We have passed a milestone. Prospero now has over a 1000 member schools and education partners. Alongside schools in the UK, we now have artists and educators accessing our library of creative digital resources in such diverse settings as Singapore, Ireland, the US, Australia, Kenya, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia and more. We have seen teachers, students and artists using Prospero to learn performance techniques and creative writing skills, learning about climate change and the partition of India as well as becoming personally resilient in the global battle against COVID-19.

We have also welcomed a host of new partner Producers, who are working to develop new resources to benefit young people and learners across the world. For example, resources are being created to support victims of domestic abuse in Trinidad, autistic girls in the South East of England and emerging artists in our home county of Worcestershire. There are numerous other initiatives which we want to share with you when the time is right.

Whilst these developments are exciting in and of themselves, the bigger picture is one to celebrate too. Prospero is now not just an online catalogue of resources, its an online community of over 1000 partners, collaborators, arts organisations and education institutions. Its a place for artists and educators who care about theatre, creativity and learning. Its a place for people who are passionate about the creative potential of our diverse planet and the capacity for the arts to inspire, educate and empower.

The idea of a 1000 schools working together is a truly exciting one. In the coming months we are going to work to shift up a gear, expanding the scope and reach of our community and sharing new and exciting opportunities and working to find our voice and direction. Today we are announcing the next steps we will take on this journey. We will reveal more details in the coming weeks, but here are some teasers of what is to come:

• The first Prospero Digital Storytelling Festival, with 30 young people from across Worcestershire creating and sharing their own special brand of interactive drama, media, video games, music and stories.

• An ongoing programme of Prospero Forums: following the sold-out success of our Rough Winds events, we will host a series of online discussions for teachers, artists and educators to discuss and explore creativity, technology and learning

• A major new online theatre collaboration, bringing together children and young people across the globe.

• A radical expansion of Prospero’s functions putting its creative tools directly into the hands of students in classrooms enabling them to make their own digital portfolios alongside message boards and assessment tools.

• Collaborations with members of the Council for Subject Associations, bringing their expertise across the curriculum to Prospero.

• New resources for outdoor arts and creativity and for Forest Schools

  We anticipate demand for these opportunities to be high. To ensure our Prospero community gets first sight of what’s on offer, we will first these opportunities exclusively available to Prospero members. If you haven’t already, sign up for your free account now and make sure you check the Newsletter box to get advance notification. Of course please try any of the free resources already in the Prospero Library to get a flavour of what’s to come. We look forward to welcoming you to Prospero and to our next milestone: 2000 schools!