About us
Ipswich Cultural Education Partnership (ICEP) is a network of people who work together to create and support opportunities for children, young people and their families in Ipswich to access vibrant, creative and inclusive cultural-education experiences.
Who’s in the partnership?
ICEP is free to join and currently includes over 80 members - individuals and organisations - from education, arts, heritage, community, and local-authority settings. Anyone who's committed to supporting Ipswich's young people to thrive is welcome to join us as a partner.
As this website develops, you will be able to find all the partners here in one place.

Our Collective Aims
Participating in cultural-education and creative activity can support educational attainment, aspiration and wellbeing. ICEP aims to create, develop and support activity that enables more young people to benefit. We can do more collectively than we could separately, and our shared priorities are based on local needs and opportunities identified by ICEP partners.
Working with educators to enrich the curriculum
Developing motivation, aspiration and inspiration to have successful careers in the creative sector
Attracting children and young people to the cultural offer in Ipswich
Increasing the range and diversity of children and young people accessing cultural activity in Ipswich, actively removing barriers and championing inclusion
Developing creative skills for life, especially supporting mental health and resilience
Supporting attainment in creative subjects
Developing schools as hubs for high-quality arts and cultural experiences
Whole-family engagement in culture
What does ICEP do?
ICEP encompasses a wide range of partners who deliver a huge variety of activity. Our aim is to support and champion each other to do more collectively than we could separately.
Through ICEP, partners can connect and share information and resources through a mailing list, network meetings, and peer-led sharing or skills-development events. Please join the network or contact Jess (ICEP Partnerships Officer) if you want to share information or resources, or make a call out to the network. jess@icep.org.uk
We also initiate and support shared projects which provide a focus for collaborative activity.
ICEP's first major collaborative project is Hullabaloo22 which will take place between March - August 2022. Over 6 months Hullabaloo22 will provide a banner to celebrate, amplify and support activity led by network members through which Ipswich's children and young people can express themselves, develop skills, and have a voice through creative and cultural experiences.
As we develop our collaborative activity, starting with Hullabaloo22, we will build evidence and demonstrate impact about the value of cultural education in Ipswich on this website.
Who runs ICEP?
ICEP is one of over 100 Local Cultural Education Partnerships in England. It is funded by Suffolk County Council and Arts Council England (via Festival Bridge), and supported by Ipswich Opportunity Area plus all its partner organisations and individuals.
ICEP is brought together by a Partnerships Officer. Please get in touch with Jess Croll-Knight with questions and opportunities: jess@icep.org.uk


Steering Group
ICEP is supported by a team of people who meet regularly to guide the strategic direction of the network.