Creative Partnerships National External Evaluation Audit

Author: David Wood, John Hole, Rachel Payne, Phil Whitehead, Mandy Winters, with ex-HMI Peter Muschamp as an advisor

Institution: Oxford Brookes University

Full reference: Wood, D., Hole, J., Payne, R., Whitehead, P., Winters, M., Muschamp, P.(2008) Creative Partnerships National External Evaluation Audit Report. Newcastle: Creativity, Culture and Education

Summary of key findings

Oxford Brookes University were invited to conduct a three year audit of the Creative Partnerships self-evaluation model covering 2006/07 – 2008/09.

The first year’s audit looked at the use of a self-evaluation model known as the ‘Creative Partnerships Evaluation Toolkit’, which had been introduced and rolled out nationally in 2006. The researchers found that the Toolkit was a valid means of evaluation and made recommendations around refining the toolkit and making changes to the training of those staff responsible for implementing it in their local areas.

The second year report found that Creative Partnerships had considerably improved its system of evaluation in 2007/8 Creative Partnerships had been revised and relaunched as three new schools strands, Enquiry Schools, Change Schools and Schools of Creativity with a refined version of the ‘Toolkit’ plus a new tool called the ‘Creative Schools Development Framework’, which was found to be a useful and familiar approach to school self-evaluation and a contribution to securing the legacy of Creative Partnerships.

In the final report the researchers concluded that the Creative Partnerships Schools Planning and Evaluation Framework was widely seen by teachers, creative agents and ADO staff as necessary, and was securing largely consistent Creative Partnerships practice across the country. The final report offers a summary narrative about the development of Creative Partnerships evaluation, reviewing the audit recommendations and Creative Partnerships’ responses over the three years of audit. The researchers found that the planning and evaluation of Creative Partnerships projects had been positively developed and refined in response to their recommendations.

Research Questions & Methodology

The purpose of the external audit was to:

• analyse the Creative Partnerships project planning and evaluation process across the country, commenting on the principles of the national framework and whether completed planning and evaluation reports are rigorous, fit for purpose, consistent, and comparable;
• validate and disseminate regional strengths and good practice in planning and evaluation;
• synthesise and interrogate issues common to Creative Partnerships’ Area Delivery Organisations.

Each year the audit team:

• reviewed ten sample evaluation reports from each Area Delivery Organisation (ADO);
• visited a number of representative ADOs to observe evaluations taking place and interview key staff;
• made visits to further ADOs, to look at specific themes;
• scrutinised a range of supporting evaluation material from ADOs.

Over the three years of the audit the researchers visited all Area Delivery Organisations and scrutinised around 900 Creative Partnerships projects.

Read the report.