John Lyon's charity Annual Report 2024 - Report - Page 19
What is the aim and purpose of this Fund?
Achievements so far
The Cultural Capital Fund had two main purposes:
The original budget for CCF was £2.5 million but demand for
funding was considerable. It was decided in 2022 to increase
the allocation for CCF by £1 million to meet this demand.
1.
To provide funding for Arts organisations to re-start
their delivery in schools to ensure children and young
people have access to high quality activities.
2.
To encourage schools to prioritise Arts activities as a
way of both building cultural capital for their children
as well as using the Arts to address some of the wider
issues caused by the pandemic.
This Fund is not about innovation or testing new audiences
for Arts organisations but about recognising that even
before the pandemic, there was a worrying trend away from
Arts subjects in schools to focus on more ‘academic’ core
subjects. Many schools have not been offering specialist
Arts GCSE and A-level subjects for several years. Even at
primary level, where there can be more flexibility in the
curriculum, Arts activities are being squeezed in favour
of maths or literacy. The Cultural Capital Fund is intended
to be an easy and straight forward way to increase
engagement in Arts and delivery in schools post-pandemic.
Schools could take ownership of their own activities by
applying for funding directly, and the relatively short-term
engagement activities offered by Arts organisations were
intentionally designed to support school participation.
What is the reason behind this focus?
John Lyon’s Charity passionately believes that all children
and young people, regardless of ability or socio-economic
status should have access to the Arts and cultural capital.
Including this in our Covid-19 recovery strategy placed the
resumption of Arts activities in schools right at the heart
and centre of our thinking and gave a powerful message
of how important we felt it to be.
The scale of the CCF has been substantial, with demand
outstripping the availability of funds. Overall, in the first
three years of the CCF, 157 grants have been awarded,
totalling £3,490,890 - and applications increased steadily
each year due to rising demand. Through these grants,
the Charity has supported a total of 39 Arts organisations
and 271 schools, benefitting so many children and young
people across the Beneficial Area.
“As the first major project for the school’s
Performing Arts department since the pandemic, the
whole experience felt particularly special. It has been
the first significant step to re-establishing the role
and value of music and the performing Arts within
the school and local community, by demonstrating
the opportunities and benefits available, as well
as raising awareness about tangible career paths
within the sector.”
- Mr Christian Eccles-Cannon, Head of Performing
Arts at St Gregory’s Catholic Science College,
referring to the Isata Kanneh-Mason Royal
Philharmonic Orchestra Artist-in-Residence:
Composition Project
There is real evidence to suggest that participating in
Arts activities can support emotional wellbeing, increase
confidence, communication skills and much more. By
including the Arts within our strategy, over 80,000 children
have engaged in kinds of activities that they missed out
on as a result of school closures during the pandemic.
JOHN LYON’S CHARITY ANNUAL REPORT 2024
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