Website navigation
Impact
Culture Start First Year Review 24/25
Welcome from Nick Maylan
(Chief Executive of Sunderland Culture)
We’re delighted to share with you the first-year highlights of Culture Start, Sunderland’s groundbreaking Place Partnership programme supported by Arts Council England.
Culture Start brings together a cross-sector partnership of groups and organisations who are committed to improving life chances for children and young people who face financial barriers to taking part.
I hope you’ll agree a huge amount has been achieved so far, and we look forward to even more progress in our second year.
Thank you to our fantastic partners and funders who have made this programme possible.
Poverty in Sunderland
In Sunderland, 15,000 children live in poverty. The impact of growing up in poverty seriously affects children and young people’s life chances and choices.
17% of Sunderland’s population is under 16 years old
35% are growing up in poverty (29% nationally)
36% live in low-income households (27% nationally)
71% of children in poverty live in a household where at least 1 person works
42% of children living in families with 3 or more children live in poverty
44% of children growing up in lone-parent families live in poverty
37% of children in families where someone is disabled live in poverty
65% of creative opportunities available through schools have disappeared in the last decade
Sources: 2021 Census data; Sunderland City Council demographic reports, End Child Poverty Coalition 2021-22 data; Children North East; Sunderland City Council “Children Living in Poverty” reports; Public Health England profiles; Arts Council England reports and Cultural Learning Alliance data.
Our Response
Taking part in creative activities builds confidence, skills, aspirations and improves wellbeing. But those who need it most often the least likely to take part.
The starting point for Culture Start is that all children and young people in Sunderland should have access to opportunities to develop their own creativity and experience positive, life-changing impacts.
In Sunderland, Culture Start aims to
Empower schools and community organisations
Spark creativity in children
Ignite creative futures for young people
Create a more accessible creative sector
Year one in stats
Looking ahead to year two
For 2025-26, Culture Start aims to:
Work with more schools to develop bespoke creative programmes for their settings.
Deliver more community-based Creative Sparks Clubs and Holiday Sparks activities for under 12s.
Provide financial support for young people through round two of the Ignite Bursary programme.
Establish our Youth Voice Steering Group and launch our free creative community for young people – Future Creatives.
Strengthen our partnerships with community organisations, including Together for Children, Gentoo, Grace House, Sunderland College and the Sunderland All Together consortium.
Launch the Child Poverty Cultural Alliance in Sunderland, continue Poverty Proofing arts and cultural venues in the city and embed the Impact Framework across our work.
Thank you
We are hugely grateful to our partners, funders and everyone who has supported Culture Start and enabled us to offer a remarkable range of free, high quality creative activities for children and young people who may not otherwise be able to participate.
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, Sir Tom Cowie Fund at the Community Foundation serving Tyne & Wear and Northumberland and the Gillian Dickinson Trust.
