Leicester Early Arts Partnership

"Putting creativity at the heart of early years education"

Leicester Early Arts Partnership is an informal group of organisations whose aim is to raise the profile of early arts and increase awareness and understanding of the value of arts in early years development.
By engaging with policy makers, arts practitioners and educators, learners, children and parents, we hope to disseminate good practice and raise standards of creative practice in early arts settings.
Based in Leicester, we also hope to work closely with colleagues in Leicestershire and Rutland, and to offer opportunities for CPD and training around the East Midlands.

Our aims:-

• To raise the profile of early arts and increase awareness and understanding of the value of the arts in early years development.
• To disseminate good practice and raise standards of creative practice in early arts settings in the area.
• To improve the confidence of educators, parents and child-minders in creative use of the arts.
• To explore the cultural offer to very young children and understand how it could be improved.
• To do this by engaging with policy makers, artists and educators, learners, children and parents.

What Next? Event - November 17th 2011

One year on from the launch of Leicester Early Arts Partnership we held a network event to celebrate some of the exciting early years work developed over the last year and also to think about current priorities and future opportunities.

Lighting the Fire events

The 2011 programme built on the work done by last year‘s participants, in bringing together arts practitioners and educators to experience and workshop techniques and ideas together.
The programme included workshops with Oyly Cart and La Baracca, and a seminar with Colwyn Treverthen.
The programme was supported by The Mighty Creatives and presented by Curve and the Spark Festival, and was only available, at subsidised rates, to LEAP network members.

Workforce Development

The School Development Support Agency in partnership with Leicester City Council’s RTQ Team, Sure Start Centres and LEAP delivered a series of professional development sessions for Child Care Professionals in January - March 2011.

The Early Years Foundation Stage identifies the central importance of creativity in learning and development. Creativity is fundamental to a child’s individual learning journey and this series of early evening sessions will provide the workforce with new creative skills across movement, making and building and open ended play.