MADE is excited to be to announcing the launch of the second round of our Creative Leadership Programme, welcoming a new group of 20 young people (Year 9 and 10 students) who will be exploring, creating, and learning about leadership within Manchester’s cultural landscape.
This programme offers young people the chance to experience the city’s arts and culture scene up close. They'll be getting involved in facilitated creative sessions, visiting exhibitions, exploring cultural venues and connecting with industry professionals across different areas of the sector. The programme is about gaining leadership skills, building confidence, and opening doors to future opportunities in the creative industries.
For each of the different sessions they will be exploring key leadership skills and areas: Leadership, Creativity, Collaboration, Health and Wellbeing, Critical Thinking and Communication.
For this round we have developed a wraparound Schools Partnership Programme so we are working closely with staff from the 10 schools that the young people are students at. This programme will also feature tailored mentoring sessions and resource for the Creative Leaders and teachers to access for providing their class with an exciting cultural learning experience that will be steared by them!
Kicking Off at HOME Manchester
To start their journey, the group gathered at HOME Manchester for two engaging introductory sessions.
- Session One: Participants worked together to create collages that reflected their individuality and the common threads that connect them.
- Session Two: The group had the chance to hear from HOME’s Engagement Manager, Emily, who shared her personal journey into the creative sector and offered insights into how leadership plays a role in her work. The session also included an exclusive tour of HOME’s theatre and cinema spaces, plus a visit to the powerful exhibition Linda Brogan: MY MUM IS WHITE – Exorcising Half-Caste Ghosts*. The afternoon rounded off with plenty of pizza and conversation.
*The term ‘half-caste’ is used in this context with full awareness of its origins in colonialism and slavery, and in recognition of its later use as a self-descriptor in Britain. Both Brogan and Danquah use the term to signify their shared experience of growing up mixed-race.)
Looking Ahead
With the first sessions setting the tone, we’re excited to see how this new cohort will grow over the coming months — developing their leadership skills, exploring Manchester’s creative spaces, and building connections with each other and the sector.
Context From Previous Pilot
For the pilot, a group of 10–12 Year 9 & 10 students from across Manchester schools were brought together to meet industry leaders and develop leadership skills, while using strategic solutions to tackle problems related to young people accessing Manchester’s cultural offer.
We collected evaluation data and Most Significant Change reports from the previous cohort, which have directly informed our development for the next round. The majority of the group commented on how beneficial the venue visits were in expanding their knowledge of the wide range of roles in the cultural sector.
All participants reported a growth in confidence throughout the project and shared that they had learned new skills. One major outcome was the interest in finding ways to track and showcase their development.
Reflecting on the feedback from young people, we started asking: “How can these young people effectively track and showcase the leadership skills they’re learning?”
From this we have developed Learner Profiles, supported by the Rethinking Assessment team which the young people will be supported in completing throughout the programme.
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