Cllr Kaya Comer-Schwartz, Executive Member for Children, Young People and Families

11 by 11 is a commitment to providing all children and young people in Islington with 11 outstanding cultural experiences by school year 11. It is a programme that aims to ensure equality of opportunity to enrichment activities, particularly targeting those who are disadvantaged. 11 by 11 also directly responds to the recommendation of Islington’s Fair Futures Commission to enhance life skills through engagement with cultural activity.

That’s why I am really honoured and grateful to be nominated for the LGiU & CCLA Cllr Achievement Awards, for my work in creating 11 by 11.

It especially means a lot to me that Company Three, a youth focused arts organisation who build long term supportive relationships with vulnerable young people through theatre production, applied for me to be nominated. Company Three builds young people’s confidence, develops their life skills and keeps them engaged in fun, positive activities.

From the start, Company Three recognised the potential in 11 by 11 for its simplicity and its collaborative spirit. It makes me proud to think of how the initial conversations focused on how we could use arts and culture to help us develop the Council’s fairness agenda That has now led to 64% of all Islington’s schools engaging with 11 by 11 and 43 Islington-based cultural organisations offering experiences, less than a year since it was launched.

The root motivation for all of us is making Islington the best place for young people to grow up. This has led to a partnership between cultural organisations providing cultural experiences, continued professional development for teachers, employment speeches for young people and re-purposing learning resources from projects they deliver elsewhere in the country.

Another key player in the success of 11 by 11 is the Islington Community of Schools. The group has been working to: re-align their schedules to enable their pupils access to the offers, sharing their expertise in what works for young people and delivering learning around the experiences, as well as opening links into our community and creating new audiences.

The Council has acted as the convener of the partnership, steering it through our fairness agenda. It has added its own resources practically, such as the ‘menu’ website which enables schools to sign up for experiences, but also sharing expertise across the council i.e. planning, employment, communications, arts team and children’s services to enhance the partnership. All without any money changing hands because financially all the partners are under pressure, due to lack of investment from national government.

Programmes such as this are particularly important for children from disadvantaged backgrounds, who might be less likely to be exposed to the sort of cultural experiences their more well-off counterparts benefit from. 11 by 11 helps to bridge that gap and ensure they are on a level playing field.

It is early days for 11 by 11 but I am determined to ensure it really delivers for young people by supporting their wellbeing, giving them key life skills and opening up future work pathways that they can enrich and diversify.