A new report released by the Australia Council for the Arts demonstrates the importance of creative learning approaches in schools for building confidence, improving academic engagement and preparing young people for future disruption and change.

The research, undertaken over two years in partnership with the Sydney Opera House, examined the impact of the Opera House’s Creative Leadership in Learning program, which works with schools to embed creative approaches to teaching and learning. The program offers immersive professional learning for teachers and principals, as well as collaborative art projects between students and Sydney Opera House artists that are developed in the classroom or online, with the opportunity to stage these projects at the Opera House as part of the Amplified festival.

A student explains his project to a parent attending the final day of the Liverpool Boys High School Takeover. Photo © Daniel Boud

The report, Cultivating Creativity: A study of the Sydney Opera House’s Creative Leadership in Learning Program, reveals that applying creativity has the potential to holistically impact children – academically, socially and emotionally – and enhance learning across a range of academic subjects, with benefits also reported for teachers, families and communities.

“This...