Responding to Labour's pledge to make the arts accessible to
every child in Britain, Paul Whiteman, general secretary at
school leaders' union NAHT, said: "Access to the arts should be
an entitlement for every pupil throughout their time at school.
"Children can gain so much from subjects such as music, art and
drama, which allow them the opportunity to explore and develop
their unique interests and talents.
"Sadly, the current narrow accountability system we have in this
country places little value on creative subjects and so we often
see them squeezed out of the school timetable.
"Every pupil deserves to experience a broad and balanced
curriculum and the arts should be a core part of that."
Graham Frost, national executive member at school leaders' union
NAHT, and head teacher at Robert Ferguson Primary School in
Carlisle, said: "Creativity sits at the very heart of our school
curriculum.
"We see no tension between creativity and high standards, in fact
those two things go hand in hand.
"I want children to leave our school having experienced a rich,
broad education. That of course involves a strong foundation in
reading, writing and maths, but it also means an equally strong
grounding in music, drama, art and sports. The arts should never
be seen as a bolt-on or simply ‘enrichment’ for the lucky few,
they should be a basic entitlement for every child in this
country.
"Artistic activity is deep in our DNA and an essential part of
being human. Children’s wellbeing is best served by opportunity
to engage in a broad, rich curriculum which includes creative
arts. There persists a naive undervaluing of the employment
potential of quality education in the arts, in a country with a
heritage and longstanding reputation for arts culture which will
fade unless we invest in artistic learning."
