News and Blog

Apply to join the SCEP Steering Group

Are you passionate about how arts and culture can improve children’s lives/outcomes in Southampton? Apply to join Southampton Cultural Education Partnership’s (SCEP) Steering Group and help deliver our priorities. 

We are seeking to recruit members for our volunteer Steering Group who will oversee and drive forward our strategic priorities. 

The Southampton Cultural Education Partnership (SCEP) exists to nurture creative and cultural education for all children and young people in the city. We act as a backbone organisation for the arts and cultural education areas, uniting the education, youth and cultural sectors.

Strategic priorities and outcomes 2023-25

  • Health & Wellbeing for children and young people through arts engagement 
  • Pathways & Progression
  • Building a workforce for the future

The SCEP is seeking to appoint eight members of the Steering Group. Members will be appointed for a two year term and will commit to offering in kind support, which we estimate will between a half to one day a month. 

Application deadline: Tuesday 13 June 2023

To apply, please complete this form: https://forms.office.com/e/TnWZQ4gr4A

For full details, see the application pack below. If you require information in an alternative format or need further assistance, please email scep@soton.ac.uk

Banister Primary School’s Journey with Dance

Pupils at Banister Primary School have been using movement and dance to look at geography and science from a new perspective.

Movement and dance specialist Natalie Watson has been working with the school to devise new ways of teaching geography and science as part of the Southampton Cultural Education Partnership (SCEP) Cultural Curriculum project.

After a term working with the Year 4 classes (together with teachers Miss Golden and Mr Darling) to devise a new scheme of work for geography, the project has been rolled out across different key stages and Natalie has now worked with the Early Years Foundation Stage, Year 2 and Year 5 on their science curriculum.

During an inset day in April, Natalie also ran whole school CPD workshop with the full teaching staff to discover ways to bring dance and movement into their daily lesson planning.

The Cultural Curriculum project is taking place in four different school settings across Southampton with Arts2Educate, SoCo Music Project, ArtfulScribe, as well as dance practitioner Natalie.

Are you a school setting looking to develop Cultural Capital and creative learning in the classroom?  Get in touch with scep@soton.ac.uk to explore how we can support your ambitions.

SCEP supported by

Better Lives Through Culture, in partnership with Artswork

Watching the magic happen

Creative Mentor Amy Spencer describes exploring creative ideas in the ‘safe place’ of the art department with her mentee.

Amy Spencer, visual artist, SCEP Creative Mentor

Hello, my name is Amy and I am a visual artist and mentor for SCEP. Since starting my training for the Creative Mentoring Programme back in November last year, I have been trying to imagine how it might play out in real life.

Continue reading Watching the magic happen

Exploring History through a Cultural Lens

Creative Arts combine with History at Woodlands Community College as Year 7 students bring creativity into their learning about the Mongol Empire this term.

Abi Thommes from Arts2Educate has spent the past term working with students to find out how they would like to bring music, art and drama into their lessons. This is one of four arts/schools partnership to develop a Southampton Cultural Curriculum, as part of the SCEP’s Better Lives Through Culture Programme.

Continue reading Exploring History through a Cultural Lens

Working in partnership to achieve priorities for children and young people

Place-based partnership with cultural and child-focused organisations is key to achieving Southampton City Council’s priorities for children, Councillor Darren Paffey told SCEP (Southampton Cultural Education Partnership) members at a recent meeting.

Cllr Darren Paffey and Child Friendly Southampton logo

With partnership working at our heart, the SCEP was delighted to welcome Southampton’s Cabinet Member for Children and Learning and ward councillor for Bargate as a guest speaker at our last Members meeting:

There’s a lot of belief out there that councils are the sole organisation that can solve all problems in cities. It won’t be a surprise to know that’s not true. Everything that we do depends on the partnerships that we have built up with cultural organisations, with businesses, with our schools, with our early years settings and with the universities,’ said Cllr Darren Paffey.

Continue reading Working in partnership to achieve priorities for children and young people