The Guardian view on the arts in schools: classrooms need more creativity | Editorial
The promising early signs are that Prof Becky Francis’s education review will boost music, art and dramaIf the review of English schools led by Prof Becky Francis leads to a boost for the arts, this will be an excellent outcome. Already, many young people have good experiences of creative learning. Art and design is a popular GCSE, while class assemblies and concerts are a staple of the primary school calendar – in real life as well as the latest Bridget Jones film.But the disparity between the opportunities at state and private schools is enormous. And the interim report of Prof Francis’s panel takes seriously concerns that the arts have been squeezed out of too many children’s learning. The national curriculum, it points out, is meant to “engender an appreciation of human creativity”. But since 2010, when schools were encouraged by Michael Gove to guide pupils towards a GCSE combination of English, maths, science, a language and history or geography, the arts have been relegated to second fiddle. Continue reading...
The promising early signs are that Prof Becky Francis’s education review will boost music, art and drama
If the review of English schools led by Prof Becky Francis leads to a boost for the arts, this will be an excellent outcome. Already, many young people have good experiences of creative learning. Art and design is a popular GCSE, while class assemblies and concerts are a staple of the primary school calendar – in real life as well as the latest Bridget Jones film.
But the disparity between the opportunities at state and private schools is enormous. And the interim report of Prof Francis’s panel takes seriously concerns that the arts have been squeezed out of too many children’s learning. The national curriculum, it points out, is meant to “engender an appreciation of human creativity”. But since 2010, when schools were encouraged by Michael Gove to guide pupils towards a GCSE combination of English, maths, science, a language and history or geography, the arts have been relegated to second fiddle. Continue reading...
