The arts will go back into the National Curriculum
Following today’s publication of the Curriculum and Assessment Review, led by Professor Becky Francis CBE, Culture Commons warmly welcomes the UK Government’s renewed national commitment to placing arts, culture and creativity at the heart of every child’s education.
All Change
The review, led by Professor Becky Francis CBE, outlines a vision for a revitalised arts curriculum, a new National Centre for Arts and Music Education, equal status for creative subjects, and a statutory enrichment entitlement covering arts, culture and civic engagement.
This package of reforms marks a major shift in how we conceive of learning, opportunity and the purpose of schooling itself. The UK Government has announced that it will take up many of the recommendations set out in full.
From its launch in 2024 to today’s publication, the review process has been collaborative and evidence-driven - reflecting system-wide voices rather than top-down prescription. That collective input is visible throughout these proposals, which together signal a genuine attempt to rebuild a balanced, creative and inclusive education for every child.
Trevor MacFarlane, Director of Culture Commons, said:
“These reforms have been a long time coming. After a decade of narrow thinking about what counts as success in education, this is a long-overdue course correction.
The new statutory requirements for a more rounded education are a real turning point. Creativity isn’t a luxury - it’s how children and young people learn to think critically, work together and understand the world.
We’re hopefully now going to see imagination and expression back where they belong: at the centre of every classroom and every child’s future - no matter their background or postcode.”
Summary of reforms
The Curriculum and Assessment Review sets out a comprehensive suite of reforms, including:
Equal status for the arts giving arts GCSEs - Art & Design, Drama, Music, Dance and Design & Technology - standing alongside humanities and languages in performance measures, as the EBacc is scrapped and Progress 8 reformed to reward breadth.
A National Centre for Arts and Music Education will coordinate training, research and partnerships, connecting national policy with regional practice.
Revitalised arts curricula will reflect today’s creative industries and value process, imagination and experimentation - not just technique.
A new oracy framework will embed spoken communication and confidence from primary through secondary.
A core enrichment entitlement will guarantee every pupil access to arts, culture, nature, sport and civic engagement, with Ofsted assessing delivery and school profiles published for transparency.
Citizenship and media literacy will become compulsory in primary, teaching democracy, law, rights, climate and finance - alongside new lessons on spotting fake news and online disinformation.
Schools will be encouraged to partner with local arts, culture and heritage organisations, supporting the government’s Opportunity Mission and devolution agenda by linking education with place-based action.
The final curriculum will be published in spring 2027, with first teaching from September 2028, giving schools and cultural providers time to prepare.
Together, these measures mark a re-balancing of education toward a richer model of achievement - one that treats knowledge, creativity and character as inseparable.
Why creativity matters for every child
An education system that prizes creativity is one that values the full development of the person.
When young people engage deeply with art, design, drama, music or creative writing, they aren’t only learning techniques or theory - they’re building the cognitive and emotional capacities that underpin human flourishing and democratic life.
Through creative learning, children develop:
Confidence and oracy: the ability to speak, listen and express ideas clearly and with conviction.
Criticality and self-reflection: learning to question, analyse and situate themselves in relation to others.
Empathy and collaboration: understanding different perspectives and working effectively in teams.
Creativity and problem solving: using imagination and flexibility to approach complex challenges.
Fluency of thought and expression: connecting ideas across disciplines and articulating them persuasively.
Impulse control and resilience: developing focus, patience and the ability to respond constructively to feedback and failure.
These are not merely “soft skills.” They are the foundations of a capable, adaptable society - the very traits needed to navigate an age of automation, misinformation and climate change.
Next steps
This review represents a welcome and long-awaited step toward a richer, more human vision of education - one that recognises that knowledge, creativity and character are inseparable. It stands as a testament to the teachers, artists, cultural organisations, researchers and advocates who have, for years, spoken with one voice about the need to rebuild what has been lost: a system that values the arts and creativity as a core part of learning - and of life.
For these ambitions to move from paper to practice, schools and teachers will need time, support and resources to rebuild the trust required to bring them to life. The work ahead lies not only in new frameworks, but in giving educators the confidence, capacity and professional freedom to make creativity part of every classroom once again.
That will require sustained investment, deep partnership with the cultural sector, and a genuine, long-term commitment to every child’s right to create, imagine and belong.
At Culture Commons, we’ll continue to work alongside our national, regional and local partners to turn this shared vision into lived reality for the next generation - helping to build a system where creativity is recognised not as a luxury, but as a public good.
