save_our_subjects_campaign
News

Campaign urges education reform to save arts subjects

Open letter to Education Secretary, with more than 1,150 signatures, calls on government to review and reform Ebacc and Progress 8. 

Patrick Jowett
3 min read

Over 1,150 people have signed an open letter to Education Secretary Gillian Keegan calling for government to review and reform school accountability measures including Ebacc and Progress 8.

The #SaveourSubjects campaign, which launched in February, is also campaigning for the delivery of a £270m arts premium for schools that was pledged in the 2019 Conservative Manifesto but has since been shelved.

Ebacc and Progress 8 are widely attributed for the decline in uptake of arts and design subjects in schools, which the #SaveOurSubjects campaign says is limiting access to arts and technology subjects to students who can afford to study them privately.

READ MORE:

The Ebacc was introduced in 2010 and stipulates core subjects pupils must take at exam level, none of which are arts subjects. Progress 8, in operation since 2016, is a government benchmark used to assess secondary schools, which does not measure progress in any arts or creative subjects.

The Labour Party has said it would reform Progress 8 to include one creative subject, if it wins the next general election, in educational reforms that promise more priority to creative learning.

Since 2010, GCSE entries in creative and technical subjects have seen a cumulative 40% fall, with numbers of students taking music GCSE reaching an all time low this summer.

Meanwhile, there has been a 23% drop in teachers of these subjects between 2010 and 2021.

Commenting on the campaign, Independent Society of Musicians (ISM) Chief Executive Deborah Annetts said: “The rate at which arts subjects are disappearing from our schools is both staggering and frightening. The support for our letter to Gillian Keegan clearly demonstrates the level of concern.

“ISM research and plenty more has shown that the reasons behind this are largely due to the EBacc and Progress 8 accountability measures. Students deserve to be taught a truly broad and balanced curriculum that gives them the skills for the 21st-century workplace.

Alice Barnard, Chief Executive of charity Edge, which co-developed the #SaveOurSubjects campaign, commented: “The arts and creative subjects have the potential to positively impact mental health and wellbeing, as well as providing young people with sense of purpose. 

“A broad curriculum is the best to develop well-rounded learners, to unlock opportunity for young people and to create a more equitable society all round.”