Between 1989 – 1995 SERP created interventions in the schools it worked with, encouraging participants to question the education process and providing new ways for them to engage with the arts. The project created a model for replication across the country and in doing so gained recognition nationally and internationally.
In 2018 Peckham Platform revisited SERP’s significance, at a time when education policy focused overwhelmingly on measuring attainment through exam results and league tables, and increased bureaucracy coupled with reduced budgets had seen a reduction in the opportunities for young people to engage with culture and the creative process in school.
Peckham Platform’s project had two main strands – securing and reactivating the archive of the original SERP; and public programmes at Tate Exchange and Flat Time House, which presented highlights from the archive alongside new material created through collaboration between artists Barby Asante and Barbara Steveni.
SERP Reactivated was supported by the National Lottery through the Heritage Lottery Fund.
