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Curriculum Review: Sign the Campaign Letter to Help Make Space for the Arts in Schools

Following the publication of an interim report from the government’s Curriculum Review, our open letter to ministers highlights the desperate need to make space for the arts in schools.

Published: 31 March 2025 | 5:06 PM
Three children sat in a semicircle in a music classroom, having a guitar lesson from a tutor.
Members are invited to sign the open letter to ministers. Photo: Shutterstock.

The Arts and Minds Campaign, organised by the National Education Union with support from the MU and a broad coalition of other arts organisations and unions, has written an open letter to ministers following the publication of an interim report from the government ‘s Curriculum and Assessment Review.

Members are also invited to sign the open letter, hosted by Action Network. A full copy of the letter can be viewed below. 

Make space for the arts: an open letter to Bridget Phillipson MP, Secretary of State for Education and Lisa Nandy MP, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport

Dear Secretaries of State,

The government has made repeated commitments to put the arts back at the heart of education. We welcome the ambition to ensure every child has the chance to study creative subjects and reach their full potential wherever their talents lie.

In its interim report, the government's independent Curriculum and Assessment Review panel rightly notes that “some subjects within the category ‘the arts’ have seen a decline” and that the “EBacc measure limits students’ access to and time for arts” at secondary school.

However, over the last 14 years arts provision has been significantly reduced across every school stage – a direct result of inadequate funding, an overly burdensome assessment and accountability system and the lack of status afforded creative subjects. As you know, access to the arts is growing ever more restricted for pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds. This has to stop and can only be reversed through government action.

The next few months offer a unique opportunity to break down the barriers to studying arts subjects in primary and secondary school. Now is the time to invest in the arts, restore their status, and reform assessment and accountability across the board.

We are calling on you to ensure that ALL children can enjoy these rich and inspiring subjects THROUGHOUT their school life. There is growing support for this call in the creative industries, in Parliament and amongst leading lights in the arts world including our Arts Ambassadors Steve Coogan, Dame Arlene Phillips and the Kanneh-Mason family.

Taking bold action today will not only unlock our young people’s imaginations, skills and ambitions, it will benefit the UK’s creative industries, the economy and society as a whole. It’s time to make space for the arts.

Read more about the new Arts and Minds Campaign, as well as the MU's original response to the Curriculum and Assessment Review in December 2024.

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