This month we bring you news of Ofsted research on teaching music; guidance from the DfE on teaching for education recovery; research from the Centre for Cultural Value demonstrating public belief in the power of the arts to improve wellbeing; a call for stories from Dance graduates from One Dance; and how to get involved in the social media campaign #ArtIsEssential.

Over the past year colleagues across all of the art subjects have been working to review and change representation in the arts curriculums they deliver or support. This blog summarises the activity to date by subject and signposts ongoing activity you may find useful.

Department for Education figures published 17 June show that between November 2019 and November 2020 the number of hours the arts were taught in secondary schools overall increased by +2% and the number of arts teachers did not change. However, Design & Technology continues to see falls; in the last year the number of teachers and hours taught fell by -7%. The number of children in England’s secondary schools went up by +2% over the same period.

This month we bring you news of a Welsh Labour manifesto commitment to a National Music Service; the #ProtectStudentChoice campaign fighting for BTEC funding; the new Future Skills report from Kingston University; why a change in recording date means that children most in need are missing out on pupil premium funding; the call for Proposals for the World Alliance for Arts Education Virtual Global Summit and an uplifting video compilation of Tweets from the Festival of School and College Arts.