The Creative Learning and Young People team works across four main areas:
Funding
We administer the Scottish Government’s Youth Music Initiative (YMI) programme which aims to create access to high-quality music-making opportunities for children and young people across Scotland, particularly for those that would not normally have the chance to participate.
Also supported by the Scottish Government, we deliver the Youth Arts Open Fund supporting creative, third sector and youth work organisations to collaborate on delivering projects for children and young people who have few other opportunities to engage.
Youth Engagement
Engaging with children and young people directly, we deliver a series of initiatives and projects focused on Creative Scotland’s commitment to upholding children and young people’s right to access, influence and engage in arts and culture.
Youth Arts Strategy
We are working with stakeholders and partners to respond to the Scottish Government’s commitment to scope a new National Youth Arts Strategy for Scotland.
Arts in Education
We are working with the Scottish Government and education partners to look at how we can improve access to arts opportunities and experiences in learning settings for children and young people.
Creative Learning and Young People team
- Colin Bradie - Head of Creative Learning and Young People
- Morag Macdonald- YMI Manager
- Sarah McAdam- Youth Engagement Manager
- Kelsey Jubin - Creative Learning Officer (YMI) – currently on maternity leave
- Laura Leslie - Creative Learning Officer (YMI) – Maternity cover
- Sarah Lockhart - Creative Learning Officer (Youth Engagement)
- Jonathan McLean - Creative Learning Officer (Arts in Education)
- Christine Halsall - YMI Officer – currently on maternity leave
- Megan Reid - Creative Learning Officer (YMI) – Maternity cover
- Kirstin Zhang - Creative Learning Coordinator
United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC)
The Scottish Government has incorporated the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) into Scottish law via the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024. This means Creative Scotland has a duty to ensure the rights of children and young people across all our work. Every three years we must show what we have done to achieve this and what future actions we are talking to develop our approach. Our current UNCRC Report covers the period of 2020 to 2023.
Organisations working with us
- Music Education Partnership Group
- Scottish Music Centre
- YouthLink Scotland
- Children in Scotland
- Children and Youth Arts Advocacy
- The Young Audiences Group
- Education Scotland
Relevant funds
There are several funding streams that support youth arts in Scotland, including Open Funding:
- Open Fund for Individuals - this fund can support individual visual artists, as well as those collaborating. Projects eligible for this funding include producing and developing new work, professional development, developing collaborations, testing new ways of reaching audiences and developing new partnerships.
- National Lottery Open Fund for Organisations - this fund can support organisations such as festivals, venues and collectives to help them sustain their work in changing circumstances and develop new opportunities.
We also run targeted funds for projects or activities which have more specific criteria:
- YMI Funding, including:
The Youth Arts Open Fund is managed by YouthLink Scotland and supports freelance artists or organisations seeking funding so that they can deliver arts activity for children and young people in their communities.
Access All Arts is managed by Children in Scotland and directly supports children and young people to access creative arts opportunities, it supports their wellbeing and helps them explore their creativity.
Key resources
We have gathered a range of resources to support our Creative Learning and Young People programmes and the work of the wider youth arts sector, including:
- Creating Safety child protection and safeguarding guidance, developed by Creative Scotland and Children in Scotland.
- Is this the best it can be? toolkit for collaborative or participatory projects and programmes.
- Our Creative Voice
- Creativity Portal
- Scotland’s Creative Learning Plan
- Creative Scotland and Education Scotland Action Plan
- Arts in Education - Review of Creative Scotland Research into Arts and Creativity in Schools in Scotland
- Kaleidoscope from the Creativity Portal celebrates creative learning, creative teaching and creative change in Scotland.
Get in touch
We are happy to talk to you about projects that might be eligible for our support.
If you have never applied before, get in touch to talk about your ideas and ask any questions. We might be able to give examples that make the criteria clearer or tell you more about how our funds work.
Get in touch by visiting our Contact Us page.
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