Extracurricular arts must be ‘hardwired into education system’

Structured extracurricular enrichment opportunities focusing on arts, storytelling and heritage projects should become a permanent feature of the education system, a report has said.

The report, produced by the Centre for Young Lives think tank and Child of the North initiative, proposes the establishment of a dedicated Cultural Enrichment Fund to support targeted cultural activities outside the regular school day.

It also calls for schools to developing partnerships with local cultural institutions for hands-on learning experiences.

Noting that children from wealthier backgrounds are three times more likely to sing in a choir or play in a band or orchestra than children living in deprived areas, the report also suggests that any primary school pupil wishing to learn a musical instrument or to sing should be offered three years of lessons.

The research is the partnership’s final publication following a dozen reports examining practical proposals for government to boost opportunities for children nationwide.

The study also calls on government to introduce a £150m arts premium fund to “develop the existing primary school workforce” and “train the next generation of teachers to provide arts learning in parity and combination with other subjects”.

Last year The Sutton Trust also called for an arts premium for schools to pay for opportunities, including music lessons.

In 2020, the conservative government shelved plans for a £270m arts premium for schools promised in Boris Johnson’s election manifesto due to a refocus on “new priorities” following the outbreak of the Covid pandemic.

Identifying artistic potential

Referencing figures showing a decline in expressive arts in English schools, with entries at GCSE dropping 34% between 2015 and 2024, the report notes that a lack of curricular arts in schools has had a knock-on effect on teacher training and recruitment.

Last year, government figures showed that targets for initial music teacher training were missed by 60%, design and technology teacher training by 61% and art and design teacher training by 34%.

Teachers need to be supported to deliver “singing, music, painting, drawing, acting and playful activities”, with creative learning made a “requisite of a good education”, wrote Baroness Anne Longfield, executive chair of the Centre for Young Lives and Dr Camilla Kingdon, former president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health in the report’s foreword.

“At a time when some children feel disengaged from what they are taught, we should be looking at arts-based approaches to the teaching of subjects like history or science,” they added.

Britain’s got talent

“Britain’s children have got talent,” said Longfield, “but we are often too slow to nurture it, and we are frequently failing to harness the innate skills in our communities through our education system. This is hindering the ability of our country to flourish and thrive,” she said.

“Many of our most successful musicians and bands have benefited from a rich, cultural and creative education in the private school sector.

“We need to invest in boosting the opportunities of children in our state schools, from all backgrounds, as part of a bold ambition to develop truly inclusive education, support creativity throughout childhood and to tackle problems like the attendance crisis and attainment gap.”