createjobslondon.net

What It Is

A New Direction is an award-winning London-based charity whose core mission is to help children and young people develop creativity, engage with culture, and realize their creative potential. It is not a traditional online course platform; rather, it is a network of projects and resources built around education, culture, and employability skills. Its audiences include London schools and teachers, cultural and arts organizations, young creative talent, and employers.

Core Content and Format

Based on the collected content, its education/course-related offering mainly appears in several areas: classroom resources, CPD, events, and LookUp opportunity search for schools; Cultural Sector Masterclasses, peer learning, and toolkits for the cultural sector; and Creative Connect career guidance plus Create Jobs paid opportunity listings for young people aged 18–30. Course topics cover creative teaching, arts education, climate issues, AI, wellbeing, citizenship education, STEAM, and inclusive progression. Dreamachine Lesson Plans provide 30 lesson plans and were developed in partnership with organizations such as the British Science Association and UNICEF UK. Some science resources are described as CREST Award Accredited.

Pricing and Certificates

Projects explicitly stated as free include Primary Arts, which is aimed at London state primary schools and SEND settings, and Space for Exchange, an eight-month peer learning program. Jobs posted via Create Jobs are emphasized as paying at least the London Living Wage, but platform usage fees are not specified. Specific pricing for Cultural Sector Masterclasses, Creative Connect, and other offerings is not disclosed. Apart from some CREST-accredited Dreamachine resources, it is unclear whether other programs provide certificates.

Pros and Cons

Its strengths are its strong charitable mission, broad resource coverage, and ability to connect schools, cultural organizations, young people, and employers. It is especially friendly to London-based schools and young people, while Create Jobs’ emphasis on paid opportunities helps reduce uncertainty for newcomers entering the creative industries. Its drawbacks are clear geographic limitations, with Creative Connect also restricted to specific London boroughs. Many programs lack clear information on pricing, places, certificates, and complete learning pathways, making it less suitable for users looking to purchase standardized courses or earn structured certifications.

Who It’s For and Access from China

It is best suited to London school teachers, cultural education practitioners, arts organization project staff, and London-based young people aged 18–30 who want to enter the creative, cultural, or digital industries. For users in China, the content is mainly in English and highly localized, making it more useful as a reference for researching the UK’s creative education and cultural employment ecosystem. The source text does not provide information on access from mainland China, so the access status is unknown.