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Creative skills to support young people in accessing creative opportunities

Are you a young person looking for a way to get involved with arts and culture? Check out these local clubs near you.

Are you a young person interested in pursuing a creative career? Check out Culture Box Surrey's website to find your creative career.

Escalate Arts’ vision is a thriving creative culture across Spelthorne with activities designed by and for young people, providing accessible pathways into the arts and creative industries. We are committed to working in partnership with a wide range of organisations, bringing together community, cultural, creative industries and educational sectors to achieve this.

We are always keen to explore new partnerships. Here are some examples of recent initiatives.

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Research and evidence

Escalate Arts is committed to ensuring that opportunities for young people are shaped by evidence as well as experience.

Working in partnership with Royal Holloway, University of London, we are carrying out research into creative skills and career pathways across Surrey. The project brings together the views of young people, parents and carers, educators, employers, artists and community organisations to better understand the opportunities available, the barriers young people face, and how organisations can work together more effectively.

The findings will help inform future investment, partnership working and the development of creative pathways, ensuring that young people have greater access to meaningful creative experiences, skills development and careers across the county.

Help shape creative skills and career opportunities for young people in Surrey

We are inviting people across Surrey to support an important piece of research exploring young people's experiences of creativity, skills development, career aspirations, and future opportunities.

The research is being led by Royal Holloway, University of London, on behalf of Surrey County Council, and will help inform future investment, programmes, and support for young people across the county.

We are keen to hear from a wide range of young people, parents/carers, teachers, employers, and people who work with young people. The surveys explores topics including:

  • Creative interests and activities
  • Career aspirations and future pathways
  • Skills development and employability
  • Barriers to participation and progression
  • Young people's views on opportunities available in Surrey

The surveys are anonymous, take approximately 10 to 15 minutes to complete.

We would be extremely grateful if you could circulate this widely across your networks.

Thank you for helping us build a clearer picture of the opportunities, challenges and ambitions of young people across Surrey.

Creative Pathways Network

Launched in 2024, the Creative Pathways Network brings together organisations who support young people, to develop stronger creative pathways for young people in Surrey.

The network events aim to:

  • Share best practice, signposting and opportunities for collaboration
  • Improve signposting
  • Ensure processes are needs driven and informed by data

Through working together we want to see the following outcomes:

  • More young people enter creative careers
  • Young people have improved wellbeing through participation in the arts
  • Install a lifelong love of the arts
  • Using the arts to develop transferable skills

Recent network events have focused on topics such as:

  • What are barriers to engagement for young people accessing the arts in Surrey?
  • What approaches do we share towards inclusivity?
  • What are the current methods towards signposting young people to existing opportunities?

If you are interested on attending these events on behalf of your organisation contact culturalservices@surreycc.gov.uk

Surrey Youth Arts and Culture Festival

Now in its fourth year, the Surrey Youth Arts and Culture Festival is a partnership project, delivered by up to 30 creative and cultural organisations. The festival provides free workshops and performances for young people aged 11 to 18 years in a whole range of creative subjects and aims to encourage participation in the arts and promote the fantastic creative skills development opportunities we have available in Surrey.

Save the Date: Saturday 26 September 2026

Last year the festival engaged over 1700 young people, including school assemblies, workshops and performances.

Digital Badging

Many of the skills young people develop through creative activities are highly valued by employers but are often difficult to demonstrate through traditional qualifications alone.

Escalate Arts is developing a digital badging framework to recognise these skills and achievements. Young people will be able to earn digital badges by demonstrating capabilities such as creative practice, collaboration, communication and leadership through real projects and activities.

Digital badges provide a verified, shareable record of achievement that can be used in digital portfolios, CVs and professional networking platforms. By recognising learning that takes place beyond the classroom, they help young people articulate their skills, build confidence and demonstrate their readiness for further education, employment and creative careers. This approach also enables organisations to recognise and celebrate young people’s progress in a consistent way.

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