At Edge, we have consistently called for a broad and balanced curriculum to ensure young people are provided with the skills they need to succeed in work and life. That is why we have launched a campaign with the Independent Society of Musicians to review accountability measures in schools to ensure that students have access to enriching arts and technical subjects.
There is a clear need to broaden our curriculum to allow young people to develop a broader portfolio of skills and improve their experience of school. There has been growing momentum around this, with a number of recent reports highlighting the extent of the issue. Our recent collaborative report on young people’s experiences of alienation at secondary school found that our narrow, knowledge-rich curriculum is having a negative impact on young people’s experience in school. For nearly one in two learners surveyed, school was not an enjoyable experience, reflecting an urgent need to develop new approaches to the design of school curricula and accountability processes. In terms of skills, young people reported in our recent survey that digital and creativity skills are particularly underdeveloped in school. The most recent Youth Voice Survey, co-sponsored by Edge, found that young people do not feel prepared for life outside of education, especially when it came to life skills and mental health and wellbeing.
Background
The arts and technical subjects are facing a crisis in English state secondary schools. Our education system currently supports a knowledge-rich, narrow curriculum. This has been reinforced by school accountability measures such as the English Baccalaureate (EBacc) and Progress 8, which encourage schools to focus on ‘core’ academic subjects at the expense of subjects such as music, drama, art, dance, and design and technology.
This narrowing of the curriculum has had a dramatic impact on arts and technology subjects at secondary school level. GCSE entries in arts and technology subjects are falling, with the number of pupils taking the design and technology GCSE alone falling by 71% between 2010 and 2022. This is coupled with a decline in teachers teaching these subjects. Between 2011/12 and 2021/22 the number of media studies teachersdropped by 40% and the number of design and technology teachers by 48%. Data also shows that 64% of teaching time in 2021/22 was taken up with teaching EBacc subjects, leaving only a small portion of time for arts, PE, RE or relevant vocational subjects. Teachers agree that the education system is skewed towards academic subjects, with a recent survey finding that less than half of secondary school teachers think the curriculum is ‘broad and balanced’.
What we are calling for
We are asking the Government to:
- Review the impact of accountability measures (the EBacc and Progress 8) on arts and technology subjects
- Reform the Progress 8 accountability measure, giving pupils more freedom of choice at GCSE
- Deliver the Arts Premium promised in the Conservatives’ 2019 election manifesto
How you can help
Click the link below to visit the campaign’s official website to see how you can get involved. You can sign our open letter to the Education Secretary, tweet in support using the #SaveOurSubjects hashtag, or write to your MP using the template letter provided. Please also sign up to updates on the campaign.