‘Huge step in the right direction’: arts leaders hail move to boost creative subjects in England’s schools

For years, Britain’s leading cultural figures have warned that substandard arts provision in schools is devaluing the sector and creating an increasingly elite industry. But the government’s proposed shake-up of the national curriculum, which includes scrapping the English baccalaureate (Ebacc), has been met with overwhelming positivity, with one figure saying it could end “the madness of the past decade”. On Wednesday the Department for Education said it wanted to boost the creative subjects taken at GCSE as part of its wider changes to England’s national curriculum. The changes were unveiled in the government’s response to the curriculum and assessment review published this week by Prof Becky Francis, which stated: “The arts subjects are an entitlement rather than an optional extra and are disciplines in their own right.” The playwright James Graham, who used his MacTaggart lecture at the Edinburgh TV festival last year to highlight class inequality in the arts, welcomed the end of “the madness of the past decade” in which culture subjects had been devalued. He said: “It’s important now to look to the future and use this as an opportunity to ask what a modern-day arts curriculum should look and feel like for 21st-century kids, and the challenging times they’re growing up.” The composer Andrew Lloyd Webber said he was pleased the government had acknowledged “what some of us have known for years: that arts and music in schools is a fundamental right for young people as part of a successful education”. But he added: “There is still no flesh on the bones in the government’s latest announcement. Fundamental questions remain around funding, the structure of the curriculum and, in the case of music, plans to address the chronic shortage of teachers in this country.” The Turner prize winner Antony Gormley said the “removal of the shadow of Michael Gove and his Ebacc is to be celebrated”, while the sculptor Anish Kapoor argued that the arts brought “a sense of empathy to our younger citizens – something which is deeply needed, especially now”. The number of UK students taking arts subjects has plummeted in recent years, leading to a creativity crisis in state schools. Since 2010, enrolment in arts GCSEs has fallen by 40% and the number of arts teachers has declined by 23%. Research last year found that a decade ago about half of all A-level students took at least one humanities subject. By 2021-22 that had fallen to 38%, with the proportion taking arts subjects such as music, design and media studies dropping to 24%. The latest GCSE data showed the situation had got even worse. Beth Steel, who has regularly campaigned for better working-class representation in the cultural sector, said art, music and drama “are not extracurricular subjects, they are foundational”. The Nottingham-born playwright said a school trip to the Tate and the National Gallery where she saw Rothko paintings as a 14-year-old was a pivotal moment for her. “That visit had a profound effect on me: it was a stepping stone on my path,” she said. “Our government’s decision to scrap the Ebacc and recognise this [issue] is such a huge step in the right direction and is essential for working-class children who may otherwise have no access.” The curriculum review argues that schools do not have enough time to pursue creative subjects, something several arts leaders said was often raised with them by teachers and others who work in education. Maria Balshaw, the director of the Tate, said the teachers she welcomed often complained about “not having space in the curriculum” for the arts. “We think that the creative subjects are vital to create stronger, more rounded, more resilient individuals and we welcome the review focusing on the idea of the arts and the ‘enrichment’ they offer,” she said. Indhu Rubasingham, the director and co-chief executive of the National Theatre, said that over the past decade she had spoken to drama teachers who had left the profession because their subject had been cut by their schools. She said: “We’ll do everything we can to support this next stage of work and ensure that the arts and creativity are at the heart of every school around the country. Without it, there is no way that someone like me would be where I am today.” As part of the shift in focus, the government is proposing changes to performance measures that would encourage take-up of arts GCSEs including music, dance and drama by scrapping the Ebacc suite of subjects. Abigail Pogson, the new chief executive of the Barbican, called the move a “critical shift in education”. She said: “I view it as a long-awaited recognition that we must educate our young people as whole, capable humans, not just minds to be trained.” Alistair Spalding, the artistic director and co-chief executive of Sadler’s Wells, said he was pleased to see a “commitment to strengthen the curriculum content for dance within PE”. He said he would like to see the recent decline in pupils taking the subject at GCSE and A-level reversed and he called for “investment in training to ensure there is a pipeline of teachers and talent in place”. Alex Beard, the chief executive of the Royal Ballet and Opera, said that in “increasingly digital, atomised and polarised times, the arts are needed more than ever” to develop critical thinking, empathy and common understanding. He said extending opportunity and access to the arts through the curriculum would also “help ensure that our art forms reflect the richness and diversity of society”. The saxophonist and composer YolanDa Brown said: “As someone who found my voice through a school saxophone, I know first-hand how life-changing great arts education can be. So I welcome any move that puts music and creativity back at the heart of the curriculum, not as an optional extra but as a right for every child.” Brown emphasised that the proposals must be matched with “proper investment and support for teachers”, including the provision of instruments and rehearsal space. “The real test will be whether a child in Newcastle has the same access as a child in Hammersmith; whether every school, not just the already well-resourced ones, can offer meaningful creative experiences,” she said. Nadia Fall, the artistic director of the Young Vic, said “putting arts back on the table for pupils” was “long overdue and critical”. She said: “It doesn’t mean that every pupil will pursue a career in the arts – though why not? There is a thriving industry out here and we need them. It’s about lighting up all parts of the brain and the person. “Einstein played the violin from the age of six; it wasn’t just a hobby, it helped him work out complex physics problems. Our education system is all too often forced to put things in boxes, however our brains aren’t necessarily designed that way and nor are the emerging industries of the future.” On Wednesday, Ed Sheeran praised the government’s move to overhaul the teaching of music in England’s state schools, having campaigned for change including by signing an open letter to Keir Starmer in January.