News and Ideas
The latest news and thinking from RIO – the Arts Council Bridge Organisation for the South West of England
Make a Music Video with West End Stars
Golden Toad Theatre has gone green in collaboration with West End stars, Courtney Stapleton (Six) and Joe Griffiths-Brown (Hamilton), are encouraging children to engage in theatre through song, dance, and a little bit of gardening! With their touring musical stage...
Free Online Music Production Course for 16-25 NEET
Creative Youth Network are continuing to provide online sessions, learning and opportunities for young people to stay connected, keep creative and provide aspiration for the future. One programme, which is becoming more important than ever due to unemployment rising...
National School Survey
The pressures educational leaders and professionals, are under is undeniable. It has been inspiring to witness how education settings and their communities have worked together to engage children and young people during the challenges of COVID-19. In particular we...
International Agatha Christie Festival – Story competition
Are you an aspiring writer? Show off your talents with a story competition from the International Agatha Christie Festival. More information below: Calling all young writers! We want you to write a story of no more than 1,000 words, and submit it to the IACF 2020...
Kindness & Inclusivity in our Schools in 2020
To mark the end of Pride month, Pavilion Dance South West will be hosting two special events with Andrew Moffat MBE. Both events will be taking place next week, Tuesday 30th June, and will be discussing the importance of kindness & inclusivity in the current...
On Air with Soundart Radio!
In need of some extra creativity for the kids? Soundart Radio is inviting young people to be a part of their radio show! The show will be reflecting back on your own lockdown experiences. All you need to do is record yourselves for 5 minutes! You could discuss your...
Stars Support New UK Youth Theatre Offer for Young People
Stars of stage and screen including Jodie Prenger, Mark Gatiss and Jo Joyner are just a few of the professional actors contributing to a digital workshop programme now available in the areas thanks to a digital programme being launched by Prime Theatre. The company is...
Refugee Week is coming – Activities for Children and Young People
Refugee Week 2020 kicks off on 15 June, and children and young people everywhere are invited to take part, at school or at home. The festival is happening virtually for the first time this year and the theme is ‘Imagine’, which is an invitation to all of us share the...
RIO Online Artsmark Development Day
Artsmark registered? Ready to start your journey? Sign up for one of our online development day sessions between now and the end of term! Artsmark development days provide the essential training for education settings who have registered for Artsmark but not yet...
From Lockdown With Love – bringing people together through creativity, art, music and much, much more. Are you getting creative whilst we’re in lockdown? Share a photo of your creations with us using #FromLockdownWithLove to share a message of love, hope and unity....
Some of our Favourite Things
This week's favourite things! Royal Opera House – Serene Swan Headdress Real Ideas’ Bluff it Into Film – Get creative with archive Tate Kids – Soap Carving SS Great Britain – Stuff to do at home Links to ideas, activities and support for children and families during...
Crowdfunder’s Pay It Forward Campaign
Pay it Forward: support for small businesses during COVID-19 pandemic In light of the sharp downturn in income felt by small businesses across the UK due to COVID-19, Crowdfunder and Enterprise Nation will provide the tech and tools to enable small businesses to...
B-side Curators and Artists Mentoring Programme
NEW ARTISTS MENTORING PROGRAMME From March 2020 - March 2021 b-side will train, mentor and support 5 young visual artists from the Borough of Weymouth & Portland (and surrounding areas) to develop, try and test new creative ideas that are specific and/or...
Youth Folk Sampler Days Coming This Summer
The English Folk Song and Dance Society are very excited to announce that they are providing more Youth Folk Sampler Days this summer. Aged 12-18? Play an instrument confidently? Want to take part in an inspiring day of music making? Sign up for a free place at the...
Big Emotions – Mindful Music for Little People
Big Emotions: Mindful Music For Little People Big Emotions: Mindful Music For Little People by Laura Loft, is a new creative wellbeing resource aimed at EYFS & KS1. A beautifully illustrated story and creative journey through Little Boy’s imaginative inner world...
Bristol Old Vic RE:SOURCES
Bristol Old Vic have now launched four online resource packs for KS2 teachers. These are intended to help allow small and rurally isolated schools benefit from working, whether directly or indirectly, with a large city-based arts organisation. The Old Vic have worked...
Nesta: Classroom Changemakers
Classroom Changemakers is a Nesta award programme for teachers and teaching assistants with great ideas to encourage creativity and problem-solving in maths and computer science. There is broad consensus that skills such as creativity and problem-solving will be...
InspirED Primary Arts Conference: Creative Science for Young Explorers
9:30am - 3:30pm Thursday March 5th 2020 The Brewhouse Theatre InspirED is a partnership of three award-winning arts organisations, bringing rich, cultural experiences, arts education expertise, and national opportunities to children, young people and schools across...
Arts Award Celebration Week 2020 #LoveArtsAward
#LoveArtsAward From 10th - 14th February we will be beginning the celebrations of 15 years of Arts Award! Throughout the week we'll be sharing the stories of the wonderful Arts Award activity that is happening across the south west, from Gloucestershire to Cornwall....
Exploring Creative Literacy – Free Event in Bristol
11:00 am – 03:00 pm, 5th Feb Bristol Museum and Art GalleryQueens Rd, Bristol BS8 1RThis event is free for everyone interested in creative education — teachers, artists, freelance producers, researchers etc., all welcome. How can we give every child the chance to have...
Mini Art Foundation for Teens at St Ives School of Painting
The Mini Art Foundation gives teens the chance to try subjects often not taught at school: Printmaking, Fashion, 3D, Figure Drawing, Mixed Media and Painting. The workshops run on fortnightly Sundays, 1-4pm in term-time and are taught by professional artists in our...
The Opportunities of Ofsted
In September, schools across England woke to life under a new Ofsted Inspection Framework which features a shift away from data-driven outcomes and towards a broader ‘quality of education’. As part of this there is a renewed focus on the breadth and balance of...
Commissioning Creativity – Real Ideas on the Durham Commission
Teaching for creativity in schools must be prioritised to equip young people with the skills they need in later life, according to the recently published report from the Durham Commission on Creativity and Education report. The Commission, a collaboration between Arts...
Reliving Operation Neptune at Trebah Garden
This year, Trebah Garden Trust commemorated the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings with their performance of ‘Operation Neptune’. Based on the true stories from the thousands of US troops who left from Trebah’s beach and the local residents who witnessed it,...
Q & A with South West Museum Development
Eleanor Moore is the Sustainable Volunteering Officer for South West Museum Development. Here she talks to us about her role in the organisation and how they support Museums in the South West. Could you tell us the role and aims of South West Museum Development?...
Illuminating Plymouth for Mayflower 400
For four cold evenings at the end of November each year, the Illuminate light festival transforms locations across Plymouth with beautiful projection mapping, light art installations and playful interactive content, created by local, national and international...
Bristol Old Vic RE:SOURCES CPD Session
RE:SOURCES CPD Session | 10th Feb, 3:00pm - 5:00pm | Free Entry To celebrate the launch of their new online heritage resources, Bristol Old Vic are hosting a CPD session for KS2 educators. Led by Michael Gorley, Historic England’s Local Heritage Education Manager for...
I Know, I Wish, I Will – Submit Your Own Poetry to a National Competition
As part of the celebrations to Eastside Educational Trust’s 25th anniversary, they’re inviting all young poets aged 5-25 across England to join I Know, I Wish, I Will – the world’s longest youth-led spoken word poetry marathon! This free-to-enter spoken word...
Paper Nations presents: Time to Write
Creative writing incubator Paper Nations has launched commissions for writers who face barriers to developing their writing and having their voices heard. The commission will support writers from under-represented groups and backgrounds from Somerset, Gloucestershire,...
Tech Challenge for 11-16-Year Olds
Nesta Challenges’ £1m Longitude Explorer Prize is calling on young people across the UK to develop innovative AI solutions to society’s biggest issues, including living longer, living healthier and living greener. The Prize aims to inspire entrepreneurship among a...
Artsmark Partnership Programme Briefings – Free and Happening Near You!
As Bridge organisation for the south west, we at the Real Ideas Organisation are as enthusiastic as I’m sure you are to make sure that children and young people across the region have access to excellent art, museums and libraries. With any luck, you might also know...
Rising Arts Agency are Looking for a Creative Producer to Join Their Team
Rising Arts Agency are looking for a dynamic Creative Producer to join their small team. This is a chance to lead on Rising's two year Arts Council funded leadership programme BE IT, modelling a unique programme of leadership development that suits young people’s...
Building Bridges – Building Early Childhood Music Collaborations
How partners in music collaborations can enhance young children’s learning and development. Friday 18 October 2019, 9:00am - 4:00pm Room 605, Rolle Building, University of Plymouth Nicola Burke will lead an exploration into how partners in a music collaboration can...
Museums Futures Taster Day
Bristol Culture and South West Museum Development are delighted to be working with British Museum for their ‘Museum Futures’ training programme. This is a year-long paid traineeship for 18-24 year olds, new to the cultural heritage sector and interested in growing...
Arts in Education: A New Hope
Well, here we are again. Another summer done and another set of exam results underlining the parlous state of arts and creativity in schools. On A Level results day the BBC reported that ‘since 2014, the number of A-level entries in arts subjects, which include drama,...
BFI Film Academy Open for Applications
Do you any of the young people you know or work with love film? Are they aged 16-19? Are they interested in working in the creative industries? The BFI Film Academy Bristol is now open for applications. No experience or qualifications are necessary just an interest in...
Lord Kenneth Baker: GCSE reforms have ‘done a lot of damage’ to arts and technical subjects
The creator of the GCSE has condemned the English Baccalaureate (EBacc) in a letter to the new education secretary Gavin Williamson, the Telegraph reports. Lord Kenneth Baker points out that since 2010, entries for DT have fallen by 65 per cent, dance by 46 per cent,...
Automation Prototypes – Invitation to Apply
The South West Creative Technology Network are looking to invest in prototypes that use creative technologies to deliver original processes, experiences, products, services or platforms within the field of automation.
Into Film Youth Advisory Council
Into Film’s Youth Advisory Council was set up in 2013 shortly after the organisation was formed, to ensure that youth voice is at the heart of their work.
Future Make – Preparing Young People for Creative Futures
At RIO we are completely into the conversation of what the future of skills employment means, but also firmly believe the best way of working stuff out is doing it. Therefore we have developed Future Make.
Making Creative Careers a Reality
Careers in creative subjects can only come about through a passion for getting involved in a hands-on kind of way. At Richard Lander School, we encourage our young students to do just this.I would argue that the transferable skills that students learn from their...
Play Torbay to Bring Dartington Quest to Ordinary/Extraordinary Arts Festival
Play Torbay will bring the Dartington Quest to the Ordinary/Extraordinary Arts Festival in October 2019 to support learning disabled young people with an interest in the arts enable the creation of a wholly inclusive event.
WANTED: Young Mystery-Story Writers Across Devon
An opportunity to get students writing creatively during the school holidays, The International Agatha Christie Festival (IACF) is creating a new writing competition for young people living in Devon or attending a Devon-based school to be recognised for their skill at composing a plot, originality and the quality of their written English.
Papatango Present: WriteWest
Papatango theatre company have recently launched their programme of new writing in the south west: WriteWest.
Pathways Into Children’s Publishing
Pathways Into Children’s Publishing is a ground-breaking new two-year illustration programme for diverse, talented and ambitious artists taught by world-class illustrators and writers, university tutors, children’s editors and art directors. Pop Up Projects CIC have...
Young Company Taster Sessions at Bristol Old Vic
Bristol Old Vic Young Company would like to invite young creatives from around the city to try a free taster session on Sat 29 Jun. Bristol Old Vic Young Company provides an environment of playful creativity; allowing young people to experiment with different...
Beyond Face – 2,000 Stories
Beyond Face theatre comapny will be making their debut in the Drum, Theatre Royal Plymouth this June with their new show 2,000 Stories, as part of the Mayflower 400 programme. “I’m bringing everything I ever knew- everything good, strong, kind and powerful. I bring it...
Into Film
Into Film are a registered Artsmark Partner Organisation endorsed by Arts Council England, who aim to support schools in achieving their Artsmark Award accreditation. Whilst examining how they can match the Artsmark assessment criteria to their Into Film Programme for...
New Programme for Disabled Young Artists and Creatives
If you are a young disabled artist or creative from Dorset aged 18 to 30 years old, who is looking for support to develop a career in the arts or to develop a saleable product, this programme is for you. Supported by The Arts Development Company, this diverse group...
Youth Voice Training
Upstart Projects have announced a Birmingham training session for arts and cultural organisations to improve their offer for young people. The half-day session, on Tue 21st May, will support NPOs at Goal 5, Artsmark Supporters, Arts Award centres/Supporters, LCEPs and...