Launched last month, the new white paper is the first comprehensive Government strategy for the sector in more than fifty years and aims to boost access to arts, heritage and culture to help improve social mobility and increase life chances across the country.

"The Culture White Paper sets out an expectation for the first time that every Government-funded museum, theatre, gallery, opera house and arts group should reach out to everyone, regardless of their background. Arts Council England will regularly report to Government on the progress being made."

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Speaking on the arts and young people with learning disabilities, Director of Open Theatre Company, Richard Hayhow has urged the sector to open its eyes to the talent and creativity right on our doorstep:

"I’d like to shock you with a statistic: in Birmingham alone there are 7,000 young people with learning disabilities (YPWLD), but only about 5% of them receive any kind of arts provision outside school. Extrapolate that figure to the West Midlands, and then to the whole of England and beyond."

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A team from the Personal Social Services Research Unit at the London School of Economics and Political Science analysed data from the British Child and Adolescent Mental Health Survey, a survey of 2,461 children and young people, and the 2000 Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey. 

Among their findings, they discovered that more than half – 55 per cent – of children and young people with mental health issues had no contact with services in relation to their mental health needs. The proportion was particularly high among 16- to 25-year-olds at 64 per cent. Even among those 16- to 25-year-olds with a severe mental illness, nearly half – 46 per cent – were not receiving mental health services, the lowest rate of contact with specialist services out of all age groups. When mental health issues go unrecognised and untreated, symptoms may worsen, requiring much more expensive treatment when they are eventually spotted.

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Rachel Grunwald examines how our use of language might be holding back the cultural sector.

"Over the past year I’ve become aware of how language can advance or hold back our thinking about the philosophy and politics of the cultural sector. So I challenged myself to find new ways of thinking through new ways of saying, and what follows is an account of three thought experiments."

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Child Protection and Safeguarding in the Arts and Cultural Sector

Manchester

Thursday 16th June 2016

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Behaviour Management and Youth Arts

Bristol

Friday 24th June 2016

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Using the Arts to Develop Aspiration, Leadership and Potential 

Norwich

Thursday 7th July 2016

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Child Protection Policy Writing

London

Thursday 22nd September 2016

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Mentoring the Next Creative Generation

Manchester

Thursday 6th October 2016

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Creative Consultation with Young People

Bristol

Thursday 10th November 2016

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See our full course listings here

The proportion of young people involved with volunteering has risen significantly since 2010, according to data released by the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO).

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"We welcome entries from practitioners representing services and initiatives in any sector which can clearly demonstrate the value added to their organisation or community and which reflect innovation, intelligent service design or best practice delivery."

The closing date for entries is April 30th. 

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The number of under-18s in custody has fallen to a record low, dropping below the 900 mark for the first time.

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Thank you to the 132 Arts & Cultural Organisations that have already signed up to connectingwithculture.com.

Over the last six months, we have loved seeing the website grow and have enjoyed hearing your responses. With this feedback, we have worked to make the site even easier for schools and children & young people’s organisations to search and connect with great arts and culture in their area.

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The Kent and Medway Collaborative Network (KMCNet), alongside nine other National Networks for Collaborative Outreach (NNCO), are delighted to announce a programme of free webinars for teachers and careers advisors to support students in raising their aspirations to progress to higher education.

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"Our children deserve a broad, creative education, but the Ebacc is giving rise to massive declines in numbers of students able to choose arts subjects, at a time when the CBI demands more creative people."

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The Youth Fund supports organisations whose main purpose is about helping young people (aged 14-25) in the most precarious positions, where making the transition to adult independence is most challenging, and those who are most vulnerable.

"Through this fund we want to promote a way of working where young people’s voices, influence and ideas are central. It aims to enable those with innovative and influential ideas or outstanding practice to sustain and prepare to grow their impact."

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After a new kind of challenge? Why not check out our ENYAN jobs page and see if anything catches your eye? 

Remember, you can also post your own job adverts here - just sign up for a free ENYAN membership and submit your content today.