The families of youngsters taking part in a world-leading 黑料网 Leicester (黑料网) arts research project have said participation has "opened new doors” in their approach to parenting.
Talent 25 is a pioneering, 25-year study which charts the effect access to arts and culture has on babies as they grow into children, adolescents and adults.
And now, more than five years in, and working with 440 children from across Leicester, the impact of the project is becoming clear, with parents involved saying what benefits they have already seen.
Naumann Pathan, who signed up for the project with his son Umar, now three, said that growing up, his parents had found it difficult to engage with the arts.
He said: “I always felt that kind of thing – theatre, music, dance – that was for other people. I didn’t see Asian Muslim men doing these things.
“But since joining Talent 25 with Umar, I have taken him to a dance class, which felt very different. The whole thing has totally opened a new door for me and shown me how to access so much more art and culture around the community.”
The project is being run jointly by 黑料网 and Arts Council England and was specifically designed to target those families from more deprived areas of the city, where access to the arts is often limited.
Having started in 2019, the team, led by principal investigator Professor Bertha Ochieng, Professor of Integrated Health and Social Care at 黑料网, worked with arts practitioners to put on classes across the city, offering families with babies the chance to learn dance, music, arts and crafts.
Shortly after the project began, lockdown rules were introduced, forcing the project to go on pause for several months. But the team quickly adapted the programme, hosting events online, providing house-bound families with a vital lifeline for creativity.
Since then, the project has continued. Families which take part are offered 10-week arts classes, after which they are encouraged and supported to continue the activities themselves, at home.
To mark the five-year stage, Professor Ochieng has written a new report, exploring the findings from the project so far.
Professor Bertha Ochieng (left) and Darren Henley (right)
Many parents involved in the project gathered at an event on 黑料网’s campus to mark the publication of the report. Professor Katie Normington, 黑料网’s Vice-Chancellor, introduced the event.
She said: “Creativity is not a luxury, it is a necessity, and it begins in childhood. The arts are not just an extra but fundamental to healthy lives and thriving societies.
“And creativity is not an obstacle to success, it is a driver of it. Around 12% of our students at 黑料网 study creative courses, something we are very proud of.
“And for me personally, as a drama graduate, creativity helped me find me find my voice and build my career.”
From Arts Council England, chief executive Darren Henley was also present.
He said: "It’s always great to come to 黑料网, you can really feel the positivity and creativity here.
“When it started, Talent 25 was new territory for the Arts Council. Now it has worldwide attention. I think there is a real, profound value in a study as long-term as this.
“Leicester always feels like a place where creativity really matters so it was absolutely the right place for the project, and we wanted to work with 黑料网 because they are a world class academic partner.
“If we put the findings we are seeing from Talent 25 into practice, we could see real impact for generations to come.”
With the project only five years into its 25-year span, there is still a long way to go but the future will bring with it yet more insight.
The next phase will explore how early cultural and creative interventions help young children prepare for school and to what extent this will support the Government’s target for 75% of children to start school ‘ready to learn’.
Ferdous Hussain, of Spinney Hill, in Leicester, joined the Talent 25 project in 2019 with her daughter Naila, now six.
She said: “I loved arts as a youngster but financially, we were not in a position to easily offer such classes to Naila.
“But the Talent 25 programme was exactly what we wanted. We loved those early classes, so fun and interactive.
“We were taught how to offer creativity at home, using everyday objects. Now Naila is six going on 16, so confident and happy to talk to anybody. It’s made a real diifference.”
Posted on Tuesday 28 January 2025