Statements and Comments Provided to the NUT from Educational Academics& Members of the Creative Community
Members of the Creative Community
Sir David Hare
It seems hardly believable at a time when local authorities are known to be strapped for cash, and cutting back on inspiring visits to dance, music and theatre events, that the Government should meanwhile take away from less privileged children the chance to access these life-changing subjects through a central curriculum. The new proposals for the English Baccalaureate are the very opposite of joined-up government. The rigidity of the proposed list of subjects means that the arts will now be denied to the very pupils who have least chance of exposure to them in their daily lives. Insanity and worse – class-reinforcing insanity.
Sir Richard Eyre CBE
You don’t have to be a teacher to know that music makes school children better at maths and that drama makes our society more tolerant. You don’t have to be an economist to observe that the cultural industries are of enormous and growing value to the British economy or that a healthy cultural realm is a powerful reason for Britain's magnetism as a tourist destination. You don’t have to be a diplomat to testify that British cultural excellence is a valuable element of British identity abroad. You just have to be human to experience the fact that the arts illuminate things that make us aware of our common humanity.
By diminishing the opportunity to study the arts – by excluding them from the core subjects of the curriculum - we condemn future generations to a life a little less than human and, in time, the already large gap between those between those for whom the arts are a part of life and those who feel excluded from them will widen to an unbridgeable divide. What’s next? Cultural apartheid.
Michael Rosen
1. We should bear in mind that teachers will do their utmost to teach what will benefit their pupils the most. However, there is often a clash between what they know engages them and leads them into greater personal, social and academic achievement. They do this in particular when they know that their first priority is to enable their pupils score well in key tests and exams. I have been told many times recently that the curriculum has in effect become the GCSE exam. In other words, teachers have indeed 'taught to the test' - something condemned by all major government reports in the recent period. To be clear, I'm not blaming teachers for this. It is a direct outcome of an exam- and test-led culture which is intent on evaluating pupils purely and solely in terms of their scores.
2. Bearing this in mind, the Ebacc exam will to all intents and purposes be the syllabus. This will have an impact in many areas of the students' lives and study and yet in some respects it is based on a hoax. It is quite clear from statements leaked to the press that each grade will be norm-referenced ie the numbers (in percentage terms) will be fixed prior the students sitting the exam. This is a cruel and unfair method of assessment. It means that the improvements in teaching, pupil work-effort, whole-school culture (much demanded from ministers) will go unrewarded.
3. Another aspect of the impact is in the area of the creative subjects, but I would also want to include in this the creative work that should ideally take place within English courses ie writing. It is known and understood worldwide that students of this age, when given opportunities to express themselves through the arts, there are many clear outcomes. One way to express this is to say that it is not obvious to many students that a school is a place where their immediate interests and personalities have a place. Quite simply, the formal subjects in the curriculum have little or no place for students' own voices to be heard; there are not many times in a day when all students will necessarily hear that what they think and do are valuable. Again, this is absolutely not teachers' fault. It is a direct result of an overload of subjects which demand right and wrong answers. Understanding and interpretation of knowledge require a wider response than 'right or wrong'.
4. The arts provide an environment and practice where the students' powers of interpretation are centre stage. This is not in any way less important than more knowledge-based subjects. It is an essential part of maturation and development and with young people comes at precisely the moment when the world appears difficult, puzzling or even unwelcoming. What's more the arts provide an environment when the relations between adults (teachers) and the students can be on a truly co-operative footing. Again, it is well known that many of the problems that arise in schools occur when the basic trust between the adults and students is under stress or has broken down. I believe that more often than not this arises because students come to feel that they are not believed in; that adults unfairly judge or blame young people. The arts offer an environment when such attitudes can be eroded and new relationship established.
5. Far from this sort of thing being a distraction from the more formal subjects, many teachers can vouch for the fact that the arts offer many students a platform from which they can find routes into the other subjects. Having found themselves respected or 'at home' or achieving something, it enables the students to find belief in themselves to proceed with these other subjects.
6. That said, there is a fundamental principle at the heart of creative arts: that they are ways of investigating the world through making transformations of materials, ideas and texts. This has a radical and profound effect on speech, writing, physical and mental well-being. It offers ways in which people can see that the world is not an unchanging, unchangeable place but is somewhere that you can engage with. Many people talk of how important this is, but if we neglect or exclude the arts this talk is lip-service only.
7. The arts are not a luxury or a side-show or some kind of soft option. Teachers who teach drama, dance,music and art are amongst some of the most demanding teachers I have ever met, believing in students who are often 'challenging' as the jargon puts it. I have seen many times how such teachers ask of students more and more, asking them to work late, to try again, to analyse what they have done, to produce lengthy reports interpreting what they or others have done. To neglect, marginalise or exclude this will be a major mistake for all the reasons I've outlined. However, there is every likelihood that this neglect or exclusion will have a knock-on effect for many students who find school difficult. I mean by that, that schooling as a process will become that more alienating. Unless it is a hidden objective (ie to further alienate those who are already at risk of being alienated!) then this would be a disastrous outcome.
8. One alternative way to view all this is in economic terms. It is by no means clear how the UK is going to fare in the global market over the next twenty years. If we are honest, no one really knows. There are, however, strong reasons to think that the arts (and that includes design) is an area that the UK has offered the world something that the world wants to see, buy and use. To say this, also involves pointing out that the arts need a strong participatory base of practitioners. Yes, there is the romantic notion that 'artists' are people who are born with 'imagination' but in fact almost all art forms require a large backlog or repertoire of experience in order that new forms, new products can be made. The place where this backlog or repertoire can be laid down is of course school. To be personal for a moment, it was through my reading of a wide range of texts for the old O-level English Literature course, the space in which to write (thanks to an English teacher who encouraged it, and school publications which circulated it) that I became a writer. Many people from many walks of life can give similar accounts from moments at school when they 'heard their own voice' and discovered that others liked it. This may or may not have led to them doing such things for a career. However, in terms of their own well-being, many tell us that it was at this point that they learned that could paint or sing or dance or act as part of their life, no matter what job they went on to do. After all, it is part of education's job to educate people in such a way that they can live as fulfilled lives as possible. This is not to negate the importance of doing the basics but to say that they are not sufficient. People need to find ways in which to express and re-express aspects of their personality and lives. People who don't or can't quite often become withdrawn and depressed. We must not ever be in a position where we find ourselves saying that one of the causes for that is monolithic curriculum which never gave young people a chance to find out what they could say through the arts.
Neil Constable, Chief Executive, Shakespeare’s Globe
“At a time when we have just been celebrating one of the world’s playwrights with the World Shakespeare Festival and when our creative and cultural skills have shone around the world with the Olympic and Paralympic Games ceremonies, it appears bizarre for Government to now marginalise the arts and stop students enjoying the opportunity for a fully rounded education. At the Globe we welcome over 100,000 schoolchildren annually and enrich their study and enjoyment of Shakespeare. We cannot now deprive an entire generationof children of the cultural skills thatthey will need.”
Ken Loach
It is sad and short-sighted that creative subjects are to be excluded from the Baccalaureate. Many students find confidence and fulfillment in music, art or drama. Other work is then supported and enriched. If these courses do not contribute to the Baccalaureate then there will be pressure to drop them. This will diminish not only the students themselves but the wider society
Julie Walters OBE
Considering that we have just had the Olympics celebrating our cultural heritage and showcasing bright new talent, it seems ironic that the government wish to undermine Creativity and the Arts by side-lining them from the curriculum. Creativity is as important in education as literacy and determining somebody’s intelligence shouldn’t be limited merely to academic subjects. We should nurture creativity and its power to encourage innovation. The Arts has the power to liberate people as well as to entertain.
The Musicians’ Union
The Musicians’ Union believes that every child should have the opportunity to access diverse creative and cultural learning as part of a balanced and well rounded education.
We do not support the introduction of the Ebacc as a qualification as we feel it winds back the clock and is therefore not fit for purpose in preparing the next generation of students for life in the 21st century.
We believe that the current debate surrounding the proposed 6th pillar is somewhat pre-emptive as we are still awaiting the Government's recommendations from the current curriculum review. Our main concern is that the debate on the 6th pillar is diverting attention away from the implementation of the National Music Plan which we feel is the crucial issue in music education at this point.
We would like to see a continuation of music as a statutory core subject to the end of KS3 and the opportunity to continue this at KS4 for those who want to pursue the subject at this level but crucially it is access to high quality practical musical opportunities and experiences including being able to learn an instrument and sing as well as play in bands, orchestras and ensembles, delivered by a motivated and resourced workforce which helps develop the next generation of musicians.
The Writers’ Guild of Great Britain
The Writers’ Guild would like to register deep concern at the exclusion of the arts as qualifying subjects in current proposals for the English Baccalaureate. While recognising the importance of certain subjects – such as English, maths and science - we believe that core recognition of cultural and artistic subjects, both appreciation and practice, is also a vital component of a rounded education.
In addition the UK’s education system needs to recognise that culture, the arts and education do in fact contribute greatly to the economy. The creative industries provide six per cent of Britain’s GDP, £16 billion in exports, and employ at least 2 million people.[1]
In particular, the Guild is concerned about:
- The lack of any prior consultation with teachers, students, parents or creative writers before EBacc was brought in;
- The disincentivisation of schools to offer arts subjects, through the retrospective recalculation of the school league tables according to EBacc subjects;
- The particular impact of EBacc on the teaching of drama, and the knock-on effect this will have on plays, playwriting and performances in schools.
The Department for Education’s own Ipsos Mori study found that 27% of schools withdrew subjects from the curriculum in response to the EBacc this academic year. The most commonly withdrawn subject was drama and performing arts (23%).[2]
There is a danger that, when faced with a prescriptive shortlist of subjects and the imperative to demonstrate league-table success, schools may withdraw resources from study that does not equate to credits for the English Baccalaureate. We urge this government to ensure that provision for an arts option is safeguarded for the future enrichment of the nation.
Quotes from individual Guild members
Lee Hall, Tony award-winning writer and Guild member said:
"An understanding of the arts has never been more relevant, both culturally and economically. We lead the world in so many art forms, so the failure to recognise the importance of arts education as a central part of any rounded education will deprive us of generations of artists, thousands of students to professional lives of under achievement and leave us as nation further incapacitated as the cultural economies become increasingly important. We will return to the cultural apartheid based on class and privilege which the last 60 years had done so much to redress."
Arnold Wesker, playwright, poet and Guild member said:
"Leaving the arts out of the EBacc is like trying to bake bread without yeast. I thought this argument had been won years ago."
Amanda Whittington, chair of the Guild’s Theatre Committee said:
"Careers begin in the classroom and mine was no exception. I’ve no doubt I’m a playwright because I sat ‘O’ level Drama and ‘A’ Level Theatre Studies at my comprehensive school. One of my plays, Be My Baby, is now a Theatre Studies text and its success is a cornerstone of my working life.
Going back into schools as a writer, I see the transforming effect drama still has on young people, especially those who may not access the arts at home. It gives us the vital tools of self-expression, confidence, empathy and an understanding of the world we live in. It teaches us how to work together and find our individual voice along the way; skills that count in every aspect of life and work.
By excluding the arts from the EBacc, we’re telling young people that a creative, original, questioning mind has no value or serious purpose. What kind of a nation does that?"
Fin Kennedy, of the WGGB Theatre Committee, said:
“At Mulberry School for Girls in Tower Hamlets, we took a new play to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe every year for three years running. We got national news coverage, won an award and had all the plays commercially published – they are now being performed by other schools. The self-esteem of the young people I worked with went through the roof; teachers in all their curriculum subjects told us they had noticed the change.
These were extra-curricular projects, but this work cannot and does not take place in a vacuum. It builds on a solid bedrock of skills and understanding laid down by talented, committed and hard-working drama teachers, over many years of work in the classroom. To undermine that work grossly overlooks the ways in which creativity is intricately bound up in the complex ecosystem of a child’s education and development.
The capacity for creative thought is one of the most important skills to encourage in a future workforce. To deliberately disincentivise it in schools is at best irresponsible, and at worst, a frankly ignorant attack on the role creativity plays in teaching and learning. I really hope the Government will listen, and unequivocally commit to safeguarding creativity in schools.”
Tasmin Little OBE