Cultural and sports activities help people find ways into lifelong learning. They provide alternative options to gain qualifications, particularly among those hardest to attract into formal education or place in employment.

Participation in cultural and sports activities helps:

• develop skills that can be used in other areas of life and work
• build confidence
• raise aspirations and increase ambition
• get people into mainstream education and training
• improve job prospects
• provide a pathway into employment in the cultural sector and other industries.

Knowledge and information, as well as skills, are becoming more important to our lives economically, socially and as citizens. Museums, libraries and archives have a central role to play in ensuring everyone has access to the information and knowledge they need. Libraries provide community information and a gateway to other services, including as ‘one-stop’ shops for local authorities. They are particularly effective in reaching people who are less well off or have difficulty reading.

See what Cheryl Coppell, Chief Executive of London Borough of Havering Council and former Chief Executive of Slough Borough Council says about cultural services as inspirers of learning and creativity.

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