We first shared our new Arts Education Capabilities Framework in an article in March 2025 and have always intended to produce new designed versions. We have evolved and sharpened the Framework slightly since then and continued to consider evidence of the personal and societal benefits of studying arts subjects.
We are delighted now to share two versions: the Framework in poster format and an extended version. Meanwhile, we have retained the short-form version on our website as it remains useful to insert in slides, and we will bring you a landscape format poster version soon, together with a downloadable set of PowerPoint slides on the Framework.
As we said in our first article about the Framework, it provides a helpful shared language for talking about the (many) benefits of an arts-rich education. It is also a valuable self-improvement tool for schools – a new and helpful lens to use in considering the pedagogy and provision of arts subjects. It is also valuable for learning teams in cultural organisations. It can be used for:
- programme development and planning
- review and evaluation
- case making
To summarise the Capabilities Framework, we believe the value of the experiences, skills and knowledge that children and young people acquire through expressive arts subjects can be distilled through three pillars that represent the kinds of capabilities/qualities that expressive arts subjects and experiences provide: Being, Becoming and Belonging; Relating; and Cognition and Creative thinking.
These pillars in turn encompass seven capabilities that have personal benefits for the child, and which also result in societal benefits: agency, communication, wellbeing; collaboration, communication, empathy; and creativity and interpretation.
These are important capabilities for citizenship building and for the development of pro-social behaviours.
During 2026 we will bring you a great deal of evidence that supports this Framework. In 2025 the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) and the Cultural Learning Alliance (CLA) co-commissioned three Rapid Evidence Reviews (RERs) in Dance, Music and Drama. Three of the Reviews will be published in spring 2026. A recent existing Rapid Evidence Review of Art, Craft and Design (published in 2022) will be updated during 2026.
The four Reviews collectively provide a substantial evidence base:
- Art, Craft and Design: 463 studies (2000-2021 – to be updated 2026)
- Dance: 71 studies (2004-2024)
- Drama: 351 studies (2004-2024)
- Music: 291 studies (2004-2024)
They represent a total of 1,176 studies spanning different methodologies, contexts, age groups, and geographical locations, though primarily focused on English-language research from the US and UK. The Reviews take the view that multiple evidence sources and the use of narrative review serves to deepen understanding and offers useful evidence and interpretations.
The Reviews are an RSC/CLA co-commission, supported by the RSC through its Independent Research Organisation status. They have been developed through Midlands4Cities Doctorial Training Partnership, which brings together eight leading universities across the Midlands, and have been overseen by CLA’s Senior Evidence Associate.
The Reviews support the Arts Education Capabilities Framework and also outline a future research agenda. Look out for our upcoming a detailed overview of the four Reviews combined; an analysis of the Reviews as an evidence base for the CLA Arts Education Capabilities Framework; and an agenda for future research in expressive Arts education.
We start 2026 with a much sharper value narrative for Arts education than we have ever had at our disposal, underpinned by a significant national and international evidence base. CLA’s guiding mission is to champion the right to arts and culture for every child, and this mission is now matched by a new government ambition to revitalise arts education in England. The next three years will be critical in realising that mission. Following the Curriculum and Assessment Review, England will have a new National Curriculum, a National Centre for Arts Education, and enrichment strategies, all building towards a genuine curriculum and enrichment Arts entitlement for every child. Our new evidence and Capabilities Framework can play a key role in supporting this work as it rolls out throughout 2026 and beyond.
