Nottingham's Cultural Rucksack
Building a Cultural Guarantee for pupils across Nottingham
Teachers and arts professionals are working together to create inspirational arts experiences that align with the school curriculum and meet the needs, aspirations and interests of young people. Celebrating the rich heritage and cultural diversity of Nottingham is an important element of this work, ensuring young people grow up feeling connected to and valued by their city.
JOIN US on Wed 16 July in the afternoon for our Summer Gathering at Nottingham Contemporary - a mixture of workshops to feed your creative spirit, presentations and talks from arts organisations and networking/stalls to help your planning for 2025/2026!
BOOK HERE Choose to come from 1-3.30pm, 4-5.30pm or the whole afternoon!
Cultural Rucksack Underlying Principles:
· Creativity: encouraging all young people to develop their creative talent.
· Citizenship: linking the Cultural Rucksack to ideas of active citizenship and participation.
· Place: pupils should learn about, identify with and a feel part of their own city.
· Equity: linking the offer to an entitlement for all, not just the more advantaged.
· Sustainability: strengthening partnerships that will move beyond projects and dependence on individual relationships, to develop high quality experiences that support and extend the curriculum.
Cultural Rucksack
How is your school engaging with arts, heritage and cultural organisations?
We invite all Nottingham Primary and Secondary City schools to become a Cultural Rucksack School.
You will receive:
- A directory of Nottingham arts providers’ offers
- A bi-monthly digital newsletter to your inbox with latest news and opportunities. See latest issues: Primary enews & Secondary enews (June 2025)
- An annual wall planner with key dates in the city’s cultural calendar
- A parent and carers digital newsletter
You will access:
- CPD opportunities from ChalleNGe and our partners
- Culturemeets - termly online networking sessions (4-5pm afterschool)
- Bespoke support on organising visits to Nottingham's cultural venues.
- Opportunity to feature as a case study on the ChalleNGe website
You will contribute to:
- Shaping Nottingham's cultural education offers
- Championing creativity in schools and communities
Join us for in-person and online networking sessions and teacher CPD
Our next in-person event will be a Summer Gathering bringing together teachers (both Primary and Secondary) on Wednesday 16th July at Nottingham Contemporary.
You can come from 1 - 3.30pm or 4 - 5.30pm or join us for the whole afternoon!
As well as hearing presentations from our Arts Partners, there will be a range of hands-on workshops in visual arts, dance, theatre, music and STEM. FREE. Book here
Plus, dates for next year's CultureMeets (online network meetings) will be publicised too.
Watch past Culturemeet recordings.
"The principle that underpins the Cultural Rucksack is that everyone who goes to school in Nottingham is entitled to access and enjoy the cultural resources of their city. To turn this principle into a practical reality, we need teachers and arts professionals to work together - to make plans, to create new opportunities and connections, to help students learn about and engage with what’s available."
Professor Chris Hall, University of Nottingham
Cultural Rucksack Approach
Schools Cultural Rucksack Commitment
Providers Cultural Rucksack commitment
Providers Cultural Rucksack commitment
1. We are working towards embedding arts, creativity and cultural education within and across our curriculum.
2. We actively promote a broad range of creative experiences for all our pupils. This is part of our school ethos and is reflected in our vision and values statements.
3. Our curriculum reflects the rich diversity and cultural heritage of Nottingham.
4. We use our arts and cultural programme to strengthen connections to our local community.
5. We value the opportunity to work with a range of external arts and cultural providers and professionals across the City and will develop an in-depth engagement with at least one provider over a period of time.
6. We will engage with the arts and cultural support hubs across the City.
7. We have identified a staff member/team to take the lead on our arts and cultural curriculum and to be an ambassador(s) for culture and the arts throughout the school.
8. Staff have access to professional development opportunities to support arts and cultural teaching and provision.
9. We provide the opportunity for our pupils to reflect on their arts, culture and creativity experiences to influence future planning.
10. We actively share our commitment to arts and cultural education to our pupils and wider school community.
Providers Cultural Rucksack commitment
Providers Cultural Rucksack commitment
Providers Cultural Rucksack commitment
1. We have identified a clear ‘core’ offer, available to schools on a consistent basis, that allows teachers to plan in advance and integrate the offer into their curriculum.
2. We have identified a staff member/team who will lead our work and communication with schools.
3. We work collaboratively with other providers to share knowledge and highlight arts and cultural opportunities for Nottingham schools, including offers that complement our own.
4. We will explore and develop longer-term partnerships with schools to support progression in teaching for creativity and the arts and cultural curriculum.
5. We will work with schools to support professional development of staff in both the education and arts and cultural sectors.
6. Where appropriate we will highlight employment opportunities and pathways into the Creative Industries when working with pupils.
7. We are a member of the ChalleNGe Operations Group and will provide ChalleNGe with regular updates on our offers for schools.
8. We will ensure that our entry onto Nottingham’s Cultural Map is up to date.
9. We explore the opportunities available through the Artsmark Partnership Programme
