There are many sectors, structures, organisations, programmes and projects across artforms that either intersect with creative learning and/or children and young people, or deliver exclusively in these areas.
The Creative Learning and Young People (CLYP) team is committed to increasing opportunities for everyone to engage with the arts, screen and creative industries.
We believe this has huge benefits for us all, but especially for children and young people in terms of skills development, employability and health and wellbeing.
We lead on the delivery of targeted funding programmes and work with our partners in youth arts, education and the third sector to advocate for, strengthen and realise the potential of culture.
Creative Learning and Young People team
- Colin Bradie - Head of Creative Learning
- Sarah McAdam - Youth Engagement Manager
- Morag MacDonald - YMI Programme Manager
- Christine Halsall - YMI Officer
- Kelsey Jubin - Creative Learning Officer
- Sarah Lockhart - Creative Learning Officer
- Jonathan McLean - Creative Learning Officer
- Elizabeth Chambers - Creative Learning Coordinator
- Allan Berry - Youth Engagement Coordinator
The Youth Music Initiative (YMI) team
The YMI team are responsible for the delivery of the Scottish Government’s Youth Music Initiative.
| Name | Role | Email Address |
| Morag Macdonald | YMI Manager | [email protected] |
| Kelsey Jubin | Creative Learning Officer (Formula Fund) | [email protected] |
| Laura Leslie | Creative Learning Officer - Maternity Cover (Formula Fund) | [email protected] |
| Christine Halsall | YMI Officer (Access to Music Making and Strengthening Youth Music Funds) | Christine.Halsall@creativescotland,com |
| Sarah Lockhart | Creative Learning Officer | [email protected] |
Areas of work
The Creative Learning team is committed to increasing the quantity and quality of opportunities for everyone to develop their full potential though the arts and creativity.
We work in three main areas:
- Youth Music Initiative: Creative Scotland administers 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, particularly for those that would not normally have the chance to participate
- Enable children and young people to achieve their potential in or through music making
- Support the development of the youth music sector for the benefit of children and young people
- Time to Shine: The Time to Shine National Youth Arts Strategy was launched in November 2013. The strategy was a Scottish Government initiative delivered by Creative Scotland. It outlines a 10-year vision for youth arts in Scotland. Through this work we also support the National Youth Arts Advisory Group and youth-led funding initiatives.
- Creative Learning Plan: Scotland’s Creative Learning Plan is the result of work by a partnership of organisations working across Scotland in education and creativity and sets out an ambitious vision for creativity in education over the next 10 years.
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 Fund series - no longer open for applications, this included the:
- 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.
- The Youth Arts: Training and Workshops Fund supported 40 online training sessions that took place over 2021. Organised by Children in Scotland, Engage Scotland, Film Access Scotland, Imaginate, YDance & Youth Theatre Arts Scotland, the events were free and open to anyone working in Youth Arts.
Key resources
We’ve 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
- United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child report 2020
- More on work we're doing around Creative Learning and Young People
- Kaleidoscope from the Creativity Portal celebrates creative learning, creative teaching and creative change in Scotland.
Get in touch
We’re very happy to talk to you about projects that might be eligible for our support.
If you’ve 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.
You can contact the Creative Learning and Young People team via [email protected]. Explore the team member list to find out who’s who.
Recent news
You can find out more about our recent work by exploring our Youth Arts related news and stories. Plus, sign up to the Youth Music Initiative newsletter to discover all the latest news, opportunities, resources and funding from the music education sector.