IVE, the Bridge Organisation for Yorkshire and the Humber, is working with the Local Cultural Education Partnership and social services in Bradford to deliver Bags of Creativity. The bags are designed to make sure all children and young people can be creative at home by providing everything they need in one place.
Bradford Local Cultural Education Partnership has recruited a team of 20 local creative practitioners and organisations, including Julia O’Keeffe, the Learning Co-ordinator at Bradford Theatres, to design activities for Bags of Creativity. Julia has taken inspiration from Bradford Theatres’ partnership work with the Royal Shakespeare Company, as well as past and upcoming shows at the Alhambra Theatre, and St George’s Hall, Bradford, for her creative designs.
Child development specialists, Dr Karen Dunn and Di Chilvers have given training and mentoring to the team to ensure that activities are both tailored to the contents of the bags and engaging for children in each age range.
The LCEP is working directly with social services to distribute the bags to vulnerable children via trusted adults including social workers and foster carers. Bags of Creativity, containing 20 specially designed activity postcards, have been created for three separate age groups.
For 2-6 year-olds, an orange bag contains vibrant chiffon scarves, a space blanket, and many other materials to enhance imaginative play. The 7-11 year-olds will receive a bright green bag full of colouring pencils, pipe cleaners and further tactile materials for creative expression. Finally 12-16 year-olds will receive a navy blue bag with contents including watercolour paints and modelling clay, giving them additional ways to explore their creativity. LazenbyBrown of York designed the Bags of Creativity free of charge.
Madeleine Irwin, Freelance IVE Associate, Bradford Cultural Education Partnership said
“We’re thrilled with the response to Bags of Creativity from creative practitioners and organisations in our area. We’re very happy to be working in partnership with social services this summer to ensure that these resources reach the children who need them most.”
