The Arts in Schools - Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation

to be essential to the future development of this work andhope that other arts associations will recognise the potentialhere.Individual companies have also seen this need. Among thefirst to act on it was the Greenwich Young People's Theatrein their appointment of a Schools Liaison Officer. Sheargues that companies need a liaison officer, operating witha full knowledge of the company's educational policy,'. . . to initiate putting theory into practice with teachers,to understand teachers' struggles in schools, to fulfil theneed for continuity of contact, to be available to teacherswhen actor/teachers are rehearsing, designers designing etc.It is a role whose priority and responsibility is to formand maintain links with teachers, the focal point of contact,facilitating access to the process that makes teachersaware of TIE as part of a coherent educational framework,not as a peripheral activity.' (Bennion, 1980, p48)Equally, the role of liaison officers now being appointed tothe national subsidised companies goes far beyond addressingmarketing policies to schools. The task is to project suchcompanies as educational resources and to encourage greaterunderstanding both of their work and working methods.212 Creatinga problem213 Theneed forco-operationA successful education policy assumes a company's capacityto deal with the extra demand on performances, workshopsand lectures which it is likely to create. Some existing schemesare moving forward tentatively both for lack of experienceof the educational world and also for lack of funding forthe extension of existing activities. This is one of a numberof reasons for looking for new patterns of co-operationbetween arts organisations and educational bodies.We see a clear need for closer co-operation between regionalarts associations and local education authorities. A number ofregions have already taken this step. In Leicestershire, in1974, the County Council agreed that its responsibilitiesin the arts should be delegated to a newly-formed ArtsCommittee of the Education Committee. This has facilitatedcloser links between the schools, the District Council and theRegional Arts Association. It has also led to a number of thosefrom the professional arts joining the Arts Committee asHonorary Advisers to work with elected members.The Lincolnshire and Humberside Arts Association hasformed an Education Liaison Committee which drawstogether representatives from each local education authorityin the region to discuss educational policies and funding with124