A consultation on the future development of Lancashire’s Creative & Cultural Education Offer
We are seeking views on a draft policy briefing, Overcoming Barriers to School Participation in Lancashire’s Creative & Cultural Education Offer. The briefing sets out proposed partnership actions for the Lancashire Combined County Authority, Lancashire County Council, Blackpool Council and Blackburn with Darwen Council to remove practical barriers that currently limit schools’ engagement with creative and cultural venues.
The purpose of this consultation is to test whether the challenges and opportunities described reflect your experience; to refine the proposed actions (including the development of a Creative Learning Framework, a Creative Transport Fund, curriculum and CPD support, local creative clusters, and a shared approach to evaluation); and to check that the policy ‘asks’ of local authorities are realistic and compelling.
We are launching this consultation at a pivotal moment for education and skills. Recent national reforms have restored a clear emphasis on creative subjects within the curriculum, signalling that creativity, design, and cultural learning are not optional extras but core to how young people learn and thrive. At the same time, Lancashire’s schools continue to face practical barriers that make it difficult to turn that ambition into everyday practice, particularly for pupils in communities with the lowest literacy levels and least access to cultural opportunity.
This is also an investment in Lancashire’s future economy. Our arts, culture and wider creative industries need a diverse, home?grown talent pipeline if they are to grow and compete. Giving young people regular, high?quality encounters with creative practitioners and cultural venues helps them to see themselves in these sectors, build relevant skills, and understand the routes into creative work. By strengthening collaboration between schools, cultural organisations and local government now, we can lay the foundations for a more inclusive creative workforce and a more vibrant cultural life across the county in the years ahead.
We are seeking views from everyone involved in supporting creative and cultural learning for young people in Lancashire. In particular, we welcome responses from:
Headteachers, senior leaders and governors in secondary schools (including academies and multi?academy trusts).
Classroom teachers and curriculum leads, especially those working with Year 7 pupils.
Staff in local authority education, skills and culture teams, including the Lancashire Combined County Authority.
Museums, galleries, theatres, libraries, music services, arts organisations and independent creative practitioners.
Creative and digital industry partners who are interested in skills, careers pathways and talent development.
If you play a role in shaping creative and cultural opportunities for young people in Lancashire, we would like to hear from you.?
Your feedback will be used to revise the briefing before it is shared formally with political and senior officer audiences.
View the Draft Policy
Please complete the survey by Friday 26 June 2026.
If you have any questions about this consultation you can email us at artslancashire@gmail.com
After the consultation closes we will:
Review and analyse responses to identify common themes, points of agreement, and areas of concern across schools, cultural organisations and Local Authority partners.
Publish a short summary of responses, setting out what we heard and highlighting any significant changes we intend to make as a result.
Update the draft policy briefing, refining the description of barriers, strengthening the evidence, and revising the proposed partnership actions and policy asks in light of feedback.
Propose a delivery and investment timeline for the development of a programme to help put the policy into action.
Share the revised briefing and proposed delivery and investment timeline with the Lancashire Combined County Authority, Lancashire County Council, Blackpool Council and Blackburn with Darwen Council for formal consideration, and keep consultees informed of major decisions and next steps.