A New Direction & Gulbenkian Foundation · 2023
This report revisits the landmark 1982 Arts in Schools report to assess the state of arts education in English schools 40 years on. Drawing on roundtable consultations with over 300 education and arts professionals and a parallel young people's group, it finds that arts subjects have been systematically downgraded in the state school system, with access increasingly inequitable. The report argues for a new national debate about the purpose of education and recommends establishing Expressive Arts as a fully equal curriculum area, drawing on examples from Scotland and Wales.