If the review of English schools led by Prof Becky Francis leads to a boost for the arts, this will be an excellent outcome. Already, many young people have good experiences of creative learning. Art and design is a popular GCSE, while class assemblies and concerts are a staple of the primary school calendar – in real life as well as the latest Bridget Jones film.
But the disparity between the opportunities at state and private schools is enormous. And the interim report of Prof Francis’s panel takes seriously concerns that the arts have been squeezed out of too many children’s learning. The national curriculum, it points out, is meant to “engender an appreciation of human creativity”. But since 2010, when schools were encouraged by Michael Gove to guide pupils towards a GCSE combination of English, maths, science, a language and history or geography, the arts have been relegated to second fiddle.
GCSEs are, of course, not the be-all and end-all. Not everything that happens at school leads to an exam. But the decision by the government to place a higher value on other qualifications had an effect. There are many reasons to regret this, as this column has argued before. Our capacity for creative expression and imaginative sympathy is part of what makes us human. In the UK, the creative industries are hugely important economically as well as culturally. Encouraging the development of these capabilities in childhood – alongside literacy, maths and so on – ought to be a core task of educators.
Up to a point, it already is. Children generally draw, dance and sing before they write. But efforts to raise standards in primary schools, under both Labour and Conservative governments, saw the emphasis on play and creativity reduced while literacy and maths learning was ramped up. In secondary school, similarly, a strong emphasis on academic attainment combined with cuts meant that the take up of arts subjects, including drama, fell back.
The review also highlights calls from parents for more applied learning – for example, financial and interview skills. It notes that views on the curriculum are very diverse. But the early, positive signs are that the current emphasis on the English baccalaureate will be reduced in favour of the more flexible Progress 8.
The overall picture is complicated. Evidence suggests that standards in maths and science have risen in English schools. But the failure of attendance to bounce back since the pandemic is deeply concerning. The latest figures show that the absence rate in 2023-24 was 7.1%, compared with 4.7% in 2018-19. Pressure on Send provision (for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities) is intense – with councils facing a collective £5bn deficit, and absence rates troublingly high for these pupils. The declining mental and emotional wellbeing of children and young people is among the gravest challenges facing our health service and society.
It would be glib to claim that more dancing or painting in classrooms would solve these problems. But, as John Harris described in an article last weekend, for some children creativity is hugely important, while in educational terms it can support inclusion. The concentration of the arts in private schools and wealthy areas is unjust – not simply because, along with science and maths, they can be a route to good jobs but because participation in arts and culture is life-enhancing.
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