Youth Gain From Creative Education Boost

Young people across the country will have greater access to high-quality arts education, wider creative and sporting activities as well as opportunities to gain in-demand skills in AI and tech under plans announced today (18 March) by the Education Secretary.

The announcements will help deliver the government's Plan for Change to break the link between background and success, driving high and rising school standards so every child can achieve and thrive.

The plans include the development of a National Centre for Arts & Music Education which will promote opportunities for children and young people to pursue their artistic and creative interests in school - including through the government's network of music hubs. An Enrichment Framework will also be developed in collaboration with a panel of experts, covering a wide range of extra-curricular activities from sport to debating and volunteering. Alongside this, a new Digital, AI and Technology Task and Finish Group made up of sector and digital experts will advise the government on what changes can be made to prepare children and young people for the jobs of the future.

It comes as the curriculum and assessment review expert panel, led by Professor Becky Francis, publishes its interim report and sets out its next steps to develop a curriculum and assessment system that will set young people up with the essential knowledge they need for life and work.

The Education Secretary has also confirmed today that compulsory tests, checks and assessments that ensure children leave primary school with solid foundations in reading, writing and maths will remain a core part of the curriculum and assessment system. This is in recognition of the role they play in providing crucial information to schools, parents and government on pupils' progress and helping to close the gap between disadvantaged children and their peers.

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said:

I welcome the important progress Becky Francis and her expert review are making to drive forward work to take the curriculum into the modern era and help deliver on the government's Plan for Change.

That means keeping what's working and evolving what's not. The report is clear on the importance of primary school assessment, which are simply non-negotiable if we are going to keep pushing standards up for every child and close the attainment gap.

High standards must also mean greater opportunities and a curriculum fit for the world of today and tomorrow. Our new National Centre for Arts and Music, alongside a renewed focus on giving young people the AI and technical skills they need, are significant steps on the path to making sure every child, wherever they grow up, leaves school truly ready for life and work.

Plans announced today include:

• The appointment of a new National Centre for Arts and Music Education to support the delivery of high-quality arts education through a new online training offer for teachers, promoting opportunities for children and young people to pursue their artistic and creative interests in school - including through the government's network of Music Hubs - and boost partnerships between schools and cultural providers.
• To support schools to offer pupils high-quality creative and other extra-curricular activities, a new Enrichment Framework will be developed in collaboration with a panel of experts. The Framework is expected to cover a wide range of activities which could be anything from sport to gardening, board games to school bands, or debating to volunteering.
• A new Digital, AI and Technology Task and Finish Group made up of sector and digital experts will also be established. The group will advise the government on what changes can be made to improve the AI and digital skills talent pipeline, prepare children and young people for the jobs of the future, and drive better teaching and learning through the use of AI and Technology. The group will report to the Education Secretary before the end of the academic year.

Culture Secretary, Lisa Nandy said:

Arts and music bring people together and are enjoyed by communities across the country. We want every child and young person to have equal opportunities to access a high quality arts and music education, to ensure creativity can be explored by all and not just the privileged few.

The government's new National Centre for Arts and Music Education will ensure more children and young people's untapped potential can be unleashed, improving the pipeline of talent for our world class creative industries.

Darren Henley CBE, CEO of Arts Council England said:

This bold innovation will nurture England's next generation of creators, performers and audiences, levelling the playing field for all young people whatever their background. Subjects like art and design, dance, drama and music are central to every child's education. They come with the added bonus of equipping young people for life by boosting their creativity, their confidence and their social skills. A National Centre for Arts and Music Education is a vital initiative, and we welcome it wholeheartedly.

Kate Varah, Executive Director and Co-CEO, National Theatre

Access to excellent arts teaching and experiences at school should be a right for all young people to fuel a creative nation. The National Theatre welcomes today's announcement from the Department for Education that it will establish a new National Centre for Arts & Music Education, recognising the need to support high quality arts provision in schools. We look forward to consulting with the DfE on the remit of the new Centre and its relationship to the arts sector. It's brilliant to see the Government's clear focus on the value of the arts in schools and the need to ensure equity of access for all young people.

Ruth Marvel OBE - CEO The Duke of Edinburgh's Award

Enrichment activities and high-quality personal development are a crucial part of a well-balanced, enriched education for all young people - helping them to develop essential skills for life and work, explore their individual interests and talents, and build meaningful relationships with trusted adults and peers.

We are therefore delighted that Government has responded to calls from DofE, NCS and our partners across the youth and education sectors and today announced it will develop an enrichment framework. The framework, together with best practice guidance and benchmarks, will support schools and colleges to deliver a high-quality enrichment offer for all young people. We look forward to working with the Government, alongside other expert partners, to develop this essential framework.

The plans come alongside wider measures in the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill to deliver high-quality teachers in every classroom, delivering on the government's Plan for Change by breaking down barriers to opportunity and giving every child and young person the best life chances.

Last year the government launched a Review of the curriculum and assessment system, led by Professor Becky Francis, to look closely at the key challenges to attainment for young people, and the barriers which hold children back from the opportunities and life chances they deserve - in particular those who are socioeconomically disadvantaged, or with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND).

The curriculum and assessment review interim report highlights the value of primary assessment, citing its importance in supporting children's transition from primary to secondary, establishing whether children have learned the national curriculum and the role of assessment in holding schools to account.

Alongside the review, the government is also continuing to drive high and rising school standards so every family can be confident they have access to a good local school for their child.

This includes through the landmark Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill which will ensure there are high-quality teachers in every classroom, there is a floor on pay and no ceiling, so all teachers can rely on a core offer and all schools can innovate to attract and retain the best talent.

These measures, alongside new regional improvement teams and Ofsted reforms, will make sure every child has an education as good as the best.

The bill will also ensure that, once the curriculum has been revised to take account of the recommendations of the review, all state schools - including academies who currently do not have to follow the national curriculum - will be required to teach the national curriculum up to age 16. This will give parents certainty over their children's education and allow all children to benefit from the strengthened curriculum, whatever type of school they go to.

Notes

• Primary school tests and assessments include the phonics screening check (taken in year 1 at age five or six), the multiplication tables check, (taken in year 4 at aged eight or nine) as well as maths, reading and grammar, punctuation and spelling tests and assessments taken in year 6 (aged 10 or 11 just before pupils leave primary school).

• The National Centre for Arts and Music is expected to be established in September 2026, with a delivery lead appointed through an open procurement. It will be expected to:
  • Promote arts education - including signposting to industry-backed careers guidance, and to opportunities to support children and young people to pursue their artistic and creative interests in school, including through our national network of Music Hubs.
  • Support excellent arts teaching - through a new online CPD offer for primary and secondary school teachers, and support to access the brilliant teacher development provision available from cultural providers.
  • Support partnerships - bolstering collaboration between schools and the many arts and cultural organisations with fantastic offers for children and young people, to maximise those opportunities for the most children, no matter where they live.
• The DfE, working closely with DCMS, has committed to publishing the new Enrichment Framework by the end of the year. Building on the work of the sector, we will develop the framework alongside a working group consisting of experts from schools, youth, sports and arts organisations and research bodies. The framework will highlight effective practice on enrichment by:
  • identifying and reflecting practice in the best schools to set out what a high-quality enrichment offer looks like - we will consider with the sector whether standardised benchmarks and tools can form a useful part of that support.
  • providing advice for schools with how to plan a high-quality enrichment offer more strategically and intentionally and how to make use of specific programmes to increase access to sport and arts
• The new Digital, AI and Technology Task and Finish Group will advise on how the school and college education system in England can ensure that every child and young person is equipped to thrive in an AI and digital world, creating strong foundations for access to more specialist AI and digital pathways and making the most of the opportunities to use AI and educational technology to drive better teaching and learning. We intend that this work will commence shortly and conclude before the end of the academic year.