Starcatchers is carrying out some research into the potential of an Early Years Creative Network for Scotland.
Director of Starcatchers, Rhona Matheson, has kindly provided some contextual information for the Creative Learning Networks:
“How do organisations working with early years connect with creativity? As Starcatchers has evolved over the last 6 years I have been aware that there are a wide range of creative and arts experiences available to parents, families and child care settings in Scotland, however there seems to be a gap in how people communicate about this work – for example we have been working in East Glasgow for more than 2 years with a fairly high profile through our work with Platform, however there are still settings and organisations who don’t know what we do and vice versa.
When Starcatchers was part of Imaginate, we created a ‘Starcatchers Network’ to try and give people opportunities to come together and share practice – this wasn’t just about sharing the Starcatchers experience but also about sharing the practice that other organisations or nurseries were delivering and there seemed to be demand from the people engaging with us for access these kinds of activities. I always felt that there was a way that an early years creative network could be more cohesive and respond to the policy and funding context in Scotland and with the needs of those engaging with it.
The consultation and research we are undertaking at the moment is a means of exploring this. Through individual conversations, consultation events and an online questionnaire, we are trying to engage with a wide group of people in Scotland to understand what potential there might be for this kind of network. We want to engage with arts and education sectors as well as play, health and social work and get a really good understanding of the landscape and need.”
There are clear links between the NCLN, CLNs and an Early Years Creative Network for Scotland. If you are interested in contributing to this discussion, please sign up for one of the consultation events – you can download the invitation here: Consultation Invitation.
