‘What are you doing?’ ‘Oh, I’m just looking at the art!’ Children in residence at Tate Liverpool

Schools are important in helping children to successfully engage with culture and cultural institutions, and the Henley Review of Cultural Education in English Primary Schools (DCMS, 2012) and the Cultural White Paper (DCMS, 2012) recognised this. However, research findings from around the world flag up challenges in building effective relationships between schools and cultural institutions (Mathewson-Mitchell, 2007). The location: Liverpool City Region The research team acknowledges that the Liverpool City Region holds a possibly unique position, which may impact upon how teachers, children, parents and schools perceive and interact with cultural institutions. The Liverpool City Region has the largest number of cultural institutions within the UK outside London. It is home to six national museums, Tate Liverpool and a range of smaller museums, galleries and arts organisations across the city, many offering extensive learning programmes for the local audience, including schools. T