Why are the arts declining in schools and what can we do about it?
Written by: Cara Carey
10 min read
CARA JANE CAREY, TEACHER DEVELOPMENT, TEACH FIRST, UK
The English Baccalaureate (EBacc) was introduced in 2010. It is awarded to students who pass GCSEs in English language and English literature, maths, sciences (combined or three single sciences), a language (ancient or modern) and history or geography. Schools are measured on the number of students who gain the EBacc. The Department for Education explains that this is because these subjects keep ‘young people’s options open for further study and future careers’ (DfE, 2019). Arts, technology and physical education are notably excluded from these measures.
In 2016, school performance measures changed to include Attainment 8 and Progress 8. Attainment 8 provides an average figure across attainment at the end of Key Stage 4 exams. Progress 8 compares Attainment 8 with a student’s starting point as a measure of progress from Key Stage 2. The subjects that are used to calculate a student’s Attainment 8 score are English, ma
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