12 November 2024

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Guidance and Evidence to use in your Curriculum Review Submission

The Government’s Curriculum and Assessment review launched in July, and the Call for Evidence is open between 25 September and 22 November 2024. This a huge opportunity to have your say in the education system in England after 14 years of a stark decline in expressive arts subjects in schools. You can access the review form here and you can save the sections as you go along.

Introduction
General points to consider as you make your submission
Subject specific guidance
Section-by-section guidance
Evidence bank

Introduction

CLA evidence can be extremely helpful for submissions:

Setting out the problem – In setting out the problem (the decline in arts education over the past 15 years): use the 2024 Report Card
The equity point – In making the social justice point about equitable access: use the enrichment gap section in the 2024 Report Card (see pages 33-36)
The value point – In saying why this is a problem – i.e. the evidenced benefits of an arts-rich education: use our new draft Capabilities Framework (see below) and our 2017 Key Research Findings
The solutions – In making suggestions for improvement: use our Blueprint for an arts-rich education

The Arts in Schools report is also full of rich data, evidence and solutions for you to use. And our Briefing Papers provide further supporting evidence. We have also put together a summary evidence bank.

Our Capabilities Framework has been developed by our Evidence and Value Narrative Working Group over the past year, and is still in draft form, but we are sharing a simplified version here as we are finding it helpful in describing why embedding expressive arts education in England’s schooling (across curriculum, assessment, qualifications pathways and accountability measures, at all phases) is important. We are in the process of connecting each capability to the related evidence.

Expressive arts subjects teach children to work, alone and together with others, to investigate, develop, interpret and communicate their ideas and understanding. We know that expressive arts subjects support young people to thrive and to belong – in their schools and in their communities – and that the value of the experiences, skills and knowledge that they acquire through expressive arts subjects can be described through three pillars; these in turn encompass seven capabilities that have personal benefits for the child, which in turn lead to societal benefits: agency, wellbeing, communication, empathy, collaboration, creativity and interpretation. These seven capabilities are described – within their three distinct pillars – below. Each of them is important in supporting children and young people to achieve and to thrive.

Capabilities Framework

BEING, BECOMING & BELONGING

Agency | Wellbeing

1. Agency – confidence | identity | autonomy

2. Wellbeing – self-worth | resilience | pleasure

RELATING

Communication | Empathy | Collaboration

3. Communication – self-expression (including oracy) | listeningskills | relationship building

4. Empathy – compassion | understanding and appreciation of difference/s | open-mindedness

5. Collaboration – co-operation | participation | connectedness

CREATIVE & CRITICAL THINKING:

Creativity | Interpretation

6. Creativity – imagination | curiosity | originality

7. Interpretation – independent critical thinking | reflective judgement | meaning-making

We hope to have a more detailed draft Framework up on our website soon. You may want to focus on selected capabilities, but we see all seven as being important for children’s outcomes. Some capabilities lend themselves to particular review questions (e.g. Qu. 24 is largely about empathy and communication, i.e. capabilities 3 and 4 in our Framework).

GENERAL POINTS TO CONSIDER AS YOU MAKE YOUR SUBMISSION

General practical points about the review and your responses:

Overarching purpose: To consider the broad ambition for what every young person should be expected to achieve by age 18 and review the existing curriculum and assessment mechanisms to determine the best means of achieving this.
Evolution, Not Revolution: Building on existing strengths and successes without unnecessary changes.
Anyone can respond – young people, parents, teachers, governors, education professionals, experts, and stakeholders – do encourage as many people as possible to have their say.
Other voices: Encourage and support the chairs/chairs of governors of your organisations to respond – it is helpful for the review to hear from figures outside of arts and education who might also be employers.
Pick your questions: You do not have to answer all of the questions (10-54), there are plenty that may/will not be relevant for you, including the section on English and Maths (Qus.16-21) which we will largely not address.
Repetition is fine: It is better to repeat information than not to answer a question.
Evidence and data are important: Decisions will be based on solid evidence.
Aware of trade-offs: We are being told to consider practical implementation and avoiding extra workload for teachers and school leaders.
Focused on key issues: There is a desire to address significant curriculum and assessment issues without destabilising the system.
High-quality curriculum: They are committing to a comprehensive curriculum for all students up to age 16.
Removing Barriers: They want to ensure access to quality education and pathways for all students.
Engaging with education professionals, experts, parents, students, and stakeholders.
Not in scope: EYFS; extra-curricular activities such as careers advice, enrichment activities and work experience (but the Review may link to other work/thinking on this); core schools funding; workforce supply issues.

Some broad content points (in addition to our section-by-section guidance):

For us it’s not just about the arts: Many of the points we make and the problems we identify are as much about the wider context in which learning takes place as about the specific challenges for the expressive arts in schools. Our suggestions for improvement across changes to curriculum, accountability and assessment align with widespread calls for education system change.
Terminology: We use the term expressive arts in our submission. We do think it is important to embed ‘expressive arts’ and an area of learning experience/curriculum area. By this we mean art & design, dance, drama, music – and film and digital media. We would argue for the inclusion of film and digital media within this curriculum area, as in Wales, due to its importance in young people’s lives and in the world of work.
Creativity: Creative thinking is not unique to the arts and there is general agreement that the terms creativity and the arts are not interchangeable. They are two separate things. Creativity is an approach to learning (that can also be applied in the real world), rather than being a subject in itself, and is not particular to the arts. Nor is all arts education creative per se. Many aspects of the arts require things other than creativity: for example, the practice and rehearsal for a play or orchestral performance are often repetitive and restricted in the extent of improvisation or interpretation. Creativity and creative learning approaches are important, but this is distinct from learning through expressive arts subjects. In our Capabilities Framework (above) we describe creativity as one the seven capabilities that arts subjects and experiences provide, under the umbrella of creative and critical thinking.
Putting children first: We put the needs of children and young people at the centre of response to the review and want to see a love of learning brought back into the classroom, for teachers and learners. The next generation deserve a better and more meaningful educational experience than has been on offer since 2010.
Teacher agency and confidence: There should be more space in the curriculum for the development of a rich pedagogy and to craft meaningful learning experiences for pupils – teachers need more agency and more support to develop and maintain a high-level of subject knowledge.
Learner agency: There should be more agency for children and young people built into the schooling system. Learning should be more meaningful and engaging and there should be more argentic learning opportunities. The arts curriculum deliberately builds independent thinking and acting – so that young people are working on big, ambitious projects by the time they get to A-Level. Having the arts as integral to the curriculum means that learners, as they progress, get an opportunity to develop agency, self-regulation, independent working etc. These aspects of the agency capability (see Capabilities Framework above) aren’t accidental but are structured into arts curriculum sequencing and into the pedagogy.
Assessment: In questions around assessment, we have long endorsed the approach of Rethinking Assessment and we would direct the review to their recommendations.
Progression through primary to secondary: If young people are to take advantage of a secondary arts offer, they need a firm foundation in the primary years. If children in primary schools have opportunities to explore the widest range of arts activities, it is possible for them as young people to explore and benefit from the arts subjects for which they have developed an affinity, and which can enable them to flourish and thrive.
Secondary: For young people to engage with the arts in such a meaningful way, secondary schools need the full complement of arts specialists, and primary schools need arts-confident teachers. They also require the full range of arts practices to be available at GCSE and A-Level and across vocational qualifications.
Cultural organisation partnerships: The school/teacher/cultural organisation ecology is valuable in supporting supported young people to be cultural citizens – active cultural producers and critical appreciative audiences in the present – as well preparing them for an active cultural future (Thomson & Hall, 2023)
Civic engagement: Large-scale studies point strongly to the arts, and arts subjects, supporting active civic engagement. See our 2017 Key Research Findings.
Don’t dichotomise: It is worth stating that the arts should never be seen in opposition to any other subject areas, such as the sciences or humanities. They are of equal value, each helping the others to build a narrative of human development, and dichotomising them in any way is an outdated and unhelpful approach. We also reject attempts to dichotomise knowledge and skills.
An education of the head, body and heart: We value Big Education’s description of an education of the head, heart (character, wellbeing, identity, belonging) and hand, but would extend the ‘hand’ point to ‘body’ – given the importance of embodied learning within expressive arts subjects.
Arts pathways: Expressive arts subjects offer a pathway through school to further education and employment. The arts pathway is integral to creating a more expansive, inclusive and equitable school system, in that all children with interests and talents in the arts can pursue them through to graduation. This pathway requires an expanded qualification framework. The arts BTECs are important, particularly for disadvantaged young people and those in alternative provision settings: these qualifications help them to maintain or to acquire life options.

SUBJECT-SPECIFIC GUIDANCE

We would suggest that in addition to making the case for a broad and balanced education with the arts as an equal subject area, it will be important to make the case for specific arts subjects. Our colleagues at the relevant subject associations have prepared really valuable guidance for this, so do take a look at this as you prepare your submissions. At the time of writing guidance is available on some of these sites, but not all, so do keep a look out for it.

Art & Design: Guidance from the National Society for Education in Art & Design
Dance: Guidance from One Dance UK
Drama: Guidance from National Drama
Music: Guidance from ISM and Music Mark

We know that art and design GCSE take up has not fallen in the dramatic way that it has for all other arts subjects, but we know there are specific reasons for this, relating to a significant and corresponding decline Design & Technology, which mask a hidden decline. This is addressed on page 14 of our Report Card.

OUR SECTION-BY-SECTION GUIDANCE

We have set out our guidance section by section below. You can access the review form here and you can save the sections as you go along.

This section asks for general views on the current curriculum, assessment and qualifications systems.

Our view:

No aspect of the current system across works well in supporting high-quality and equitable access to expressive arts education. We do see pockets of excellent, high-quality practice driven by teachers and school leaders committed to an arts-rich education for their students. However, this is delivered by brave and courageous educators in spite of a system which mitigates against it. The excellent practice we do see is largely not visible, not consistent, and not sufficiently widespread. It is patchy, variable and unsupported by accountability structures which do not value the arts. The arts are thriving in some exemplar schools which demonstrate what can be possible within the current system if there is a commitment to a rich arts curriculum offer being a critical part of a school’s culture and the educational experience.

Cultural, creative and expressive arts subjects have largely been sustained through the ongoing commitment, energy and skilled practices of individual schools and teachers, arts subject associations, and dedicated charities and arts companies.

Aspects of the system that should be targeted for improvement are set out in our Blueprint and include: having equal curriculum areas, including expressive arts, mapped onto new, clear purposes for schooling; ensuring a minimum arts entitlement within the school week to the end of KS3 which is scaffolded and delivered through all phases; reform of the school accountability system; changes to assessment in line with Rethinking Assessment; and an entitlement to high-quality arts teacher training and development, with a minimum level of arts training for primary teachers to ensure subject knowledge. There should be a new emphasis on a rounded learning experience for the personal development of the ‘whole child’ and a new focus on representation, breadth and relevance across the arts curriculum, resources, and practice.

This section looks at how the curriculum and assessment system could be improved in order to support pupils, particularly the socioeconomically disadvantaged and those with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).

Evidence to include:

Here we would particularly direct you to the ‘enrichment gap’ section in our 2024 Report Card.

In the Report Card, CLA has analysed the difference in arts access between state and independent schools. We present evidence of an ‘enrichment gap,’ with young people from wealthier backgrounds having far greater participation in the expressive arts – in and out of school – compared to their peers from lower-income backgrounds. The commonplace arts prerogative within the independent sector makes the arts offer within state schools a social justice entitlement issue. As a recent Institute of Fiscal Studies report on private schools and inequality states, ‘The greatest schooling inequality by a very long distance lies in the resources gap between the private (fee-paying) and state sectors. With access limited by ability to pay, there exists a stark socio-economic segmentation of pupils between the sectors, yielding in effect a two-tier system.’
Enrichment gap: we know that children who are living in the least deprived areas in the country are twice as likely to engage in performing arts outside of (state) school, compared to peers living in the most deprived.
Sutton Trust analysis (presented in our Report Card) makes clear that A-Level results in 2023 reveal a worsening attainment gap and widening regional inequalities.
The consequences of disadvantage: Evidence from FFT Education Datalab tells us that one in five disadvantaged pupils are suspended, the majority in Years 8, 9 and 10. Expressive arts opportunities and experiences might offer ways of to make school a better experience for some of these children.
Wellbeing: The expressive arts can be a powerful way to address the social and emotional health of students. CLA has always asserted that access to expressive arts education is a social justice issue, and the Report Card makes this clear: our evidence highlights the need for all schools to be resourced to ensure access to high-quality Arts and cultural enrichment as a universal entitlement.
Extra-curricular arts activities and experiences across art and design, dance, drama and music are not affordable for many families struggling in the current economic climate, so arts subjects must be made accessible to all children and young people through their schooling. These costs include materials, tuition, classes, experiences and performances. If schools do not offer a strong expressive arts curriculum and provide the kinds of rich cultural knowledge, skills and experiences that independent schools routinely offer, then it is hard to close the divide between more and less advantaged families – this is a social justice issue.
The current system across curriculum, assessment and qualifications pathways is too rooted in academic attainment above personal development. We need a new emphasis on a rounded learning experience for the personal development and wellbeing of the ‘whole child’ – for their present as well as their future.
We need an access entitlement built on inclusion and equity for all. Schooling is about more than academic achievement and that the needs of all children should be taken into account. This means that other metrics – personal development, mental and physical health and wellbeing – have to be considered. A principle of expressive arts access for all children is about setting an inclusive agenda that benefits everyone, including children with SEND: equitable access to the arts involves consideration of the different things we need to do for children and young people with different needs, or who are facing a range of barriers or challenges.
In parallel with this approach, a new focus on representation, breadth and relevance across the expressive arts curriculum, resources and practice would enable all children to see themselves reflected in what they are learning and to learn about England’s diverse communities.

You do not have to answer questions here unless they are relevant for you, but we it is likely that we will make a point here (Qu.18/21) about the ‘forgotten third’, due to our social justice commitment.

As a general point, children and young people require a more humane system that does not consign a ‘forgotten third’ of young people to a cycle of retakes in post-16 education where many again fall below the Grade 4 benchmark. Their failure is currently baked into the system because it is based on comparable outcomes, so the percentage of pupils achieving each grade is kept largely consistent from one year to the next. We require a more humane qualifications system with a new style of English and maths qualification which can be taken at the point of readiness, which builds confidence and does not represent a built-in cliff edge. This will help many learners, in particular those in need of additional support through SEND, disadvantage or EAL.

This section is important for us as it asks for general views on the current curriculum, assessment and qualifications systems.

Evidence to include:

Our view:

We would refer you to the relevant arts subject associations for the detail on specific subject content (Qu 22, see links above), but in this section we would suggest that you consider making the following points:

Range: The full range of expressive arts subjects should be available to all pupils at primary and secondary. Here we would include film and digital media alongside art and design, dance, drama, and music. Expressive arts should be valued and scaffolded at all levels of schooling.
Achieving and thriving: Across primary and secondary we would highlight our Capabilities Framework for the ways that expressive arts subjects develop children’s skills for life and work.
Teacher agency: Teachers in England feel that they have lost agency in terms of what and how they teach, which goes beyond just the arts, and we would advocate for more teacher agency and more space in the curriculum for teachers to develop and adapt content.
Content reduction: The system is currently content heavy – content should be reduced to enable more time and space for flexibility, and teacher and learner agency.
Representation, breadth, and relevance are required across the expressive arts curriculum, resources and practice, would enable all children to see themselves reflected in what they are learning – this is not currently the case.
Empathy and respect: There is insufficient weight placed on the ‘respect others’ aspect of education due to the prioritisation of academic attainment over personal development. Our new Capabilities Framework (see above), describes empathy, communication and collaboration as three of seven capabilities developed through studying expressive arts subjects, under the category of how children and young people relate to others. Arts subjects offer a wide range of genres, media and platforms which enable children to learn about the world, about others, about themselves, and about relationships and difference/s.
Primary curriculum: In a system dominated by SATs, we would emphasis a more broad balanced and holistic approach, see all our evidence above.
Secondary curriculum: In as system dominated by academic attainment at 16, we would emphasis a more broad and balanced approach, less dominated by terminal exams and for a KS3 with more freedom to explore the range of subjects on offer.
Collaborative learning: Expressive arts subjects are important for collaborative learning – so much of what happens in schools is about individual achievement, whereas in workplaces we often work in teams – and in fostering problem-solving, imagination and originality.
16-19: Young people need a choice of qualifications for expressive arts subjects so that students can choose the right pathway for them. A consistent and stable offer is important. In addition to fit-for purpose A-Level provision, young people require stable alternatives that meet the needs of HE, industry and employers.

This section asks for your views on the current breadth and depth of the curriculum at primary and secondary, and the qualifications pathways. Qu 31 asks specifically about creative skills and subjects so is an important question for us.

Evidence to include:

In this section you can use or 2024 Report Card to evidence the damage that has been done to expressive arts subjects since the introduction of the EBacc in 2010. You can also use the Report Card, our Arts in Schools report, and our 2017 Key Research Findings to convey the significant amount of evidence that exists to demonstrate the personal and societal benefits of expressive arts education. For Qu. 31 it will be particularly important to use all of this evidence to reflect the reality of expressive arts teaching as set out in our 2024 Report Card. In terms of responding to ‘Are there elements that could be improved?’ and ‘What could we change to better support this?’ we would direct you to our Blueprint for an arts-rich education (or the extended version of the Blueprint) – summarised below – which seeks four foundational system changes, and three principles to underpin them.

What could be changed:

New, clear purposes for education – with the expressive arts as a core and equal curriculum area mapped onto these new purposes
A minimum 4-hour arts entitlement within the school week, enabling high-quality, progressive learning experiences
Reform of the school accountability system – scrapping the EBacc in secondary, and reforming Progress 8 – and changes to student assessment in line with Rethinking Assessment
An entitlement to teacher training and teacher development – ensuring a minimum level of arts training for primary teachers

Essential building blocks to underpin the above changes:

A new emphasis on a rounded learning experience for the personal development and wellbeing of the ‘whole child’ – for the present as well as for the future
A focus on representation, breadth and relevance across the expressive arts curriculum, resources and practice so that children can see themselves reflected in what they are learning.

Our view:

You might like to use some of the following points:

Arts decline (Qu. 32): Enrolments in secondary arts subjects are falling – dramatically in the cases of dance, drama and music – as set out in our Report Card. Arts subjects have been eroded as mainstream subjects and we can no longer assume that all schools will offer these subjects to age 16. Evidence tells us that this is due to a lack of availability and choice, not a lack of interest among learners. When the EBacc was first proposed there was an immediate and significant impact on what children studied at secondary school – an early Ipsos Mori poll revealed that 27% of schools cut courses as a direct result of its implementation. Analysis from CLA in 2013 revealed that this disproportionately affected arts courses – in particular for pupils in disadvantaged areas. The impact of the EBacc was reinforced by the introduction of the Progress 8 accountability measure in 2016. We see that expressive arts subjects have been marginalised at every stage in the current curriculum and qualifications system and that too many children and young people are therefore not experiencing an arts-rich education.
Value: See our Capabilities Framework above. The expressive arts are important for the individual, for schools and for society. They have an important, evidenced and unique role in contributing to improving outcomes for children and young people, providing them with positive, memorable experiences, and with skills for life and skills for work. They make a powerful contribution to children’s and young people’s personal, social and creative wellbeing, and have an important role to play in contributing to the relevance and inclusiveness of the school culture and joy of learning, preparing young people to thrive and to belong as active citizens. School should be a place where aptitudes and interests can be discovered, developed and encouraged. A rich arts education, as an integral part of a broad and balanced schooling experience, supports the development of many desirable skills and capacities which are valued by young people, and by employers. However, it is important to state that the case for arts learning in schools is more easily made if its value can be gauged in relation to delivering against an agreed set of purposes for education, as is the case in Wales.
Lack of subject parity across curriculum areas (Qu. 32): The former government’s damaging narrative about ‘strategically important’ subjects (i.e. not expressive arts) has dominated policy over the past 15 years since the introduction of the EBacc. Subject choices at KS3 into KS4 are often driven – directly or indirectly – by school performance measures and not by a ‘whole child’ approach. This is the wrong approach to directing pathways for students: evidence from the NFER suggests that students are increasingly selecting a narrow range of subject options and do not feel free to select across different curriculum areas – too often selecting more than one expressive arts subject is discouraged. Expressive arts subjects need parity with other curriculum areas and to be scaffolded throughout curriculum and across all key stages. Only then will all children be supported to develop important capabilities for life and for work (and important for employers) – such as interpretation, creativity, communication (including self-expression), collaboration, agency, empathy and wellbeing.
Lack of subject parity across arts subjects (Qu. 32): Even within arts subjects there is a systemic hierarchy at play. Although all creative arts subjects have suffered in recent years, even within those subjects there is often a hierarchy, with drama and dance located within other subjects (English and PE respectively), which can lead to marginalisation and misunderstanding of drama and dance as educational subjects in their own right.
Teacher agency at primary and secondary: Teachers in England feel that they have lost agency in terms of what and how they teach, which goes beyond just the arts, and we would advocate for more teacher agency and more space in the curriculum for teachers to develop and adapt curriculum content.
Trained, confident teachers: Our Blueprint calls for an entitlement to teacher training and teacher development – ensuring opportunities for expressive arts subjects and a minimum level of arts training for primary teachers
Subject range and consistency of provision: The full range of expressive arts subjects should be available to all pupils. A carousel model at KS3 is particularly unhelpful, and we see many schools not teaching arts subjects to all pupils through to KS4, particularly Dance, Drama and Music. Since expressive arts subjects have so many evidenced benefits, their erosion in schooling over the past 15 years has been to the detriment of educational, personal, social and creative development. Here we would particularly emphasise the role of expressive arts subjects in developing skills for life and skills for work. The narrowing of the system up to the age of 14 is problematic.
Achieving and thriving: Across primary and secondary we would highlight our Capabilities Framework for the ways that expressive arts subjects develop skills for life and work.
Independent learning: The arts curriculum deliberately builds independent thinking and acting – so that young people are working on big, ambitious projects by the time they get to A-Level. These projects offer ways to integrate theory and practice, knowledge and skills in ways that are not afforded by other subjects. Having the arts as integral to the curriculum means that learners, as they progress, don’t get a steady diet of heavily scaffolded work, but do get an opportunity to develop agency, self-regulation, independent working etc. These aspects of the agency capability (see Capabilities Framework above) aren’t accidental but are structured into arts curriculum sequencing and into the pedagogy.
Primary curriculum: In a system dominated by SATs, we would emphasise a more broad, balanced and holistic approach, see all our evidence above. In KS1-2, again we would assert that all children require a rounded understanding of all expressive arts subjects and specific skills development. Primary is not just a preparation for secondary.
Secondary curriculum: Secondary education is not just about qualifications. In as system dominated by academic attainment at 16, we would emphasise a more broad and balanced approach, less dominated by terminal exams and for a KS3 with more freedom to explore the range of subjects on offer – not just a runway to KS4. KS3 should provide a rounded understanding of all expressive arts subjects and specific skills development throughout their KS3 experience. We see too many schools narrowing the curriculum at the end of Year 8 in readiness for qualifications in years 10 and 11.
KS4: In terms of qualifications (GCSEs and BTECs) we would assert that qualifications are often heavily weighted towards academic assessment and written submissions and assessment does not always reflect achievements in art-making and creativity. We see many schools not teaching arts subjects to all pupils through to KS4, particularly Dance, Drama and Music.
Progression: Young people need consistency of progression in their transition between KS2, KS3 and KS4.
Qualifications at 16-19: Young people need more choice of strong vocational qualifications for expressive arts subjects, alongside academic pathways, so that students can choose the right pathway for them. A consistent and stable vocational qualifications offer is important. In addition to fit-for purpose A-Level provision, young people require stable alternatives that meet the needs of HE, industry and employers.
Vocational qualifications are important for real world applications and the motor skills required for vocational and skills-based qualifications are often developed through expressive arts subjects.
Representation, breadth, and relevance are required across the expressive arts curriculum, resources and practice, would enable all children to see themselves reflected in what they are learning – this is not currently the case.

This section asks for views on the balance of assessment at primary and secondary levels. It also asks about accountability measures, including their impact on a broad and balanced curriculum and how they could be reformed.

Evidence to include:

In this section you can use our2024 Report Card to evidence the damage that has been done since the introduction of the EBacc. You can also use our Arts in Schools report, and our 2017 Key Research Findings. On assessment, we would direct you to Rethinking Assessment: we recommend that this forms the basis for considering approaches to all assessment, across all subjects, including the use of digital learner profiles, and achievements beyond exams

Our view:

It is difficult to separate the twin issues of accountability and assessment as both drive behaviours in schools. Here are some key points we will be making that you might like to draw upon:

The burden of assessment is too high for all students, and particularly those in need of additional support in their education (e.g. SEND, disadvantage, EAL). It starts to drive and distort curriculum content in Year 9, and even Year 8 or sometimes earlier, so the burden of assessment has a long tail backwards into KS3. The focus on high-stakes terminal exams is too high-pressure and focused on the skill of memorisation, which is not a capability we describe or value in our Capabilities Framework (see the top of this newsletter) as it not referenced by the World Economic Forum or by the OECD as having value for future workers and citizens. This dominance of terminal exams ignores the ‘whole child’ approach, a children’s personal development, and is rooted in a damaging over-emphasis on knowledge over skills and capabilities. It is vital for our children and young people, and for our employers, that this now changes; the current system is far too skewed towards serving university admissions and we need to evolve beyond the traditional system of credentials to a system that is more inclusive, and which tells us more about the young people it is meant to serve.

Overhauling the accountability system: The hierarchy of subjects should be removed, and the accountability system overhauled, with the EBacc scrapped and expressive arts subjects having equal status within a broad and balanced curriculum. The current EBacc accountability framework is adversely impacting education and must go, and Progress 8 requires reform. We recommend that Rethinking Assessment forms the basis for considering approaches to all assessment in order to create a supportive not a high-stakes culture.

Appropriate assessment for arts subjects: We believe that the burden of assessment required at 16 is disproportionate to its value (particularly as students continue in study to 18), and that other methods of learning and improving practice should be valued. Expressive arts subjects require an accountability, assessment and progression criteria-based system that is relevant, proportionate, and developed through consultation with teachers and practitioners. We recommend that Rethinking Assessment forms the basis for considering approaches to arts assessment and to all assessment, across all subjects, including the use of digital learner profiles, and achievements beyond exams. Digital profiles could follow a child throughout their education and allow for other inputs across artistic, community, creativity, critical thinking, and collaboration. We recommend that its more proportionate approach is developed, allowing for a reduction in the burden of assessment (and memorisation) at 16, the introduction of more ongoing assessment, much greater use of technology, and a read-across from primary to secondary to post-16. Young people require a system that values project-based learning with real world applications and which is ongoing rather than focused on terminal testing.

‘Forgotten third’: This is not an arts-based point, but we believe it is an important one to make and is in line with our equity and assessments points elsewhere. Children and young people require a more humane system that does not consign a ‘forgotten third’ of young people to a cycle of retakes in post-16 education where many again fall below the Grade 4 benchmark. Their failure is currently baked into the system because it is based on comparable outcomes, so the percentage of pupils achieving each grade is kept largely consistent from one year to the next. We require a more humane qualifications system with a new style of English and maths qualification which can be taken at the point of readiness, which builds confidence and does not represent a cliff edge over which many most tumble. This will help a learners, in particular those in need of additional support through SEND, disadvantage or EAL.

Other points that you might like to consider using:

You could address the purposes of schooling and state how important is to establish clear purposes at the heart of the system, as in Wales, against which all curriculum delivery – through the different but equal areas of learner experience – can actually be assessed. See our Blueprint for an arts-rich education: we want to see new purposes for education – with the expressive arts as core and equal curriculum area mapped onto these new purposes. Since the National Curriculum was originally introduced there have been multiple changes of direction and little focus on the purposes of education. There is no systemic rationale for what is taught, and no coherent and ambitious vision for education in relation to the economy, society, community or the individual: as a result, we have a schooling system that prioritises school performance based on exam grades in defined subject areas, and in which success measures do not value the whole child. In the absence of consensus around purpose, in the context of increased accountability focused on a narrow range of subject areas, and acute funding pressures, there has been a systematic downgrading or exclusion of arts subjects and experiences.
It is important to state again here (as in Section 6) how the exclusion of arts subjects from the EBacc has damaged and devalued the expressive arts in schools, and how this damage has been further reinforced by Progress 8. The choice of EBacc subjects was actually based on the Russell Group’s list of facilitating subjects – which also exclude the EBacc. The Russell Group scrapped its list in 2019, but we are yet to see a corresponding change to accountability measures. Now that is has been announced that the DfE Russell Group admissions metrics will no longer be used (an effort to get school leavers to look at a wider range of institutions and vocational options), we would advocate for a similar de-coupling of the EBacc and an outdated and damaging subject hierarchy.
Insightful and supportive Ofsted inspections which value arts subjects as an equal curriculum area would make a positive difference to the culture of accountability.
By eroding the arts in schools, it has been made harder for children and young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to access arts experiences and opportunities. Given their evidenced benefits, this is a significant social justice issue.

This section asks for views on the range of qualifications available at post-16 level and any additional skills, subjects or experiences that pupils should learn in order to support them to be prepared for life and work.

Evidence to include:

2024 Report Card; Arts in Schools report; 2017 Key Research Findings

Our view:

Here we would advise talking about preparation for higher education, training, or work in the creative industries. Young people need more choice of strong vocational qualifications for expressive arts subjects, alongside academic pathways, so that students can choose the right pathway for them. A consistent, stable vocational qualifications offer that is industry-aligned is important. In addition to fit-for purpose A-Level provision, young people require stable alternatives that meet the needs of HE, industry and employers; flexible industry-endorsed qualifications can be tailored to meet the needs of people and places.

Expressive arts subjects offer a pathway through school to further education and employment. The arts pathway is integral to creating a more expansive, inclusive and equitable school system, in that all children with interests and talents in the arts can pursue them through to graduation. This pathway requires an expanded qualification framework. The arts BTECs are important, particularly for disadvantaged young people and those in alternative provision settings: these qualifications help them to maintain or to acquire life options.

Although extra-curricular is not in scope, you might also talk about the need to retain arts experiences through Key Stage 5, as with sport, to ensure that young people that don’t chose arts qualifications can still retain their engagement in other ways. This is relevant for Qu. 51. Because expressive arts subjects and experiences make a unique contribution to young people’s education, and have a positive, evidence based impact on their outcomes, opportunities should be made available for young people to continue with their arts interests outside of exam syllabuses at Key Stage 4 and beyond, into Key Stage 5, as is the case with sport. All children and young people should be able to benefit from the learning, personal and social development made possible by these disciplines. It is important that extra-curricular arts provision is available for young people to extend their in-school arts engagement to a deeper level, or to pursue interests and recreation beyond their choice of qualifications. (Or since this is not in scope, you might choose to cover this instead in Qu. 54 which is more of a catch-all for views that have not been covered elsewhere.)

This section asks for views on the transition between key stages and the role of technology in supporting curriculum, assessment and qualifications. The last question is important as it asks for any further views that may not have been covered elsewhere, so do use it to summarise the case for the expressive arts in schools and to work in points you were not able to address in answer to the review’s specific questions.

Our view:

Transitions – Young people need consistency of progression in their transition between KS2, KS3 and KS4. There is currently a sharp difference between the requirements of the key stages, particularly if there has been little arts specialism on offer in KS2, and if subjects are taught inconsistently on a carousel basis in KS3.

Technology: The main way in which technology improve provision is through the use of new approaches to arts assessment and to all assessment, across all subjects, including the use of digital learner profiles (in line with education systems elsewhere in the world). Digital profiles could follow a child throughout their education and allow for other inputs across artistic, community, creativity, critical thinking, and collaboration. This should be in parallel with a reduction in the burden of assessment at 16 and the introduction of more ongoing assessment, and a read-across from primary to secondary to post-16. We would recommend a much greater use of technology for this purpose.

Question 54: Further things to reflect/include here might be:

A broad summary of your key points.
Cultural, creative and expressive arts subjects have largely been sustained through the ongoing commitment, energy and skilled practices of individual schools and teachers, arts teachers’ organisations, and dedicated charities and arts companies. The cultural sector and arts funders have been committed to redressing the inequitable state of arts learning in schools – now is surely the time for the government to make expressive arts education a major part of its plans for mainstream curriculum renewal.
Crucially, the importance of defining purposes for schooling and mapping equal curriculum areas onto these purposes. Our neighbour, Wales, is already doing this.
The importance of having parity and equal status for all curriculum areas.
Within a new expressive arts subject area, the importance of having more parity across the individual expressive arts subjects.
The evidenced role of expressive arts subjects in enabling children to develop, belong, achieve and thrive; evidence shows positive impacts on the difference that engagement with expressive arts subjects has on children’s lives and on their social and emotional development – these in turn have valuable societal benefits in the workplace and more widely.
The importance of the inclusion of film and digital media within the expressive arts curriculum area.
The importance of increased agency for children, young people and for teachers.
The Capabilities Framework we describe is also required for a more productive economy,as well as more fully rounded, skilled, capable, and confident young people.
Expressive arts subjects are important for collaborative learning – so much of what happens in schools is about individual achievement, whereas in workplaces we often work in teams – and in fostering problem-solving, imagination and originality.
Schools exist within communities, and there should be a place for the local community within schools. It is important to consider how schools contribute to community life. Schools should allow for more relevance to local circumstances, engagement with civic society, and more agency for teachers to develop partnerships within their localities in order that schools can benefit from the creativity and resources available and contribute to thriving local communities. We also have in mind the much-missed Every Child Matters here, and the importance of the arts contributing to young people’s health, safety and enjoyment in their daily lives, now as well as in their longer-term careers and economic wellbeing.
It is particularly difficult to track coverage of expressive arts teaching in primary schools as they do not have the qualifications data that is available for the secondary sector. There is no available data on the number of arts specialists in primary or how many hours are spent on arts subject, so the primary picture is less clear. We would urge government to collect this primary arts provision data.
Workforce skills deficit: We know that workforce supply issues are not in scope, but in a system which has not valued expressive arts subjects, specialist arts teachers have left or are leaving the profession, the majority of primary teachers get very little education in the expressive arts, and there are not enough specialist primary arts teachers to go around. Our Blueprint calls for an entitlement to teacher training and teacher development – ensuring opportunities for expressive arts subjects and a minimum level of arts training for primary teachers.
The creative sector is not in scope, but maintaining and expanding the arts pathway in schools is crucial for diversity in the creative workforce. School arts curriculum and qualification frameworks matter for industry and employers – in and beyond the creative sector – as well as for young people.

EVIDENCE BANK

We have prepared a list of evidence we have used in addition to our own in considering our submission to the Government’s Curriculum and Assessment Review.

Guidance and Evidence to use in your Curriculum Review Submission

Introduction

Capabilities Framework

BEING, BECOMING & BELONGING

RELATING

CREATIVE & CRITICAL THINKING:

GENERAL POINTS TO CONSIDER AS YOU MAKE YOUR SUBMISSION

SUBJECT-SPECIFIC GUIDANCE

OUR SECTION-BY-SECTION GUIDANCE

EVIDENCE BANK

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Reflections on the Curriculum & Assessment Review

Guidance and Evidence to use in your Curriculum Review Submission

Curriculum & Assessment Review Evidence Bank

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