Creative Partnerships to become independent body

Creative Partnerships, Arts Council England's (ACE) programme for schools in England, is set to become an independent organisation from April. The new body, Creativity, Culture and Education (CCE), will be based in Newcastle.

As part of the move, Tyne and Wear Museums is to run Creative Partnerships in Northumberland, Newcastle and Gateshead. "Tyne and Wear will be a partner with the CCE in the next financial year, but the details are still being worked out," an ACE spokeswoman said.

Alec Coles, director of Tyne and Wear Museums, said: "We are the preferred partner for Creative Partnerships in Northumberland and in Newcastle Gateshead and we hope that we will be confirmed as a fully-fledged delivery partner in the near future. This partnership sends out a powerful message about how the museums and arts sectors can work together productively."

Arts Council England, which has managed Creative Partnerships since its launch in 2002, will provide £75m in ringfenced funds from 2009 2011 (its largest single grant in that two-year period) for the CCE. By April 2009, Creative Partnerships will have received £207m in government funding.

The project, which has developed partnerships between schools in deprived areas and a broad range of cultural organisations, has so far encompassed more than 2.000 schools, which have shared the £207m.

Meanwhile, the Find your Talent cultural participation scheme, which comes under the Creative Partnerships umbrella, is likely to be run by the CCE, according to an ACE spokeswoman.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport; Department for Children, Schools and Families; Museums, Libraries and Archives Council; and ACE have provided an extra £25m for Find Your Talent from 2008-11.