News

This month we bring you news of new funding for Creative People and Places; the RSA Strong Arts, Strong Schools event and call for Evidence Champions; Nick Gibb, Minister for School Standards at the Education Select Committee; the first results of the OECD Education 2030 research; and the Arts Council England Corporate Plan.

A case study from Buryfields Infant School and Artswork. Buryfields collapsed their timetable for two weeks to run a STEAM project which combined science, art, drama, music and geography. They worked with visiting artists, STEM Ambassadors and scientists.

Arts GCSE entries continue to fall:

-9% decline in arts GCSE entries 2017 to 2018

-34% decline in arts GCSE entries since 2010

This month we bring you a possible end to Floor Targets; a highly critical report from the Health and Education Select Committees on the government’s Children’s Mental Health Green Paper; this month’s advocates, including 100 artists and the CBI; plus details of the Go Creative – Get a Job! Conference.

Ahead of Mental Health Awareness Week from the 14-20 May, we are launching our new Briefing written in partnership with the children’s mental health charity a Place2Be.  Including a foreword from a Place2Be’s President and Founder Dame Benita Refson, the briefing sets out why the arts make us happier and healthier and are key to supporting children’s good mental health.

The current decline – key statistics 

• Arts GCSE entries have fallen 28% since 2010;
• Number of hours arts subjects are taught in secondary schools has fallen 17% since 2010;
• Number of arts teachers is down by 16% since 2010.

This month we bring you all things careers and employability related: news of new careers advice requirements for schools; careers support from the arts sector; how to become an Enterprise Advisor; plus wise words from this month’s advocates and what we’ve been reading on Twitter.

Following a governance review last year the CLA Steering Group reformed the CLA’s structure. From now on, a Strategy Group will set the CLA’s strategic direction, supported by an Advisory Panel of colleagues from across the arts and education sectors.

On 10 April Nick Gibb, Minster of State for School Standards, announced that there is now funding to the tune of £496 million for arts in schools. The Department for Education (DfE) news story stated:

‘Music, art and design, drama and dance are included in the national curriculum and compulsory in all maintained schools from the age of 5 to 14. The additional £96m takes the total level of support for music and arts programmes to £496 million since 2016.’

Given all this you would be forgiven for thinking the crisis in the arts in schools than much has been written on recently (see BBC, Daily Mail, Economist, Evening Standard and Guardian articles) has been averted. This is not the case.

Growing up North, a new report from the Children’s Commissioner published on 26 March, looks at the experiences of children in the North of England. It calls for the poorest children to be put at the heart of the Northern Powerhouse plans, with a similar focus on children’s outcomes that is given to economic regeneration.