Future Fwd - Warwick, UK
ARTS & CULTURE
The value of arts, music, and culture within the context of education has perhaps been lost in recent years.
We want all national policymakers to understand the core value of arts and culture in the development of young learners, so that we can work towards a vibrant education that integrates them and allows students to reap the benefits.
Certainly, involvement in the arts goes far beyond simply enjoyment for pupils; it acts as a gateway to involvement within the wider society. If we are to witness a society of the future whereby passionate individuals make genuine and meaningful contributions to arts, culture and music, we need to give young people the tools to make that happen – and that starts from the ground up.
At this year’s conference, we aim to provide the platform for tangible change to be made.
We welcome a host of passionate stream leaders and speakers whose specialism in arts and culture will allow us to continue to champion a holistic education offering that re-aligns the valuable role of the arts within education.
This year, stream speeches include talks on:
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‘Leading cultural education: developing teachers’
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‘Partnership working to support creativity: potential models, challenges, and opportunities;
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‘National Children’s Orchestra: Reimagined for impact’
If you are similarly passionate about giving young people the tools to develop their passion for arts, culture, and music, and want to feel inspired as to how we can champion them in your own sphere of influence, you won’t want to give this stream a miss at Future Fwd 2024.
Richard Hart
Delivery Lead, Warwickshire Music
Richard is passionate about music and the positive and profound impact it can have on the lives of children and young people.
With over 30 years of work in the education sector, his musical journey has enabled him to gain a wealth of experience as an instrumental teacher, a classroom teacher in both primary and secondary phases, and as a curriculum and school improvement advisor.
Richard has also spent time working in Initial Teacher Training and has led several Music Services, Cultural and Education organisations across the Midlands and East of England regions.
Since late 2020 he has been the leader of Warwickshire Music and the Warwickshire Music Education Hub.
Dr Steven Berryman
President of the Chartered College of Teaching
Dr Steven Berryman is an arts and cultural educator who contributes widely to music education. He is the current President of the Chartered College of Teaching (2022 – 2024) and holds a variety of non-executive director roles, including school governance. Steven is one of the first Chartered Teachers and a Founding Fellow of the Chartered College of Teaching.
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Steven was formerly Director of Music at the City of London School for Girls (2015-2020); for the 2019-2020 academic year was seconded to the Education Strategy Unit at the City of London Corporation, leading cultural and creative learning projects across the family of schools in the City. Previously, Steven taught at the Junior Departments of the Royal Academy of Music, Trinity Laban and taught music at the North London Collegiate School. His recent roles include leading music across families of schools in multi-academy trusts and teaching at King’s College London, the Royal College of Music and the University of Buckingham.
Steven has contributed widely to educational press, expert roundtables, examining and as an arts education practitioner, including work as a composer; recent work includes projects with the Royal Opera House, London Philharmonic Orchestra, NMC Recordings and Ofqual. 2021 – 2022
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Steven was a member of the DFE/DCMS expert panel to refresh the National Plan for Music Education – the refreshed plan was published on 25 June 2022. Since February 2024, Steven has been part of the team working on the secondary music curriculum at Oak National Academy.
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Steven was granted Freedom of the City of London in 2017 and is a Liveryman of both the Worshipful Company of Educators and Musicians
Anna Rimington
Director of Learning KS5 & OAE Liaison
Anna Rimington is a part of the senior leadership team at Acland Burghley School, a mixed comprehensive in Camden.
Her responsibilities include leading the school’s sixth form which is part of LaSWAP, the oldest and largest sixth form consortium in London. Anna also oversees creative arts provision which includes liaison with the school’s resident orchestra, The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment (OAE).
The OAE moved into Acland Burghley School in September 2020 becoming the first orchestra to take up permanent residency in a UK school. Anna looks forward to speaking about What Happens When an Orchestra Moves into a Secondary School…
Rachel Landon
Chief Executive Officer at Music in Secondary Schools Trust
Rachel, having worked for a number of years at Highbury Grove School and more recently The City of London Academy Highbury Grove, has considerable senior leadership experience. She has a BA and PGCE from Loughborough University and an MSC from Bayes Business School in voluntary sector management. As the current CEO of The Music in Secondary Schools Trust, she has expanded the charity nationally, more than quadrupling its reach and its charitable donations. Rachel is also Vice Chair and Lead for Safeguarding at an Inner London Primary School. Rachel has a National Professional Qualification for Headship (NPQH) and National Professional Qualification in Executive Leadership ( NPQEL). As a passionate advocate for the arts in schools Rachel is looking forward to speaking at Future Forward and sharing her experiences across multiple schools.
Sophie Lewis
Chief executive - National Children's orchestras
Sophie joined NCO in 2018 as Chief Executive to oversee a period of substantial organisational change and development. NCO is a national orchestral learning programme for 650 children each year aged 8 to 14 years old from across the UK. Sophie is responsible for the strategic development and overall management of the charity. Sophie is also Chair of the Association of British Orchestras (ABO).
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Before this, Sophie spent ten years as Chief Executive of Sinfonia Cymru in Wales, a chamber orchestra dedicated to supporting young professional musicians. During her tenure, the orchestra became a revenue funded organisation by the Arts Council of Wales. For this achievement, Sophie was awarded the inaugural Orchestra Manager of the Year Award by the Association of British Orchestras in 2012. Sophie has held previous roles at Welsh National Opera, Arts Council England and English National Opera and acted as a mentor for the British
Council/ABO Orchestral Leadership Programme and represented the UK on the jury for Classical Next.
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In 2017 the National Children's Orchestras of Great Britain asserted a new vision, new learning framework and embarked on wholesale organisational change. Advance 7 years, NCO is now an Arts Council of England funded National Portfolio Organisation and a leader in the field of orchestral innovation in music education. Sophie Lewis and Catherine Arlidge will share their leadership and organisational journey, with a few candid epic fails, as a model for increasing impact, relevance, diversity and resilience.
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We are particularly looking forward to speaking at Future Forward 2024 because we have been so inspired by previous conferences and really value the opportunity to consider how music and what we do contributes towards the skills and attributes our future workforce will increasingly need.
Adam Whittaker
Head of Pedagogy, Royal Birmingham Conservatoire
Dr Adam Whittaker is Head of Pedagogy at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire and is an internationally recognised scholar in musicology and music education. He has researched widely in the fields of music education and musicology, and has taught music in a range of settings. His work on the music qualifications landscape and music education hubs has been referenced in Parliament and he has appeared on a variety of BBC radio programmes exploring music education.
Catherine Arlidge (MBE)
National Children's orchestra
Catherine is the Artistic and Educational Director of NCO, as well as Sub Principal Second Violin in the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. As a violinist she has performed, recorded and toured internationally, working closely with conductors including Simon Rattle, Mark Elder, Andris Nelsons and Sakari Oramo. With a passion for education, she has also always worked in schools and settings beyond the concert platform.
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At NCO her role encompasses establishing the learning framework, programming, commissioning, building tutor teams and supporting the aspiration and development of exceptional young musicians.
She has presented at conferences internationally, on a broad range of topics from The Musicians of the Future, to Collaborative Leadership to Musicians as Place makers. She currently sits on the governing body of the Shireland CBSO Academy, and previously spend 6 years on the board of the Assocation of British Orchestras.
In 2016 she was awarded an MBE for services to music education.
Sandwell CBSO Team Led by Tom Spurgin
City of Birmingham symphony orchestra
Tom Spurgin is the Director of Learning & Engagement at the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO), and leads on work for children and young people, communities, choirs, and talent development across the organisation. He joined the CBSO in 2022, having previously worked across the music and music education sectors.
In partnership with the Shireland Collegiate Academy Trust, the CBSO opened the Shireland CBSO Academy in West Bromwich in September 2023: the first state school in the UK to be opened in partnership with a symphony orchestra. Working in partnership with SIPS, the local music education hub for Sandwell, the school aims to offer opportunities for all students to make music and feel the benefits of a creative education.
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The team from Shireland CBSO Academy and CBSO are excited to join Future Fwd this year to connect with like-minded colleagues from across the sector and to hear about excellent work happening across the country.
