Just when we thought the amount of arts education news might be slowing down for the summer, here we are with another month of big announcements and new reports, and a lot more news. This month we cover: an update to the Education Select Committee from the Chair of the Curriculum and Assessment Review; a new report on a ‘loss of love of learning’ from the Education All-Party Parliamentary Group which strongly reflects CLA’s evidence submission; new data revealing a 21% rise in school suspensions; a new DfE Academy Trust CEOs Advisory Group; significant changes to Teach First; a huge new fund for charities and civil society organisations to invest in youth services; news of a parliamentary debate on Music education; and new research on new spaces for music.
It is a complex policy and funding landscape at the moment, and the backdrop to all of this in terms of in-school provision is the Curriculum and Assessment Review due in the autumn. We are working to understand how the new announcements of the Better Futures Fund and Young Futures Hubs (more on the Hubs in September) will sit alongside the previously announced Enrichment Framework (led by DfE working with DCMS), National Youth Strategy, the Dormant Assets youth fund (led by the National Lottery Community Fund) and the National Centre for Arts and Music Education (led by DfE).
Between them they span four government departments: DCMS, DfE, the Department of Work and Pensions, and the Home Office. What is clear is many of these announcements link to the achieving and thriving pillar of the government’s Opportunity mission – with some initiatives also linking to the Safer Streets mission.
We’ll share a briefing very soon to share what is known about all of these initiatives in one place (rather than scattered across our various monthly newsletters) – as we work to continue to understand exactly what they will all mean for our sector and for children and young people …
Curriculum and Assessment Review progress – update to the Education Select Committee
Professor Becky Francis, Chair of the Curriculum and Assessment Review, provided an update to the Education Committee this month in which the following issues were raised:
1. ‘Dilemmas’ about assessment volume: The Review’s interim report stated its next phase would “consider carefully whether there are opportunities to reduce the overall volume of assessment at key stage 4 without compromising the reliability of results”. Francis told MPs the review was “really mindful of … the more volume, the higher the reliability … and that there is obviously a risk that if you cut too far, you might damage reliability, and that’s something that obviously we’re not going to do.”
She added that, given the “sudden death” nature of GCSEs, reducing papers to one per subject could reduce it to “a kind of one-shot for such an important exam. So two papers and beyond diminishes that risk. But equally, the more papers, the longer the total and so those are the kind of dilemmas and trades that we’re looking at and the approach that we’re taking to it. We’re taking it very seriously.”
2. Adding qualifications ‘not always the solution’: The exam board OCR has proposed a short-course GCSE in maths sat by pupils in year 10, with the option for those who wanted to study the full course continuing into year 11. Francis said the Review was considering “all of these ideas in the round”, but that she would not “speculate on that particular idea”.
“There’s a lot of suggestion for additional assessment through the education system, and often sort of driving license equivalent kind of qualifications to be introduced. There’s a real challenge, I think, between if you benchmark those too low, they become pointless, because everyone can get it and it doesn’t really mean anything.
“If you benchmark them high, same problem with significant groups of young people that don’t pass them. Adding qualifications isn’t always the solution, in my view, but definitely also has a role.”
3. Many reasons for ‘overburdening’: Francis said the evidence received showed there were “many different causes for this experience of an overburdened curriculum”. This “sometimes” comes from programmes of study – the statutory documents that make up the curriculum – “struggling to manage breadth and depth in proper balance”. But “other times, it’s very puzzling, because if you look at the programmes of study, they’re very, very thin, and yet the experience on the ground is that you have this over stuffing.”
“And what we’ve heard is that often teachers feel that they have to teach everything because they’re not sure what might come through in an exam spec, or what Ofsted might be looking for and so forth. So actually, in some areas, we think that better specification might actually help teachers to make sense of that.”
4. Languages a ‘profound’ problem at secondary transition: The Review is looking at how to secure “better teaching and learning, particularly in primary” in languages, Francis said. She said Britain did not have a “natural second language, which means that there are very severe problems across transition”. Secondaries take pupils from primary schools which teach an “array” of languages. This means “that either some kids are starting from scratch in secondary or they’re having to rehearse a rather boring lesson where they’re re-taught things that they already know.” Francis sees this as a profound problem which is not easy to fix and says the team has thought a lot about ways to address it, with solutions being “… pretty radical and unpalatable for the main, so the discussions that we’ve been having is really how we can secure better teaching and learning, particularly in primary.”
5. Some subjects ‘severely’ squeezed by exams: Pressed on whether her Review would recommend that two hours of PE per week should become mandatory, Francis said the review was “looking at PE and we’re continuing to deliberate on it. We’re, I think, very mindful of both the issues around … the squeeze on curriculum and time and particularly in secondary schools, examined subjects, sometimes squeezing subjects that are meant to be held dear in the basic curriculum, but sometimes aren’t”.
She said she had been “very interested to see how severe that can sometimes be, not just for PE, but also for other subjects in the basic curriculum, despite the fact that these are expected subjects, and so we are looking at that”.
6. Implications for Trusts and issues with DT: MPs also grilled Francis on the government’s move to force academies to follow the national curriculum. She said it had been “heartening” to hear that 70 per cent of headteachers felt that this would not change their practice. The Review has been consulting with heads and CEOs to check how big a change this would be.
But she added that the “main area that we’ve heard talked about is design and technology, where some multi-academy trusts have used their freedoms not to provide often expensive equipment and so forth. And so that is one area that we’re again considering as we make our recommendations.” However, she said that “broadly” there is “going to be continuity rather than change”.
7. Review won’t create programmes of study: Francis said it had been an “enormously intense and challenging task to review all the way through from key stage 1 right through to post 16 in just over a year. So I’m very glad to say that we won’t be creating programmes of study and so forth for the national curriculum.” The Review won’t draft exam content but will be making recommendations about how this might be approached.
It will be for government to respond to the Review and set out its next steps for implementation. But Francis said the Review had heard an “array of evidence, which often includes matters of implementation, it’s very important, I think, that we share it”.
CLA take
It is helpful to have this detail from Professor Francis ahead of the Review’s final report which is set to be published in the autumn. This update has not given us specific signals about Arts subjects (unless you include some of the issues with DT costs), but we now have clarity on what’s next in relation to programmes of study; on some of the trade-offs Francis has long talked about in relation to assessment; and the squeeze on some subjects – which is where we know the Arts have suffered. It also made clear – as we knew – that we are not the only subject area where there are problems.
We know that “knowledge rich” remains a priority for the Review, which is why we have taken our own deep dive into what this means for Arts subjects, with our Senior Evidence Advisor sharing three articles on this in recent newsletters. And we know the mantra remains “evolution not revolution.”
We will travel hopefully into the autumn and will – as ever – do a detailed analysis of the Review final report as soon as we have it. In the meantime, our asks are summarised in our Blueprint for an arts-rich education – so do continue to advocate for these in your context. Changes to accountability measures and to assessment, and a mandatory entitlement to studying Expressive Arts subjects are all key changes we are hoping to see.
All Party Parliamentary Group for Education launches ‘Loss of Love of Learning’ Report
The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Education launched the report of its inquiry into the ‘Loss of Love of Learning’ in an event at the House of Commons on 15 July.
In the report’s foreword, APPG Chair Steve Witherdon MP writes “The report does not mark an end of the APPG’s interest in this area. Through our findings we have found a number of complex societal and structural challenges which all contribute to a decline in pupils’ love of learning. The work of the APPG over the course of this parliament will seek to delve further into these challenges to understand how we can reverse the decline and create a system which inspires pupils and excites teachers. Now more than ever we need to focus on creating an education system which serves all learners in their pursuit of skills and knowledge. For too long our sector has been forced to pursues a narrow set of goals often at the expense of pupils in some of our most disadvantaged communities.”
The inquiry has four modules: the current landscape of engagement in education; curriculum design and engagement; assessment practices and their impact on engagement; and supporting teachers in their love of learning.
In the module on curriculum there is a subsection on the decline of creativity which extensively references the CLA. “Nearly every stakeholder who commented on curriculum design mentioned the marginalisation of creative and practical subjects as a major concern. Since 2010, accountability measures (EBacc, Progress 8) have effectively prioritised a narrow set of academic subjects, leading many schools to cut back on arts, music, drama, design and technology and other creative disciplines.
The Cultural Learning Alliance (CLA) documented ‘a narrowing of England’s curriculum’ and ‘diminishing opportunities for cultural and creative learning’ which coincides with declines in pupil wellbeing and engagement.
In concrete terms, the CLA’s 2025 Report Card shows a narrowing gap in arts access: in more affluent schools, children still often receive arts enrichment (through trips, orchestras, etc.) while in disadvantaged schools such opportunities have dwindled to a trickle. Submissions argue this is not just an equity issue but directly linked to love of learning.
Creative subjects were repeatedly described as ‘fostering a love of learning’ by giving students avenues for personal expression, agency and tangible achievement that many do not get elsewhere in the curriculum. The Cultural Learning Alliance explained that the arts provide ‘multiple pathways to success’ and thereby help more children experience competence and pride in learning. They also noted that arts education emphasises process, experimentation, and reflection over the one-right-answer approach, building resilience and comfort with learning from mistakes. These habits carry over to other subjects.
Several teachers wrote that when creative activities are cut, some children lose their ‘hook’ that keeps them engaged in school at all. An educator from Manchester observed that her very creative daughter felt devalued in the system that celebrates only academic or athletic achievement; she wondered if her daughter would feel differently if creativity was celebrated and rewarded in school.
This encapsulates a wider point: a broad curriculum that includes the arts, humanities and practical learning can re-engage students who might otherwise feel alienated by a purely academic focus. It also enriches the love of learning for all students by showing that learning in not just rote memorisation but also creation, performance and discovery.”
CLA made a detailed submission to the inquiry, was represented at the launch and we were pleased to see the inquiry’s report drawing on so much CLA data and evidence – as well as to see that many submissions other than our own reflected the value of Arts subjects in supporting valuable capabilities such as agency and personal expression, as well as achievement, for children and young people. The CLA Arts Capabilities Framework is proving extremely valuable in building the narrative in the public discourse on the value of Arts subjects in children’s lives.
School suspensions rise to nearly 1 million
A minister has warned classrooms are “in chaos” after new government data published by the DfE revealed a 21 per cent rise in suspensions between 2022-23 and 2023-24 – to more than 950,000. Permanent exclusions rose by 16 per cent over the same period. The rate of suspensions also increased from 9.33 to 11.31, equivalent to 1,131 suspensions per 10,000 pupils. The exclusion rate rose from 0.11 to 0.13, equivalent to 13 exclusions for every 10,000 pupils.
The most common reason for suspensions and permanent exclusions was persistent disruptive behaviour. Persistent disruptive behaviour accounted for 51% of all reasons given for suspension and for 39% of reasons for permanent exclusions. This is in line with previous years where this reason was the most commonly recorded.
Early Education Minister Stephen Morgan said: “Every moment in the classroom counts. But with almost one million suspensions in the 2023 academic year, the evidence is clear that this government’s inheritance was classrooms in chaos, with swathes of the next generation cut off from the opportunity to get on in life.”
He said the Labour government was looking to tackle the “root causes of the problem” by providing access to mental health support in every school, rolling out free breakfast clubs and launching attendance and behaviour hubs which will support 500 schools.
This data was published five days before the Education APPG ‘Loss of Love of Learning’ report was published. In our response to the inquiry Professor Pat Thomson, our Senior Evidence Associate, provided evidence that children who love learning are likely to attend school regularly, be motivated to learn and participate in lessons, and have a sense of efficacy and agency, all of which can be supported by Expressive Arts subjects and experiences.
The Arts provide multiple pathways to success and Arts subjects value difference – they are inclusive. They expand the ways in which children are successful (Catterall, 2009). For example, the child who struggles with written expression may excel in physical expression through dance. This inclusive approach helps more children experience success. We are planning a CLA briefing paper to summarise our evidence submission to the inquiry which we will share in the autumn.
Department for Education establishes CEOs Academy Trust Advisory Group
Twenty leaders have been appointed to the Department for Education’s new Academy Trust CEO Advisory Group. Among the names are leaders of the biggest academy trusts – including Sir Jon Coles of United Learning, Lift’s Becks Boomer-Clark, Ark’s Lucy Heller and Sir Hamid Patel of Star Academies. Other figures appointed include John Barneby of Oasis, Cathie Paine of REAch2, Tom Rees of Ormiston and Susan Douglas of Eden Academy Trust (a specialist SEND trust).
In a letter seen by TES, School Standards Minister Catherine McKinnell says the new group is intended to “enable meaningful discussions and provide advice on matters relating to the achieving and thriving pillar of the Opportunity Mission”. The group will be “supported” by the Confederation of School Trusts (CST), the letter adds. The Group’s first meeting took place on 15 July.
In the letter McKinnell writes that she’s had the pleasure of visiting and seeing the excellent practice in academies across the country: “I recognise that high-quality trusts have been able to spread excellence and innovation across our school system.” McKinnell says she hopes members of the new group will use their experience and knowledge to offer feedback, insights and advice on how to drive excellence for all children.
The Group is a reflection of the government’s desire to work constructively with academies. Its Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill (currently at Committee stage) is proposing significant changes to academy schools, including increased oversight and reduced autonomy. The Confederation of School Trusts put out a statement in April saying it welcomed some aspects of the bill but that “CST members are very concerned about the ‘schools’ part of the Bill and in particular the measures which would remove academy freedoms.”
As ever, CLA is keen to see academy trusts valuing Expressive Arts subjects and to move beyond ‘co-curriculum’ or ‘extended curriculum’ framing (evident in some academy trusts and schools) to secure the Expressive Arts as core and equal curriculum area as well as on an extra-curricular basis.
Teach First recruitment scheme to be revamped
The government “intends” to drop a requirement that most recruits for its flagship teacher training route, currently run by Teach First, should come from the elite group of Russell Group universities. Instead, according to market consultation documents seen by Schools Week, Labour wants to focus on recruiting graduates who are “committed” to teaching for the long term.
It would mark a big shift for the scheme, which has been run by Teach First since it launched in 2003 to recruit “exceptional graduates with high academic ability”. The charity places recruits in schools in some of England’s most deprived areas. Teach First’s contract ends next year, with a tender to run the scheme for the next five years, worth up to £150 million, due to launch this summer.
Documents also show the government wants the new scheme to be “supplier neutral” – meaning it is likely to get a new name. However, the government is now considering whether it can incentivise retention, including by linking it to contract payments. It wants the new scheme to find “exceptional candidates” “committed” to teaching in poorer areas over the “longer term”, bidders were told.
Lindsay Patience, co-founder of Flexible Teacher Talent and a Teach First alumnus who taught for 12 years, supported the change, adding: “People who will make a huge impact in the classroom don’t have to have gone to a Russell Group university.” But others fear the shift could put off top graduates. There has been opposition to the change, particularly from those who are themselves Teach First graduates.
CLA take
We are interested to see this continued government de-coupling from the Russell Group. The choice of EBacc subjects was actually based on the Russell Group’s list of facilitating subjects – which also excluded the Arts. The Russell Group scrapped its list in 2019, having acknowledged that it was having detrimental effects, but there was no corresponding change to accountability measures.
Late last year it was announced by the Labour government that the DfE Russell Group admissions metrics would no longer be used, in an effort to get school leavers to look at a wider range of institutions and vocational options – and we of course continued to advocate for a similar de-coupling of the EBacc and an outdated and damaging subject hierarchy.
The fact that the self-selected Russell Group has driven policy in this way for so long has been problematic. This new distancing of a leading teacher training programme from the Group continues a trend which is about a more equitable approach to education policies and programmes.
£500m announced for youth services and child poverty projects
On 14 July Rachel Reeves announced £500m for charities and civil society organisations to invest in youth services as the government seeks to combat accusations it is not doing enough to tackle child poverty. The Chancellor launched a new Better Futures Fund, which will give money to schemes helping children struggling with mental health difficulties, school exclusion or crime, with the hope of attracting an additional £500m from local government and other organisations.
It is the world’s largest fund of its kind to boost pupil achievement and could fund programmes to reduce reoffending or provide specialist workers for children struggling with exclusion, mental health or crime. The Fund will run for ten years, with plans to raise another £500 million from local government, social investors, and philanthropists on top of government funding. The launch is backed by groups including Save the Children UK, The King’s Trust and Oxford University’s Blavatnik School of Government.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves said: “This fund will give hundreds of thousands of children, young people and their families a better chance. For too long, these children have been overlooked. Our Plan for Change will break down barriers to opportunity and give them the best start in life”.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said: “As part of the Plan for Change, we’re bringing together government, local authorities, charities, social enterprises and philanthropists to create a powerful alliance that will transform the lives of vulnerable children and young people. We owe them the best start in life. Together we will break down barriers to opportunity, ensuring those who need support most aren’t left behind and have the chance to reach their potential”.
CLA welcomes this new significant investment but as we say at the top of this Newsletter, we are working to understand what this means alongside the new announcement of Young Futures Hubs and the previously announced Enrichment Framework (led by DfE working with DCMS), National Youth Strategy, the Dormant Assets youth fund (led by the National Lottery Community Fund) and the National Centre for Arts and Music Education (led by DfE). Check out our briefing on all of this very soon.
We would stress the importance, as we do in our Blueprint for an arts-rich education, of a rounded ‘whole child/young person’ and community approach.
We value the five principles of Every Child Matters (a Labour policy from 2003). The principles acknowledge that health, enjoyment, safety and achievement contribute to successful learning and life chances – and to making a positive contribution – in the present and the future. We would like to see all schools enabled to be active players in their local communities and benefiting from wider community culture and Arts partnerships.
Music education parliamentary debate
In early July there was a debate in parliament on music education which was introduced by Bambos Charalambous, Labour member for Southgate and Wood Green and Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Music Education. The Hansard record can be found here.
Bambos’s introductory remarks included the following: “The number of students who receive music tuition in schools is falling rapidly, and schools are no longer encouraging students to pursue a music GCSE. There is a worrying decline in the recruitment and retention of music teachers. Music hubs are being financially stretched, and music education funding remains at a standstill. Music education should be accessible for everyone, but at present it is becoming inaccessible to those who cannot afford to take private lessons or take part in extracurricular music activities.”
In the debate, the Minister for School Standards, Catherine McKinnell, as part of her response said: “The Government are clear that music education must not be the preserve of the privileged few. Creative subjects such as music are important pillars of a rounded and enriching education, which every child should have. That is why, as part of our opportunity mission, we want to widen access to the arts so that young people can develop their creativity and find their voice. That is important in its own right – creative exploration is a critical part of a rich education – but it also helps young people to find opportunities and helps to support our desire to power growth for the creative industries”.
“From [my own] experiences, I know that music can be incredibly beneficial to academic achievement, too. It taps into parts of the brain that many subjects just do not reach. It builds confidence, presentation skills, teamwork and resilience, and it really feeds the soul, which is what keeps the mind expanding as well”.
“It starts with the curriculum. We want every child, regardless of their background, to have a rich, broad, inclusive and innovative curriculum, including in music. That is why one of our first actions in government was to launch the independent review of the curriculum and assessment system, chaired by Professor Becky Francis. The review is an important step in the Government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity, with a new curriculum that will set up all our children to achieve and thrive at school. It is considering all subjects, including music, and seeks to deliver a curriculum that readies young people for life and for work, including in creative subjects and skills”.
It’s been interesting to see Arts education as the focus of parliamentary debate recently and we hope this can expand from music to the entire Expressive Arts curriculum area – it can be helpful in eliciting ministerial commentary on current developments at a time when there is much we are still waiting to know. We will continue to scrutinise Hansard for the details to share with you. We would agree in part with the Minister for Schools that it “starts with the curriculum” but it also very much starts with accountability measures which provide the policy context in which that curriculum is delivered. Much hinges on the recommendations of the final report of the Curriculum and Assessment Review in the autumn.
Youth spaces for music in a critical decline
New research by Spotify and the charity Youth Music has highlighted the critical decline in youth music spaces across the UK: “The findings reveal a generation at risk of being pushed away from music due to a combination of the cost-of-living crisis, a lack of safe spaces, and a feeling that they have not been prioritised.”
The research shows that:
- 71% of young people feel it’s too expensive to engage with music in 2025, with 72% attending fewer live shows and festivals as a result.
- A third (34%) say there aren’t enough youth spaces in their area, despite 75% feeling these clubs are vital for developing creative talents.
- 75% of young people believe the government could be doing more to invest in safe spaces, and 71% think the private sector should also step up.
- Almost half (47%) believe a career in the arts was never a realistic option for them.
The report states that between 2010 and 2023, 1,243 youth centres closed down – our own Arts in Schools: Foundations for the Future report from 2023 tells a similar story. Youth Music’s ‘Rescue The Roots’ data found two in five (41%) grassroots youth music projects are at risk of closure – a significant increase from last year when the figure was 24%.
In response to the concerns, Spotify and Youth Music have partnered to create the Open Doors Fund, a multi-year commitment to invest in youth spaces that nurture the next generation of UK talent. The fund provides resources to sustain the places where young people can gather, create and engage with music, particularly in underserved communities.
CLA values all survey data that is helpful for our analysis of surveys for our annual Report Cards and this is another that feeds into our ‘Enrichment Gap’ section. This also reflects the need for arts spaces also to be safe spaces which is where the government’s Opportunity mission links to its Safer Streets mission. We would welcome more survey data that does not have a pure Music focus in addition to this survey as it is always important for CLA to reveal a broad picture across Art forms. Given the government’s current investment in youth provision through the dormant assets youth fund we would hope that access to arts spaces for young people might be set to improve.
And finally …
We look forward to sharing a qualifications update when exam results are published in August. In the meantime, as the school term comes to a close, we wish you a wonderful summer and look forward to being in touch again soon with all the latest news and latest thinking on Arts education.
