ENYAN will automatically send you your free YAD in the post when we receive your subscription details.

ENYAN is a membership body designed to unite the diverse youth arts sector across England and the UK. The network aims to raise the profile of youth arts by uniting and strengthening the voice of the sector. An ENYAN membership is suitable for anyone working with or for young people in the creative industries and offers a number of fantastic benefits including full access to the website ( http://www.enyan.co.uk ). You can view and post youth arts news, events and job vacancies, access information regarding training opportunities, publications, regional, national and international contacts, access to UPSTART Online (specialist youth arts magazine including fascinating articles, interviews and case studies) plus much more. See the website for a full list of benefits.

By subscribing to ENYAN you are helping to raise the profile of youth arts.

ENYAN is part-funded by Arts Council South East and all subscription fees will contribute to the ongoing development and delivery of the network.

Next year we will be launching our first annual youth arts campaign so watch this space...

For further information about ENYAN please contact Anna Rubycz, ENYAN Development Manager on 023 8063 0960 or email hello@enyan.co.uk or visit www.enyan.co.uk

Read on for more about the scheme...

This message comes from Sharon Taylor, Development Officer for Education & Learning at Arts Council England, North East.

The CRB and NSPCC guidance is:

CRB Disclosure checks
There are two levels of CRB Disclosure checks currently available; Standard and Enhanced. The appropriate check should be sought according to the level at which posts are involved with working with children, young people or vulnerable adults.

A standard CRB check is primarily available to anyone involved in working with children, young people or vulnerable adults.

An enhanced is the highest level of check available to anyone involved in regularly caring for, training, supervising or being in sole charge of children or vulnerable adults.

NSPCC definition: regularly could be used to describe the duties that a person carries out everyday but not all day; every week but not every day; every month but only once a month.

However as you are aware there is going to be revised vetting and barring legislation and changes to CRB disclosure service which NSPCC say to expect to be announced this autumn. Once this is announced and the changes and implications are understood, Arts Council, National office will update Keeping Arts Safe.

There currently is a lot of confusion about the approached level of CRB checks and the CRB disclosure checking in general because of the number of changes. So the arts sector is not alone in finding advice on CRB checking conflicting at the moment. NSPCC told me that local authorities and even Local Safeguarding Children's Boards are also currently struggling.

My suggestion would be to keep an eye on CRB and Every Child Matters websites for info about the new barring scheme and to make sure that you are signed up to NSPCC inform ebulletin. If in doubt about the level of check that is required, rather than advice people to err on the side of caution as Keeping Arts Safe currently suggests, the check should be discussed with the person in question to see if they consent to an enhanced check. If it's agreed by all that enhanced is the appropriate level then I would say that's fine, it's if they don't consent when the problem really arises. It is therefore important to stress the emphasis on making sure the whole recruitment processes including reference checks are robust as CRB checks should not be seen as an adequate stand alone method for background checking anyway.

Sharon Taylor
Development Officer - Education and Learning
Arts Council England - North East
Central Square
Forth Street
Newcastle Upon Tyne NE1 3PJ
0191 2558561
sharon.taylor@artscouncil.org.uk
www.artsaward.org.uk
www.artsmark.org.uk

Johnson warns of £1,000 fines for parents of bullies

This story, by Alexandra Smith, appeared on Guardian Unlimited on Monday 20th November 2006

Parents of schoolyard bullies face £1,000 fines, the education secretary, Alan Johnson, warned today as campaigners said 20,000 children skipped school every day to avoid being bullied.
Mr Johnson said he wanted to create a "zero tolerance" culture towards bullying in an effort to stamp out the "despicable" and "intolerable" phenomenon.
New powers under the incoming Education Act would allow parenting orders to be imposed on parents of bullies, with a £1,000 fine if they failed to comply, Mr Johnson said
To mark the start of Anti-Bullying Week today, Mr Johnson also unveiled an extra £480,000 for a peer-mentoring scheme for children in schools to encourage the reporting of bullying. In some cases, he said, pupils found it easier to report bullying to their peers than to teachers.
A report from the charity Beatbullying, also released today, reveals that as many as 20,000 children a day skip school to avoid being bullied.
The charity has urged ministers and teachers to realise that many truants were victims and not "lazy troublemakers".
John Quinn, from Beatbullying, said it was shocking that the charity's report had found that a third of all truancy resulted from children being bullied.
He said: "In this report, young people have told us how they want the government to beat bullying. They want their schools and education professionals to see truanting as a symptom of bullying and not only the behaviour of lazy and troublemaking young people."
The charity said children who were not in school were most vulnerable to academic failure, easily drawn into crime and more likely to be unemployed in the future.

The report found that:

· 20,000 children stay away from school every day because of bullying
· One in three truants blame bullying;
· Two out of every five young people (42%) who are bullied admit to skipping school at least once;
· A third of all young people aged 11 to 17 admit to skipping school at least once because they were scared of bullies.

The children's commissioner also weighed into the bullying debate, warning that parents who are unhappy with how schools dealt with bullying do not have a satisfactory dispute resolution system to rely on.
Sir Albert Aynsley-Green published proposals for a complaints procedure for parents who feel that adequate action against bullying had not been taken.
The Liberal Democrats' leader, Sir Menzies Campbell, is also meeting secondary school pupils today to discuss how bullying should be tackled.
Sir Menzies said: "The clear link established between bullying and truancy shows that the vast number of young people missing school are not feckless but fearful.
"Failing to create safe surroundings for children at school leads to lower educational attainment, higher unemployment and higher levels of antisocial behaviour.
"The government must ensure its anti-truancy strategy recognises this link and that teachers are given training so that they have the skills and confidence to root out and tackle all forms of bullying."

www.EducationGuardian.co.uk

An independent report – with more than 50 recommendations to boost the teaching of music to young people – has been welcomed this week by the Government. The Music Manifesto - the campaign for improvement in music education – is backed by over 600 signatories and calls for more opportunities for young people to deepen and broaden their musical interests and skills and improved support structures for young people’s music making.

To download a PDF of Music Manifesto Report No 2 visit www.musicmanifesto.co.uk

Arts Council England Annual Review

Arts Council England has released its Annual Review for 2006 which looks back and reports on activities and achievements from Spring 2005 to 2006.

To download a copy of the Annual Review visit www.artscouncil.org.uk

The International Centre for Cultural & Heritage Studies at Newcastle University welcomes applications for its two exciting new MA Programmes: Art Museum & Gallery Education / Heritage Management, both commencing in
September 2006.

On-line Application Forms can be found at
http://www.ncl.ac.uk/postgraduate/apply/applicationforms.phtml

MA in Art Museum & Gallery Education

This innovative new programme has been created specifically to meet the growing national and international need for qualified visual arts educators. It offers an exciting opportunity for those wishing to pursue graduate-level professional training as gallery, art museum and freelance art educators. It combines cutting edge research with the chance to learn directly from the practical experience of professionals from Tate Modern, BALTIC and others operating in the field.

For further information about Art Museum & Gallery Education, please see
http://www.ncl.ac.uk/postgraduate/taught/subjects/culturalheritage/courses/462
Prospective students can also contact Dr Bernadette Buckley on
bernadette.buckley@ncl.ac.uk or tel.
+ 44 (0) 191 222 3940.

MA in Heritage Management
This programme is designed to provide students with a good understanding and working knowledge of the management of heritage resources and sites which will enable them to gain employment in the sector or to conduct further research. Modules are delivered intensively in weekly teaching blocks making access to the programme easier for part time students and heritage professionals.

For further information about Heritage Management, please see
http://www.ncl.ac.uk/postgraduate/taught/subjects/culturalheritage/courses/461

Prospective students can also contact Dr Aron Mazel on
a.d.mazel@ncl.ac.uk or tel. + 44 (0) 191 222 7845.

Best Regards

Bernadette.Buckley & Aron Mazel

Dr Bernadette Buckley
Lecturer in Art Gallery & Museum Studies
International Centre of Cultural & Heritage Studies
Bruce Building
University of Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle
NE1 7RU

0191 222 3940
bernadette.buckley@ncl.ac.uk

ENYAN - the English National Youth Arts Network has been launched by David Lammy MP, Minister for Culture, at a high profile event at The Unicorn Theatre, London on Monday 12th June. ENYAN is delivered by Artswork, the
national youth arts development agency and part funded by Arts Council England South East.

The ENYAN website - www.enyan.co.uk - is now live, and the network open for free or full (paid) members to subscribe.

ENYAN offers excellent value for money, providing an online community for all those currently using or looking to use the arts with young people to create connections, as well as advice, news, jobs, events, training and
professional development resources. The first 50 people to subscribe as full members will also recieve a free copy of the Upstart Youth Arts Directory (worth £19.50 plus £3.25 p&p). Additional benefits, including discounts of Artsplan training and other relevant resources are also available to full members, with new benefits being added all the time.

The ENYAN website also offers 2 FREE valuable resources available for download:

- the new Artsplan Youth Arts Learning Passport (also available as hard copy): a unique, interactive, FREE creative professional development tool - FREE Artsplan guidelines for delivering Music Projects with young people
(normal price £7.50)

"What I want to say is that this particular initiative, ENYAN, is vitally important. I have seen wonderful projects across the country, particularly working with the most deprived young people. Working with young people who
are looked after or in care, looking after young people who are in the local pupil referral unit, working with young people that are caught up in crime, as well as working with all young people whatever their background in a
particular area, and many of the youth leaders particularly are heroes - they deserve huge awards because they are often doing it in isolation. I don't want to be in a place as a politician in ten years time where we are
still having this debate. I want it to be settled, I want the funding to be there, I want you guys to be networked , I want you to grow as a sector, and I want in that coming together for the sector to be a powerful force - and
that?s what I think ENYAN can achieve. That coordination, that ever greater stride for professionalisation, and that ability to advocate for young people yes, but for the arts for young people across the country." - The
Right Hon, David Lammy MP, Minister for Culture at the ENYAN launch

UPSTART, the only youth arts magazine for the UK has now been re-launched as "Upstart online", part of the ENYAN website available to Full Members. June's articles include a focus on the latest policies and news affecting
the sector:

- Rick Hall on future changes and developments for youth arts
- Jon Keane on 'Youth Matters'
- Kerry Furneaux talks about PLUS Enrichment and national developments
between the arts and the Youth Justice Board
- Stuart Hawkes gives a brief insight into a positive creative consultation
project in Yorkshire
- Sarah Grayer, OYAP Trust looks at what lessons can be learnt from the
problems faced by the Reaction Festival in Oxfordshire
- Rosy Prue guides through the current youth arts CPD (Continuing
Professional Development) menu
- Upstart revisted looks back at previous pieces by Professor Shirley
Bryce-Heath and guidance on child protection and safeguarding

ENYAN offers a wide range of additional benefits for Full members - full details are available from the site, under the 'About' section - www.enyan.co.uk
For further information email: hello@enyan.co.uk.

Leading figures from culture, creativity and the arts have pledged their support to the development of a national cultural programme leading up to the 2012 London Olympic and Paralympic Games.

At the first meeting of the Government's new Culture and Creativity Advisory Forum for the Cultural Olympiad, held on 25 July, members made clear that they believe that the 2012 Olympics in London are a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to showcase the very best of Britain's arts, culture and creativity to a world-wide audience and to encourage excellence and greater participation by children, young people and communities across the country.

But they warned the Government that action is needed now to ensure the success of the Cultural Olympiad and called for a coherent national vision and a framework within which the cultural programme can be developed.

The full article featuring quotes from Culture Minister David Lammy, who chairs the Forum can be found at www.culture.gov.uk

You can no log on, find out what the ideal virtual school looks and sounds like on the Virtual Vision website and post a comment (scrolling to the Explore menu (right hand side) and clicking onto 'Thoughts and Ideas'):

Click onto:
www.virtual-vision.org

Virtual Vision - Thursday 22nd and Friday 23rd of June 2006

We invite you to review our flagship project, where Gateshead teachers worked one-to-one with our Cultural Partners to create a virtual creative school, creative curriculum and creative management model.

The Centre for Public Policy Seminars is holding a Seminar on Effectively Improving Poorly Performing Schools at The Royal Commonwealth Society in London on Thursday 11th May 2006.

Limited number of places still available.

Despite major investment in education and emphasis on improved standards, the NAO has found that 1,500 schools are performing poorly. Their report looks at how to identify poor performance and support schools at risk; how to turn around poorly performing schools; and how to sustain a school after recovery

Headteachers are crucial to sustaining performance and improvement, but their numbers are declining. This is a crucial issue to be addressed. This CPPS seminar, with key national and local players examines the findings of the NAO report. With case studies it asks what action is needed by each of the stakeholders involved. What more is needed?
To ensure a delegate place, speak to our booking department: 00 44(0)1422 845004

We can send you a booking form by fax, or you can book online at our website: www.cppseminars.org.uk

To see further details of this event and others we are running, please use the links below.
http://www.cppseminars.org.uk/site/dpb.cfm?do=ref&fldCPPSref=PPS/144&varDetProgBiog=det

Gateshead City Learning Centre, home of Gateshead Grid for Learning, has a new telephone number:

0191 460 2900

Today's announcement was reported by Polly Curtis, education correspondent for the Guardian Newspaper as follows.

The education secretary, Ruth Kelly, today announced an overhaul of the way children are taught to read with a return to a "back to basics" approach.
A teaching style known "synthetic phonics", where children learn the letter sounds as the building blocks to words, was recommended in a review of the teaching of reading published today by the former schools inspector Jim Rose.

Ms Kelly immediately adopted the main finding. "Phonics should be central, it is central, but what we are doing is we are accepting Jim Rose's recommendation that it should be taught first and fast," Ms Kelly told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

She also denied accusations that she was adopting Conservative policy after the shadow education secretary, David Cameron, made the issue part of his election campaign. Phonics was already part of the national literacy strategy and today's announcement would only enhance that, she said.

New learning materials to help teachers with the new system will be in place in schools by September, Ms Kelly said. Phonics went out of fashion in the 1960s when it was replaced by a system which relies of children learning whole words - and their meaning - in one go.

The argument against phonics is that while it speeds up the rate that children can read words, it does not aid their comprehension of what the word means.

The Rose review was triggered by a seven- year study of the teaching of phonics to 300 children in Clackmannanshire in Scotland. The research put the children up to three years ahead in reading, but did not show a significant improvement in comprehension of words.

The report published today also recommended:

· That teaching reading through phonics should be preceded by attention to developing children's speaking and listening skills;
· Systematic, direct teaching of synthetic phonics should be the first strategy taught to all children learning to read, introduced by the age of five;
· Some children will need more intensive intervention - they should get "catch-up" support lessons; and
· Teaching of phonics should be monitored to maintain standards.

Continue reading the article...

Guardian reporter Aida Eidemariam on the new move to teach emotional literacy in schools.
http://education.guardian.co.uk/schools/story/0,5500,1652237,00.html

Gateshead is hosting the conference this year; the theme is creativity and the workshops for teachers fulfill the five outcomes of 'Every Child Matters'.
You can now book via their site...
www.neec2006.org.uk

Following Carr Hill Primary's success in this year's OfSTED (in top 15% of Primaries nationwide), Headteacher Callum Kidd attended a reception at No. 10 Downing Street last week.
We've managed to acquire this photo of Callum on the doorstep, about to tell the PM how he did it...
Well done to everyone at the school.

The Gala day is on Saturday 19th of November, at Gateshead Civic Centre, from 9.45am-4.30pm.
PDF attached here...
Download file
www.ncbf.org.uk

A special welcome to teachers new to working in Gateshead and to those who have taken on the mantle of Cultural & Creativity Ambassador in their school this year. We have just added the Culture Showcase Directory (2004) to the site and we hope to expand the list of links later this month.
Look out for our new 'Frequently-asked questions' page this week.
If you are a Cultural Ambassador, you should have a 'Council Partners' pack of print waiting for you and we'll be sending an e-bulletin this Thursday, the 8th of September.
As ever, the Arts Development Team can be contacted on 0191 477 5380.

A useful resource for finding Cultural Partners with educational experience who took part in the Showcase in June 2004. Please note that the next Showcase will be in Autumn 2006: notices will be posted on this site, in Ambassadors e-bulletins, in the post and via the LEA.
Open link below (MS Word, 376KB)...
Download file

The Arts Team have been busy over the summer arranging Continuing Professional Development sessions for our special teachers. Please look out for notices of the following in your fortnightly e-bulletins:

Dance for Secondary Ambassadors on 6th October
Wildlife Gardening in Schools for all levels on 13th October
Local History 'CPD PLUS' for all on Hallowe'en (31st Oct)

Others to be confirmed:
Animation for Secondary Ambassadors
ICT basics for all
Music for Secondary Ambassadors

Well done to Joanne Gilmour, Amanda Crooks, Mr Callum Kidd and staff at Carr Hill Primary and to Christine Hanratty, Mrs Hardy and staff at Caedmon Primary School. Both schools came in for exceptional praise in recent OfSTED reports and both belong to the Cultural & Creativity Ambassador network.
Carr Hill now ranks in the top 15% of Primaries in the country.
http://www.gateshead.gov.uk/whatsnew/carrhillprim.htm

The 129 fixed play sites in the borough will be improved and added to with money from the Council, external funding and private developers. Good news for Gateshead children!

In Gateshead, we have constructed a baseline assessment tool for schools and other learning settings and have already have had a good response to its first use. Our ambition is to refine and reuse the tool over 3 and 5 years as part of a comparative study in Gateshead Schools and then offer it to other schools in the sub-region as it develops.

It could be used in OfSTED self-assessments and any other measurement of creativity required. If Gateshead schools would like more information, please contact:
Ednie Wilson, Creativity Development Manager: edniewilson@gateshead.gov.uk
0191 477 5380.

Download document: (Word: 72KB)

The BBC has commissioned four new arts shows, which it has hailed as major additions to its cultural output amid accusations of dumbing down. They include The Impressionists, which will turn the lives of Monet, Cezanne and Renoir into a BBC One drama, and Marvels of the Modern Age, in which host Dan Cruickshank will explore modernism on BBC Two. Also on the list is the Secret of Drawing, which will also appear on BBC Two.
Adam Kemp, BBC arts and culture commissioner said: Engaging audiences in our arts programmes is about being inventive and imaginative in our approach to subjects. Arts and cultural programmes are flourishing on BBC television and these four new commissions are only a taster of the rich and diverse range of programmes we will be offering over the coming months and years.
source: BBC News cited in Voluntary Arts Newsletter, 6th July 2005.

Work has begun at the Life Science Centre in Newcastle to create a new £1.5 million state-of-the-art interactive theatre that will take visitors on journey into Outer Space to search for new life forms.
Read on for more...

Jane Robinson takes over from Lesley Bessant as Assistant Chief Executive at Gateshead Council in June this year. As Director of External Relations at ACE North East, Jane was responsible for securing funding for major regeneration and development projects such as The Sage Gateshead.

BALTIC - New Director appointed

On Wednesday 20 April the Board of BALTIC announced the appointment of a new Director. American Peter Doroshenko is expected to take up the post during April. In a statement issued by BALTIC, Mr Doroshenko said:
“BALTIC has established itself by making a truly outstanding contribution to contemporary art on an international stage. I am excited ad proud to be offered this opportunity to continue to develop BALTIC’s unique activities. I am looking forward to working with he board, the staff and the funders in building on BALTIC’s early success to ensure it has an exciting long-term future, making a full contribution to the North East and the world of contemporary art.�
Mr Doroshenko’s most recent job, from 2003 until earlier this year , was as director of Belgium’s largest contemporary art gallery, S.M.A.K (Stedelijk Museum Voor Actuele Kunst), in Ghent. Aged 43 and originally from Chicago, he was previously director of visual arts at the University of Wisconsin, in Milwaukee, and senior curator at the Contemporary Arts Museum in Houston, Texas. Mr Doroshenko has written extensively about contemporary art and since 1999 has been a visiting lecturer at arts institutions in Houston and Vienna.

BALTIC has been run by acting director Andrew Lovett since the resignation of Stephen Snoddy.

Ednie Wilson, Creativity Development Manager for Gateshead Council will be attending the assemblies at Harlow Green Infants and St Anne's Primary school this Friday the 13th May, to make two special presentations.

The Gold and Silver Ambassadors for 2004 - 2005 were Mrs June Heslewood at Harlow Green Infants and Connie Megginson at St Anne's Primary. They and their colleagues attended the most Ambassador CPD sessions, and the Ambassadors' AGM and Culture in Education Showcase.

As well as the presentation of certificates and thanks from the Council, the schools receive a free one-day workshop of their choice for either the staff or pupils. Harlow Green had two 'Geordie Ceilidh' mornings in March with Johnny Handle and Benny Graham and St Anne's are having a 3D sculpture CPD session at the end of May.

Congratulations to both schools from Ednie Wilson and the Arts Development Team and thanks to both Ambassadors and Headteachers for their continuing support of the Ambassadors network.

On Wednesday 20 April the Board of BALTIC announced the appointment of a new Director. American Peter Doroshenko is expected to take up the post sometime this month. In a statement issued by BALTIC, Mr Doroshenko said:
“BALTIC has established itself by making a truly outstanding contribution to contemporary art on an international stage. I am excited and proud to be offered this opportunity to continue to develop BALTIC’s unique activities. I am looking forward to working with he board, the staff and the funders in building on BALTIC’s early success to ensure it has an exciting long-term future, making a full contribution to the North East and the world of contemporary art.”
Mr Doroshenko’s most recent job, from 2003 until earlier this year , was as director of Belgium’s largest contemporary art gallery, S.M.A.K (Stedelijk Museum Voor Actuele Kunst), in Ghent. Aged 43 and originally from Chicago, he was previously director of visual arts at the University of Wisconsin, in Milwaukee, and senior curator at the Contemporary Arts Museum in Houston, Texas. Mr Doroshenko has written extensively about contemporary art and since 1999 has been a visiting lecturer at arts institutions in Houston and Vienna.
BALTIC has been run by acting director Andrew Lovett since the resignation of Stephen Snoddy.

Our thanks to Andrew Simpson, the Arts and IS staff at the Department for Culture, Media & Sport press office for permission to publish the following links from the 29th of March and the 1st of April:
Creative Sparks: a five-year plan to give every schoolchild the chance to take part in high quality arts and culture in school:
http://www.culture.gov.uk/global/press_notices/archive_2005/dcms050_05.htm
and the £6m challenge fund to boost innovation in the arts:
http://www.culture.gov.uk/global/press_notices/archive_2005/dcms057_05.htm

We have invited all Gateshead's Early Years providers to join the Ambassadors network. The official launch event is at Gateshead Visitor Centre (St Mary's Church) on Gateshead Quays at 3.45pm, Tuesday 12th April with Councillors Linda Green and John McElroy. If you are an Early Years provider or a cultural organisation interested in the scheme, do come along. Nearby car park: Church St.

The theme of the 2006 conference is Creativity & Culture in Education and will be held in January at The Sage Gateshead music centre with workshops being held at twelve cultural venues nearby. Watch this space for more or visit the Conference website at:
www.neec2006.org

Education Secretary Ruth Kelly pledges 280m over three years for school meals and nutritional standards will be reintroduced. The government claimed that this matter had been on its agenda, although the announcement coincided with the end of TV chef Jamie Oliver's 18-month campaign and his delivery of a 271,000 signature petition on the matter to Tony Blair, who in turn promised to make education Labour's number one priority.
The food budget will account for £220m (50p on primary school meals and 60p on secondaries). The £60m remainder goes towards a new School Food Trust to support improvement within schools. A panel of experts will deliver the nutritional standards, which will be mandatory by September 2006. See the DfES and Jamie Oliver's webpages below...
http://www.dfes.gov.uk/pns/DisplayPN.cgi?pn_id=2005_0044
http://www.channel4.com/life/microsites/J/jamies_school_dinners/index.html

Gordon Brown today announced an extra 12bn of funding for schools and 1.5bn for colleges.

The government has plans to increase the proportion of pupils who stay on after 16 from 70% to 90%, helped by a new 75 pounds-a-week grant to encourage the poorest pupils to stay in school.

Do you have cultural and creative information for Early Years education providers? Would you like a free and simple way to contact the dedicated teacher in Gateshead Early Years locations? If so, please send an email to me (Barbara-Ann Brown, Cultural Ambassadors Co-ordinator, Cultural Devt, Gateshead Council) at: barbaraannbrown@gateshead.gov.uk

We look forward to welcoming you as a Cultural Partner!

Despite the Tomlinson Report, A-Levels and GCSEs are to remain, alongside a new vocational Diploma as Education Minister Ruth Kelly aims to make qualifications more employer and university friendly and courses more challenging to students. Teaching Unions see a continuation of a two-tier education system, while the Institute of Directors and the CBI support the move to improve the current system rather than scrap it.
Ruth Kelly's full statement and the timetable for change can be seen in the education pages on:
www.guardianunlimited.co.uk

Gateshead College is the latest educational establishment to join the network and our newest Cultural Partners are the Schools Liaison Team at Northumbria Police and The National Glass Centre in Sunderland.
We will be expanding the network this Spring to include the Early Years providers in Gateshead.

Following the Education Select Committee's report about the decline in school t