This site is your gateway to information about the arts in Aberdeenshire.
It is maintained by Aberdeenshire Council's Arts Development Team.

Arts Education

The focus of the Arts Education team is to increase participation by young people in high-quality cultural activity through the developing and promoting arts and cultural activities in Aberdeenshire's schools. The team works with a variety of independent artists, arts organisations and national companies to achieve this aim.
The current team has been in place since March 2008 and comprises of one full time Arts Education officer (Creative Links) and three full time Cultural Co-ordinators. Funding is available to maintain the Arts Education Team until the start of 2010.

History

In 1996 the Scottish Arts Council recognised the need to place Arts Education Officers within local authority education departments.  These officers were to strategically develop and implement achievable and sustainable arts education in schools by creating links between education, arts, heritage and culture to improve and enhance the curriculum. Aberdeenshire appointed their first Arts Education Officer (Creative Links Officer, David Atherton) in 2004.
The Cultural Co-ordinators programme commenced in 2002 when the Scottish Executive initiated the Cultural Co-ordinators in Scottish Schools programme as part of the National Cultural Strategy. The aim was to identify ways of maximising the contribution of arts and culture in education, and to maximise creativity in schools in a strategic fashion. Aberdeenshire appointed 5 part time cultural co-ordinators between 2004 – 2006.
Between 2004 and 2006 The Art Education Officer and Cultural Co-ordinator team planned and implemented over 262 projects in schools, this benefited over 9,500 children and young people across Aberdeenshire.
The new team aims to build on their previous work.

The Arts Education Team service aims to:

• Focus on developing arts and cultural activities for children and young people aged 3-18 in keeping with the entitlements as laid down in the Aberdeenshire Curriculum Framework.

• Design, co-ordinate, monitor and evaluate school projects that support and enhance the Curriculum for Excellence.

• Identify areas of need in arts provision and provide appropriate support.

• Support children and young people by addressing their different learning styles through the arts.

• Support and organise CDP for teachers and arts practitioners, to facilitate greater collaboration and cross discipline working.

• Support the development of artists working within education.

• Offer advice and support to teachers on creativity in education.

• Raise the profile of the arts in education.