The Hastings and Rother Arts Education Network seeks to help redress the balance of diminishing cultural resources in schools.
Established in 2013 the network brings together schools, cultural organisations and artists in meaningful, lasting relationships.
Working with partners in Hastings and Rother in East Sussex, the focus is on using local resources for local schools, creating sustainable projects that embed culture into young people's everyday lives.
We offer regular networking meetings for teachers and practitioners, information exchange including newsletters, opportunities for cultural engagement and bespoke cultural projects; supporting teachers in the classroom, artists working in schools and organisations offering cultural outreach.

Recent News from HRAEN

CREATIVE EXCHANGE ROUND-UP 
Thank you to everyone who attended our Creative Exchange sessions across East Sussex in July. These were a wonderful opportunity to bring everyone's voices into one room to help plan the future of Hastings & Rother Art and Education Network (HRAEN) and how we can effectively work together going forwards.

Key takeaways:

• Over 40 attendees participated in-person across sessions in Bexhill, Eastbourne, and Lewes, with 14 additional online survey responses.
• Discussions focused on barriers and enablers to young people's creativity, highlighting the need for space, time, and recognition of creative practices.
• A youth-led approach is deemed essential for supporting creativity, with encouragement to inform young people about careers in creative industries.
• The online survey identified lack of funding and resources as major barriers, while access to artists and creative professionals was cited as a key enabler.
• Priorities for the network focus on connecting arts with education to create meaningful creative opportunities for young people.

HRAEN JOINS THE ARTS COUNCIL ENGLAND X ROYAL BALLET & OPERA LCEP DEVELOPMENT PLAN

Recently, HRAEN was invited to join Arts Council England's collaboration with Royal Ballet & Opera on their LCEP Development Plan. This is a great next step for HRAEN, and shows that the work we are doing is making a big impact already to be recognised on this scale. We can't wait to join this network, and will be using the insights from our Creative Exchange sessions to bring your voices into this meeting.

"...and if we truly wish to use all our talent, offer opportunity for all, and increase social mobility, then access to arts and culture must remain high on the agenda, whether in school or outside school."
Darren Henley OBE

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THE NEXT HRAEN MEETING WILL TAKE PLACE IN THE NEW YEAR - INFORMATION COMING SOON 

As we are currently taking a pause to put together an ACE bid and engage with the LCEP programme, we wanted to make sure that you weren't left wondering when the next network meeting would take place. We are planning a meeting for the new year, but we will send through dates and information before the December break.

WANT TO JOIN OUR STEERING GROUP TO HELP THE FUTURE OF ARTS EDUCATION IN SUSSEX?
If you would like to be more involved in shaping the future of HRAEN, please drop us an email on [email protected] to get more information about the steering group, we'd love to hear from you!

"It was through dance lessons at school that a world of opportunity and freedom opened up for me. To be able to express myself now through my work is entirely down to this first opportunity. I wholly support a programme that offers young people the chance to experience the same high quality arts education. Experiencing and participating in the arts can genuinely change the direction of someone's life and it is in our schools that these first encounters should take place." 
​Hofesh Shechter