Decline in arts teaching hours and teachers
28 October 2016
Department for Education figures published in June 2016 show that between 2010 and 2015 the number of hours the arts were taught in secondary schools and the number of arts teachers both fell by 15%.
In comparison the EBacc subjects of History and Geography saw rises in the number of teachers and of hours taught of between 10% and 18%.
- Design and Technology is experiencing the greatest falls with 25% fewer teachers and 23% fewer hours of teaching.
- Drama teacher numbers have fallen by 15% and the hours taught by 10%. These hours include teaching time from non-specialists.
- Art & Design teachers have declined by 9% with a reduction of 13% in teaching hours.
The decline of arts subjects in England's schools is especially worrying given the wide ranging transferrable skills children gain from studying the arts. These skills have been identified as important for success in the 21st Century by reports from the CBI[ii], OECD[iii] and Pearson[iv].
Data from the Department for Education School Workforce in England[v] statistics is below.
Headcount of teachers by subject
|
2010 |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
2014 |
2015 |
Percentage change 2010 to 2015 |
|
|
History |
15000 |
16600 |
15800 |
16100 |
16200 |
16500 |
+10% |
|
Geography |
13500 |
14900 |
14200 |
14700 |
14800 |
15400 |
+14% |
|
Design and Technology |
15000 |
14800 |
13800 |
13400 |
12700 |
11500 |
-23% |
|
Music |
7500 |
8000 |
7400 |
7300 |
7100 |
6900 |
-8% |
|
Drama |
11100 |
11600 |
10500 |
10200 |
9600 |
9400 |
-15% |
|
Art & Design |
13200 |
13900 |
12800 |
12700 |
12400 |
12000 |
-9% |
|
All arts subjects |
46800 |
48300 |
44500 |
43600 |
41800 |
39800 |
-15% |
Hours taught by subject
|
2010 |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
2014 |
2015 |
Percentage change 2010 to 2015 |
|
|
History |
153400 |
161800 |
165100 |
170600 |
173400 |
177000 |
+15% |
|
Geography |
138700 |
146600 |
149300 |
155800 |
159300 |
164100 |
+18% |
|
Design and Technology |
119900 |
114600 |
107800 |
106200 |
100300 |
89500 |
-25% |
|
Music |
92700 |
93100 |
91700 |
90900 |
88600 |
85500 |
-8% |
|
Drama |
95000 |
96500 |
92400 |
91300 |
87300 |
85100 |
-10% |
|
Art & Design |
159800 |
157700 |
151500 |
150200 |
144800 |
139000 |
-13% |
|
All arts subjects |
467400 |
461900 |
443400 |
438600 |
421000 |
399100 |
-15% |
Data for Dance is not available in the released DfE figures.
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Cultural Learning Alliance, Key Research Findings, 2011
[ii] CBI, Changing the pace CBI/Pearson education and skills survey 2013, (London: CBI, 2013) 6. http://www.cbi.org.uk/media/2119176/education_and_skills_survey_2013.pdf
[iii] http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/education/pisa-2012-results-skills-for-life-volume-v_9789264208070-en
[iv] http://thelearningcurve.pearson.com/reports/the-learning-curve-report-2014/21st-century-skills#.U28hSbo2Mmk.twitter
[v] https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-school-workforce