In time, the Government wants all young people to have the right to experience five hours of arts and culture every week.
The pilots will trial different ways of offering young people a range of cultural experiences both in and outside of school. The activities will go wider than the core school day to include extended schools and positive activities offered by local authorities and other providers.
The other nine lead organisations chosen to develop schemes are:
- Bolton Borough Council;
- The Creative Foundation (serving Shepway District and including Folkestone, Hythe and Romney Marsh);
- Hampshire County Council;
- Leeds Children's Services;
- Leicestershire County Council;
- 'Liverpool City Region' Partnership (serving three Merseyside neighbourhoods);
- North Somerset;
- Telford and Wrekin Council; and
- Tower Hamlets.
The areas, from 141 that applied, will become the first Find Your Talent areas and build on existing investment and experience, currently taking place around the country. The pilots - covering work both in and outside the classroom - will showcase different approaches.
Culture Secretary Andy Burnham said:
"Find Your Talent is a really exciting initiative that could transform children's lives. Engaging with culture is not a luxury, or an add-on, for young people. It matters in its own right, and can be a way of developing essential life skills like communication, creativity and team working. Too many young people - millions of them just in my lifetime, I fear - have had to leave school without ever really finding out what they could be good at: the things that could be the basis of a fulfilling life.
"These pilots will kick off the long process of putting that right. Their importance cannot be overstated."
Ministers will now also be working on proposals to galvanise the enthusiasm for the initiative from all over the country.
Andy Burnham continued:
"I've been knocked out by the quantity and quality of the applications we've received since we first launched this initiative. It would be a real shame if this momentum was now lost, so we will also be looking at ways to harness that energy, and I hope to have firm proposals to do that in time for the pilots' launch in September."
Children's Minister Ed Balls said:
"Giving young people the opportunity to take part in cultural activities will not only enrich their lives - but also help them learn. Schools already offer many cultural activities in school hours, for example in music, art, and English in the curriculum, and there is already much cultural activity taking place outside school and beyond the school day. The five hour offer is about building on this and giving all children and young people the opportunity to take part in cultural activities.
"The pilots will explore different approaches to making a reality of Find Your Talent. We will work closely with schools as the pilots are taken forward to ensure a bureaucracy-light approach. But it is not just about schools: a whole range of bodies including museums, theatres and local arts organisations will be involved, working in partnership with schools."
