CULTURAL EDUCATION IN ENGLAND’S SCHOOLS: SPRING 2014
BRIEFING
DISINCENTIVES
There is a series of disincentives at work which are affecting the provision of arts subjects in
schools:
English Baccalaureate – Schools are required to publish the number of students that
get A-C grades across 5 subject areas at GCSE level. These are: English, Maths,
Science, Modern Foreign Languages and Humanities (History and Geography).
Attainment 8 – Pupils’ grades in their 8 highest GCSEs are combined to produce a
number score. These 8 Best GCSEs must include their grades in Maths and English
Language or English Literature GCSE. Maths and which ever of English Language or
English Literature is higher is then double weighted. A further three of the 8 Best
GCSEs need to be drawn from English Baccalaureate subjects. The final three slots
can be any subject.
Progress 8 – Students’ progress from a baseline when entering secondary school and
the results in their 8 Best GCSEs. Five of the GCSEs have to be in EBacc subjects. The
remaining three can be from EBacc or non-EBacc subjects.
Discount Codes – The codes ‘discount’ subjects considered too similar in the school
league tables. New Discount Codes introduced in 2013 now mean several arts
subjects at Key Stage 4 are considered so similar that only one counts towards a
school’s league table. These include disciplines such as Graphic Design and Ceramics.
This does not affect the sciences.
All the above in practice could mean that secondary schools choose to focus
on EBacc subjects as the safest way to ensure they meet multiple
accountability targets. Taking GCSEs in only EBacc subjects could result in a
total of eight GCSEs: Maths, English Language, English Literature, Physics,
Biology, Chemistry, History or Geography and a modern foreign language.
National Curriculum – The National Curriculum has been reformed with slimmed
down requirements in Art & Design and Music which must be taught to age 14.
Drama is now a much smaller part of the English curriculum. Dance is within the PE
curriculum and not acknowledged as an art form. Film has been removed completely.
Teacher training – places in Arts subjects were drastically cut in 2012. See the table
below:
Subject
Art
Music
2010 number of places
515
570
2012 number of places
320
380
Percentage change
-38%
-33%
The Impact of these disincentives
Provision of Arts GCSEs – In 2012 15% of schools reported they had withdrawn an
arts subject because of the EBacc. 21% of schools with a high proportion of free
school meals (FSM) reported withdrawing arts subjects.
Less Arts GCSEs taken – In 2013 entries to Arts GCSEs fell by 14% compared to 2010,
the year the EBacc was introduced.
Without GCSE Art subjects, specialist Arts teachers are not being recruited –
Schools recruit based on GCSE offer. Lack of specialist Arts teachers has an impact
on the quality of the Key Stage 3 Arts curriculum and teaching.
Arts pushed in to after and out-of-school provision – in a speech on 3 February
Michael Gove cited a longer school day as an opportunity for extra-curricular
activities like ‘orchestras, choir, drama’.
The impact on disadvantaged children
Disadvantaged children don’t or can’t access out-of-school classes:

Sutton Trust research: 68% of professional parents versus 31% of lowest income
parents pay for music, drama or sport lessons.

DCMS Taking Part data: 33% of 11-15 year old boys and 20% of girls do not access
arts outside of schools and children from lower socio-economic backgrounds have
less access to arts than children from wealthier families.

In 2009 Ipsos MORI found 77% of parents with A Levels or a degree reported their
child as having participated in cultural activities with the family in the past year
compared to 60% of parents with no qualifications. The same study also found that
there are ‘no statistically significant differences in terms of children’s participation
with their school by parental qualification level’.
WHAT THE CULTURAL LEARNING ALLIANCE IS SEEKING
We want every child, regardless of circumstance and background, to have a high quality
cultural education.
To counteract the current range of disincentives to providing arts in schools we are seeking:
1. STEM to STEAM – the ‘A’ of Arts subjects to be added to the STEM subjects of
Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths.
2. New guidance from Ofsted that no Children’s Centre, School, Youth Service,
Academy or other setting should be judged beyond ‘requires improvement’ by
Cultural Learning Alliance
www.culturallearningalliance.org.uk
Ofsted unless they offer a broad and balanced curriculum which includes the arts
and culture.
3. Ofsted subsidiary guidance on evaluating pupil’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural
development to include a more robust definition, in order to secure effective
cultural learning outcomes for pupils.
4. Reforms to Discount Codes so that different art forms do not discount each other.
5. Film incentivised in the National Curriculum. Film was removed from the new
National Curriculum which becomes statutory in September 2014.
6. Delivery of the commitment to develop a National Plan for Cultural Education in
the Henley Review of Cultural Education published by the DfE and DCMS.
7. Growth of the numbers of teacher training places in Arts subjects, to reflect the
need for high-quality arts teachers in schools, and to reverse the 35% decrease in
Art & Design and Music places made in 2012.
8. Excellent, innovative, and fit for purpose GCSEs for arts and cultural subjects. Dance
GCSE must continue as a qualification.
9. Every publically-funded cultural organisation delivering learning should have at least
one Learning trustee or board member.
10. The Secretary of State for Education should take on a more overt leadership
role and communicate directly with schools, head teachers and local authorities
about the value and critical importance of cultural learning.
WHAT THE CULTURAL LEARNING ALLIANCE IS DOING
1. Working on a paper covering what STEM to STEAM could mean in practice in the UK.
2. Consulting with the cultural learning sector on new specifications for Arts GCSEs in
England as part of the Arts Council England work on Key Stage 4.
3. Working to influence the development of party manifestos in the run up to the 2015
general election to ensure that a commitment to cultural learning is included.
4. Using intelligence gathered during our 2013 National Curriculum roundtables on Art
& Design, Dance, Drama, History and Music to compile inspiring guidance for
schools and teachers.
5. Analysing and disseminating data and information about the provision of Arts
subjects in schools, including both the take up of Arts GCSEs and also the impact of
learning through and about the arts on pupil outcomes.
Cultural Learning Alliance
www.culturallearningalliance.org.uk
WHAT YOU CAN DO

Brief your board and governors about the disincentives to arts in schools and ask
them to back STEM to STEAM and changes to Ofsted and Discount Codes
Your chairs, governors and board members are key influencers and we need them to
make the case for change to politicians, the press, headteachers, funders, policy makers,
decision makers and advisors. We also need them to recruit the business community to
this cause – we need voices from the commercial sector speaking up about the
importance of the arts and culture.
We know this is a complex issue, if you would like us to talk to your Chair directly about
this, just get in touch: info@culturallearningalliance.org.uk.

Become a school governor
Described by a headteacher as ‘the most important thing cultural professionals can do
for cultural learning’: being a school governor gives you insight in to the education
landscape and allows you to provide valuable advice on how to secure high quality
cultural learning for your school. Governors for Schools reports that there are
approximately 30,000 governor vacancies.

Use the evidence
Use our Key Research Findings, our ImagineNation document and our Arts GCSEs
research document to make the case to your local school and community. Tell us what
other evidence and statistics you need.

Write to your MP in support of STEM to STEAM and talk to them about cultural
learning
This webpage tells you how.
Use the disincentives information and the evidence to help you make your case and ask
your MP to write to the Secretary of State for Education (Michael Gove) on your behalf.
The system is structured so that he will have to respond to you.
Cultural Learning Alliance
www.culturallearningalliance.org.uk