Literacy news

Government urged to encourage family participation in cultural activities

4 Jun 2010

The Government is being urged to promote cultural activities as a way of helping to support and sustain strong and stable families in the UK.

Recent research commissioned by Creativity, Culture and Education (CCE) the body tasked with delivering Creative Partnerships, the creative learning programme in schools, has revealed that one in five parents believe their child has not taken part in any cultural activities in the past year with their family.

CCE is now calling for policy makers and cultural organisations to ensure all families, from all backgrounds, have access to arts and culture.

Further research, questioning 3,316 parents of five to 10-year-old pupils, found that 60% of children with parents with no educational qualifications spend less than three hours per week on cultural activities including reading or creative computer activities, with 20% spending no time at all.

Paul Collard, CCE Chief Executive, said:

"Not enough attention has been paid to the effect that taking part in creative and cultural activities has on families as a whole. To date, the focus of family involvement in culture has largely been looked at through one dimension: children's participation in cultural activities via government intervention such as free museums.

"Yet this research and our conversations with parents have led us to identify a need to change arts and culture policy to further break down access barriers for all families. The new government has recognised the importance of strong and stable families and we believe that access to culture can help to achieve this." 

Read more at Children and Young People Now 

Tags: Families, National Young Readers' Programme, Partners in Literacy, Reading Connects, The home

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