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A group of children and an adult form a loose circle. All are dancing with one foot forward into the circle.
A group of children and an adult form a loose circle. All are dancing with one foot forward into the circle.

About Culture Start

Culture Start is a three-year programme. It aims to reach has children and young people from low-income families in Sunderland. The programme will provide better access to cultural and creative opportunities. This will improve life changes and choices for children and young people. Furthermore, this will help to reduce the long-term impact of poverty.

Culture Start is led by Sunderland Culture, on behalf of a city-wide partnership:

  • Children North East
  • Gentoo
  • Inspired (Sunderland Local Cultural Education Partnership)
  • NE Youth
  • Sunderland All Together Consortium
  • Sunderland College
  • Sunderland Music, Arts & Culture (MAC) Trust
  • Together for Children
  • University of Sunderland

Culture Start is supported by a £1.2m Place Partnership award from Arts Council England through the National Lottery, and generously funded by the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, Sir James Knott Trust, The Sir Tom Cowie Fund at the Community Foundation serving Tyne & Wear and Northumberland and the Gillian Dickinson Trust.

The Culture Start Programme

The Culture Start programme includes four main strands:

Schools and Communities

Culture Start will:

  • Establish the Culture Start Schools Programme, working with 10 identified schools in Sunderland.
  • Introduce or support cultural and creative activities taking place in community settings.

Under 12 Programme

Culture Start will:

  • Set-up and run two creative groups in community-settings in Sunderland.
  • Offer a range of creative activities as part of the Holiday Activity and Food Programme. This will include provision for children that have special educational needs and disabilities.
  • Work with cultural and creative partners to provide free tickets for families.

Young Peoples Programme

Culture Start will:

  • Set-up and run three regular creative group for young people in Sunderland.
  • Administer the IGNITE Bursary Programme. The programme will award bursaries of up to £250 to help young people. Bursaries will help young people develop their creativity, as well as support routes into creative careers.
  • Work with cultural and creative partners to provide free tickets for young people.
  • Celebrate young people’s creativity as part of Bright Lights Festival.
  • Establish a Young Steering Group.

Supporting the Cultural Sector

Culture Start will:

  • Work with Children North East to deliver their Poverty Proofing model. This will take place in key cultural venues in Sunderland. This will remove barriers and provide greater access to Sunderland’s cultural attractions.
  • Establish the Culture Start Pledge Programme. This will outline the cultural sector’s commitment to children and young people’s creativity.

A Targeted Approach

Culture Start aims to reach children (5-11 years old) and Young People (12-18 years old, and up to 25 years old for young people with special education needs and/or disabilities) living in Sunderland.
Working with a network of community-based Referral Partners, we hope to reach children and young people who are growing up in poverty. This will include children and young people who are:
  • In receipt for Free School Meals
  • Eligible for Pupil Premium
  • Living in a low-income household*

*What do we mean by low household income?
Low household income is when a household’s earnings are below the level needed to meet basic living costs such as housing, food, healthcare and education. This could also include not being able to afford a creative activity like this.

The Culture Start team acknowledges that there are also children and young people in our city that are in need of support but might not meet the criteria above. Therefore, we also use the criteria below that can suggest a child or young person is a greater risk of growing up in poverty. This can include children and young people who are:
  • Living with a lone parent
  • Part of a family with three or more children
  • Living with a long-term health condition or have a disability
  • Part of a family with a baby under one
  • Part of a family where the mother is aged under 25
  • From a minority ethnic background
  • Excluded from, or at risk of exclusion from education
  • Care experienced (including those in kinship care)
  • A young carer
  • A young parent
  • Engaged in the criminal justice system
  • Experiencing extenuating circumstances
This eligibility criteria will be regularly reviewed by the Culture Start team.

Find Out More

If you’d like to chat more about Culture Start, please email Michael Barrass.

Michael.Barrass@sunderlandculture.org.uk