A message from our Chair, Vicky Ireland MBE:

Hello Everyone,

In January we made a bold start to the year by holding both ACA membership and Critical Friends consultations. Thank you to everyone who gave up their time to share their ideas!

Then in February we held a virtual Board Away Day to consider all we had learnt and set out thinking for the year ahead, despite an uncertain future. We had a busy and productive year and attended meetings of:

• The Drama and Theatre Education Alliance, helping to broker three ASSITEJ (the world Association of Theatre and the Performing Arts for Children and Young People) Zooms on Cultural Education
• Performing Arts for Young Audiences England
• APPGs (All Party Parliamentary Group) on "Children's Media and the Arts", and "Arts, Craft and Design in Education”
• FED, looking towards a new curriculum
• What Next?zooms convened by the Cultural Learning Alliance.

We discussed children and the arts in a zoom meeting with Wes Streeting MP, with regard to his paper, “ten by ten”. Many thanks to ACA Critical Friend, Trevor MacFarlane, Director of Culture Commons, for his time and advice in setting this up.

We added our name to the campaign More than A Score and our Patron Jamila Gavin wrote a wonderful introduction for their recent report.

We held our J.M. Barrie Awards and many thanks to Trustee, Chris Jarvis for helping to produce them. It was wonderful to be able to demonstrate our admiration for Michael Rosen as a remarkable creative, compassionate individual, and to BAFTA Kids and Place2Be for their outstanding work in Primary schools during lockdown.

May I also say, as Chair of ACA, how grateful and proud I am of all that Mimi and the Backpack team have achieved this year, for all the fun and wisdom our Young Voices have shared with us, and the on-going help from the Trustees and Critical Friends who offer their advise and time with such generosity. Plus a big welcome to new team member, Katy.

Although we were very disappointed by the government cuts to the arts in Higher Education and their ongoing negative attitude that the arts are soft subjects, be re-assured ACA remains passionate about campaigning for the need of a broad and balanced curriculum for our children throughout their school life, and that we will continue to champion the huge benefits we believe the arts offer to every child's education and well-being, which help shape their sense of achievement, their sense of pride and their sense of fun.

With thanks and a Happy New Year to you all,

Vicky

ACA Young Voices

In February 2021 we launched ACA Young Voices - a panel of 13 incredible young people aged between 7 and 17, set up in memory of our late patron Sir Ken Robinson. One of their first projects was to create a video on the theme 'Imagine If' as part of tributes to Sir Ken that took place in March:

We've discussed a whole range of topics with our Young Voices - from the environment to curriculum reform. In May they wrote an open letter to the Catch-Up Tsar Sir Kevan Collins, which you can read here. They have also sent in ideas for the next Children's Laureate and consulted on Wes Streeting's 10 by 10 proposal.

The Arts Backpack