Could do better

30% of primary schools and 10% of secondary schools have not organised any theatre activity in the last 24 months, according to a new national survey of over 360 schools in England. The research reveals that the vast majority of teachers (84% of primary and 88% of secondary teachers) agree that schools play a key role in the cultural lives of children and young people, but the cost of live theatre, the fact that this type of activity is not part of the national curriculum, and teachers not knowing where to find information on theatre companies are all significant barriers to engagement.

The research, conducted by independent research specialists C3Education, was co-commissioned by a consortium of cultural organisations and Audiences UK. A questionnaire was issued to a panel of contacts from primary and secondary schools in June 2011. In primary schools a range of teachers were contacted including Key Stage co-ordinators, teachers with responsibility for art and drama, and deputy head teachers. Across secondary schools the contact was directed to drama department heads, heads of performing arts and the classics. Commenting on the findings, David Brownlee, Chief Executive of Audiences UK, said: “I think many people working in culture and education have long believed that there were a significant minority of schools where young people were not getting the opportunity to engage in high quality cultural experiences. This survey gives the arts sector the first robust figures to identify the scale of the issue and establishes a baseline so we can measure progress. Crucially, it also provides the sector with understanding of the perceived barriers to engagement by schools.”
He went on to praise the collaboration between the organisations who raised the funding and set the brief for the research: “Where did this research came from? It wasn’t commissioned by a Government department. It was neither funded nor driven by an Arts Council or a trade association. It didn’t involve money or leadership from any huge arts institutions. Instead, the funding and brief for this important research came from eight small and middle scale organisations who wanted good data to inform their business decisions. They couldn’t afford to commission high quality independent research individually, so they came together to pool their limited resources. And by working together they also honed and developed a better brief.”