A CHURCH of England secondary school is to take the lead in developing teaching creativity in a network of schools in London, after making a successful bid to the Creativity Collaboratives project being run by Durham University and Arts Council England (ACE).

St Marylebone C of E School has been awarded £320,000 of funding for the three-year pilot study, which will look at the part played by creativity in the education of young people in all phases of education, including special education and the sixth form.

The school has an outstanding performing and visual arts offering, but also brings creative elements into every aspect of the curriculum. It is already a designated Teaching School, and leads a region-wide Maths Hub, and regards this latest development as “an exciting and fitting next step in St Marylebone’s creative and collaborative growth”.

“This is a brilliant opportunity to put creativity at the heart of school culture, by developing the skills, experiences, confidence, and courage of teachers and school leaders,” the head teacher, Kathryn Pugh, said.

“Young people can do amazing things if their creativity is nurtured. Never before have they and their schools been in greater need of this opportunity, and we are delighted to have been chosen to make it happen.”

The director of ACE, Nick Morgan, described the work as innovative, reflecting his organisation’s commitment to nurturing the individual curiosity and creative potential of children and young people, “which we know has a crucial impact on improving their life chances. . . We want to highlight the professionalism and determination of teachers who work so hard to support and care for their students.”

The eight lead schools across the country will work with a network of at least eight others in their area. Some will test a variety of methods to evaluate the effectiveness of different approaches, and some will focus on helping teachers develop the skills and confidence to integrate teaching for creativity into their lessons.

There will also be work to develop a curriculum that encourages creativity in science, technology, and humanities subjects, as well as an overview to see how creative education helps children live happier, healthier and more fulfilling lives. The national funding of £2.8 million is supported by Freelands Foundation.

creativityexchange.org.uk/creativity-collaboratives