News

Today the Education Policy Institute published a report Entries to arts subjects at Key Stage 4, in which it has analysed entries to arts subjects between 2007 and 2016.

-9% drop in arts GCSE entries 2016 to 2017

-28% drop in arts GCSE entries 2010 to 2017

This month we bring you news from Westminster including a possible curriculum fund; reports on inequality, arts and health; and a new focus on curriculum signalled by Ofsted.

The government has finally published its long-awaited response to the English Baccalaureate consultation.

In this post we give you the headlines and what it means for cultural learning.

As part of the English Baccalaureate consultation response the Department for Education has published Trends in arts subjects in schools where English Baccalaureate entry has increased. The DfE has looked at 297 schools where the number of pupils entering EBacc subjects has increased, and asked if there were changes to the number of pupils entering at least one arts subject. They take 2011 as their baseline, not 2010, when the EBacc was introduced, and do not classify Design & Technology GCSE as an arts GCSE.

On 15 June Ofqual published its provisional figures for 2017 entries to GCSEs and A Levels. We will not know the final official numbers until August when the Joint Council for Qualifications publishes its data, but the picture continues to look bleak for entries to Arts GCSEs: a decline of 8% on last year’s entries and of 27% in entries in the same subjects since 2010.

This month we bring you the EU-UK Culture and Education Series Community; STEAM news; a pledge for children’s arts; new Heritage Ambassadors; a new ACE evaluation toolkit; training and volunteering opportunities; and the Towards Cultural Democracy report.

Over the last month we’ve had a general election, a newly configured Ministerial team has been announced, and yesterday a Queen’s speech set out the government’s proposed legislative agenda for the next few years. This post sets out the headlines of what this all might mean for cultural learning.

This month we bring you news of manifesto asks; the new Durham Commission on Creativity and Education; condemnation of Free Schools policy by the Commons Public Accounts Committee; Arts Council England Tailored Review results; NUT and ATL survey results; a new DfE consultation on Primary assessment; the new Chair of Ofsted; and the Get Creative Weekend.

As we write the political parties are putting together their manifestos which we expect to be published in the next couple of weeks, in readiness for the general election on 8 June. There are a number of items which we would like to see included in the manifestos to protect and enhance children’s access to cultural learning and arts education in schools. Please flag up these actions when you speak to your local candidates and make sure they know how important children’s access to arts and culture is to you personally.