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 100 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 us if you want to share information or resources, or make a call out to the network: hello@icep.org.uk
We also initiate and support shared projects which provide a focus for collaborative activity.
ICEP's first major collaborative project was Hullabaloo22 which took place between March - August 2022. Over 6 months Hullabaloo22 provided a banner to celebrate, amplify and support activity led by network members through which Ipswich's children and young people could express themselves, develop skills, and have a voice through creative and cultural experiences.
Read more about the project and future initiatives supported by ICEP here.
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.
Steering Group
ICEP is supported by a team of people who meet regularly to guide the strategic direction of the network.
