Durham Commission on Creativity and Education

The Durham Commission is a joint research collaboration between Durham University and Arts Council England, convened to look at the role creativity and creative thinking should play in the education of young people.

Drawing on its research, the Commission has developed a vision for promoting creativity in education.

All schools, from early years to post-16 education should be better enabled to support the promotion of creativity for all young people, whatever their background.

Teaching for creativity should be practised across the curriculum and accessed by all.  It should not be confined to certain subjects; creativity in science is different to creativity in drama, but is valuable in both.

Through engaging in opportunities for creative learning, grounded in subject-knowledge and understanding, students’ creative capacity will be nurtured, and their personal, social and academic development greatly enriched.

With these advantages our young people will enter society and the world of work able to think and work creatively across disciplines and sectors and champion the UK as a leader in creativity.

The Commission recognises that developing such opportunity is aspirational and a great deal of collaborative school-led work is required to deliver it.

The recommendations also call for a range of organisations to deliver this vision including the Department for Education (DfE), Ofsted, Ofqual, Institute for Apprenticeships, BBC, Arts Council England and Local Cultural Education Partnerships (LCEPs).

We do not expect immediate change in the education system but the Commission recommendations will work with teachers, parents and carers and employers to enable positive shift in the way teachers teach and children learn, which will nurture creativity.

Download the full report here