National Advisory Committee on Creative and Cultural Education All Our Futures: Creativity, Culture and Education Report to the Secretary of State for Education and Employment the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport May 1999

2 Contents Terms of Reference 2 Membership of the Committee 3 Introduction and Summary 5 Part One: Facing the Future 1. The Challenge for Education 17 2. Creative Education 28 3. Cultural Education 44 4. Meeting the Challenge 61 Part Two: A New Balance 5. Developing the Curriculum 72 6. Teaching and Learning 101 7. Raising Standards 124 Part Three: Beyond the School 8. Developing Partnerships 138 9. Funding and Resources 160 10. Training People 174 Part Four: A National Strategy Looking Ahead 190 Detailed Recommendations 192 Appendices A. Patterns of Provision 205 B. Abbreviations, Notes and References 221 C. Acknowledgements 228 D. Research and Consultations 229 Contents NACCCE report 1

3 Terms of Reference The National Advisory Committee on Creative and Cultural Education was established in February 1998 by the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, the Rt. Hon David Blunkett MP and the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, the Rt. Hon Chris Smith MP. Our terms of reference are: To make recommendations to the Secretaries of State on the creative and cultural development of young people through formal and informal education: to take stock of current provision and to make proposals for principles, policies and practice. This report makes recommendations for provision in formal and informal education for young people to the age of 16: that is, to the end of compulsory education. Our inquiry coincides with the GovernmentÕs planned review of the National Curriculum. This report includes specific recommendations on the National Curriculum. It also includes recommendations for a wider national strategy for creative and cultural education. Terms of Reference NACCCE report 2

4 Membership of the Committee Professor Ken Robinson (Chairman), University of Warwick Professor Lewis Minkin (Vice-chair), Sheffield Hallam University Professor Eric Bolton CB, Formerly Senior Chief Inspector Dawn French, Actor/Comedian Lindsey Fryer, Vice-chair, Engage The National Association of Gallery Education Professor Susan Greenfield, University of Oxford Valerie Hannon, Chief Education Officer, Derbyshire Lenny Henry CBE, Actor/Comedian Dawn Holgate, Director of Education, Phoenix Dance Company Dame Tamsyn Imison, Head, Hampstead School, London Clive Jones, Chief Executive, Carlton Television Judith Kelly OBE, Artistic Director, West Yorkshire Playhouse Professor Sir Harold Kroto Kt., FRS, University of Sussex Sir Claus Moser KCB, CBE, FBA, Chairman, Basic Skills Agency Sir Simon Rattle Kt., CBE, Conductor Lord Stone of Blackheath, Managing Director, Marks & Spencer plc Professor Helen Storey, Fashion Designer Carol Traynor, Head, St Boniface RC Primary School, Salford Research Officer Mathilda Joubert Administrative Officer Lynn Green Membership of the Committee NACCCE report 3

5 Observers John Connolly, DfEE (from August 1998) Julian Critchley, DfEE Janet Dawson, DfEE Theresa Downing, DfEE (to August 1998) Tony Dyer, DCMS (from December 1998) Patrick Fallon, DCMS (to November 1998) David Fawcett, DCMS (to November 1998) Allan Ferries, DCMS (from December 1998) Peter Jones HMI, OFSTED Tony Knight, QCA Angela Walsh, TTA Membership of the Committee NACCCE report 4

6 Introduction and Summary The Purpose of this Report i. In 1997, the Government published its White Paper Excellence in Schools. It described education as a vital investment in Ôhuman capitalõ for the twenty-first century. It argued that one of the problems in education is the low expectations of young peopleõs abilities and that it is essential to raise morale, motivation and self esteem in schools. The main focus of the White Paper was on raising standards in literacy and numeracy. But this will not be enough to meet the challenges that face education, and the White Paper recognised this. It also said: If we are to prepare successfully for the twenty-first century we will have to do more than just improve literacy and numeracy skills. We need a broad, flexible and motivating education that recognises the different talents of all children and delivers excellence for everyone. It emphasised the urgent need to unlock the potential of every young person and argued that BritainÕs economic prosperity and social cohesion depend on this. Our aim must be to create a nation where the creative talents of all the people are used to build a true enterprise economy for the twentyfirst century Ñ where we compete on brains, not brawn. The Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon Tony Blair MP...we cannot rely on a small Žlite, no matter how highly educated or highly paid. Instead we need the creativity, enterprise and scholarship of all our people. Rt. Hon David Blunkett MP, Secretary of State for Education and Employment ii. iii. This report argues that a national strategy for creative and cultural education is essential to that process. We put the case for developing creative and cultural education; we consider what is involved; we look at current provision and assess the opportunities and obstacles; and we set out a national strategy. By creative education we mean forms of education that develop young peopleõs capacities for original ideas and action: by cultural education we mean forms of education that enable them to engage positively with the growing complexity and diversity of social values and ways of life. We argue that there are important relationships between creative and cultural education, and significant implications for methods of teaching and assessment, the balance of the school curriculum and for partnerships between schools and the wider world. What is this Report About? Our report develops five main themes: The Challenge for Education Education faces challenges that are without precedent. Meeting these challenges calls for new priorities in education, We must change the concept of creativity from being something that is Ôadded onõ to education, skills, training and management and make sure it becomes intrinsic to all of these. Rt. Hon Chris Smith MP, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Introduction and Summary NACCCE report 5

7 including a much stronger emphasis on creative and cultural education and a new balance in teaching and in the curriculum. Creative Potential Creativity is possible in all areas of human activity, including the arts, sciences, at work at play and in all other areas of daily life. All people have creative abilities and we all have them differently. When individuals find their creative strengths, it can have an enormous impact on self-esteem and on overall achievement. Freedom and Control Creativity is not simply a matter of letting go. Serious creative achievement relies on knowledge, control of materials and command of ideas. Creative education involves a balance between teaching knowledge and skills, and encouraging innovation. In these ways, creative development is directly related to cultural education. Cultural Understanding Young people are living in times of rapid cultural change and of increasing cultural diversity. Education must enable them to understand and respect different cultural values and traditions and the processes of cultural change and development. The engine of cultural change is the human capacity for creative thought and action. A Systemic Approach Creative and cultural education are not subjects in the curriculum, they are general functions of education. Promoting them effectively calls for a systemic strategy: one that addresses the balance of the school curriculum, teaching methods and assessment, how schools connect with other people and resources and the training and development of teachers and others. Who is this Report for? iv. Formally, our report is addressed to the Secretaries of State, and many of our recommendations do call for Government action at various levels. But education concerns everybody: children and young people, parents, employers, those in Introduction and Summary NACCCE report 6

8 work, out of work or in retirement. Consequently, our report is also written for a wider audience: for parents, who want education to offer the best opportunities for their children; for teachers and headteachers who see the potential range and vitality of young peopleõs abilities; for school governors, who want their schools to be alive with energy and achievement; for other organisations who see themselves as partners in the education of young people and who want to find better ways of engaging with them; for business and union leaders who recognise the need for new approaches to preparing young people for the changing nature of work. Above all, our aim is to urge the need for a national strategy which engages the energies of all of these to provide the kind of education, in substance and in style, that all young people need now, and to enable them to face an uncertain and demanding future. Why Now? v. There are great opportunities now to promote young peopleõs creative and cultural education: The Government is committed to promoting the creative abilities and cultural understanding of all young people through education. At the same time, it is introducing new patterns of funding to support extended curricula, specialist facilities and innovation. The business community wants education to give a much higher priority to promoting young peopleõs creative abilities; to developing teamwork, social skills and powers of communication. Many professional and other organisations are keen to develop innovative partnerships with education, through visits, residencies and liaison schemes. New technologies are providing unprecedented access to ideas, information, people and Introduction and Summary NACCCE report 7

9 organisations throughout the world, as well as to new modes of creativity, personal expression, cultural exchange and understanding. The opportunities are considerable: and so are the difficulties. vi. Issues of creativity and of cultural development concern the whole of education. They are influenced by much more than the shape and content of the formal school curriculum. These influences include methods of teaching; the ethos of schools, including the relationships between teachers and learners; and the national priorities that underpin the education service. Our consultations suggest some tensions in current provision. Many of those who have contributed to our inquiry believe that current priorities and pressures in education inhibit the creative abilities of young people and of those who teach them. There is a particular concern about the place and status of the arts and humanities. There is also concern that science education is losing its vitality under current pressures. Many schools are doing exciting and demanding work but often they see themselves doing this in spite, not because, of the existing climate. This may be more a problem of perception than of fact. There is no comprehensive evidence available either way to us nor to the Government. Nevertheless, the fact of this perception, and how widespread it is, is evidence of a problem in itself. Outside organisations Ñ museums, theatres, galleries, orchestras and others Ñ have a great deal to offer the formal education sector. Many already have education and outreach programmes. There is a compelling argument for closer working partnerships and we have found considerable enthusiasm for them. Many say they are poorly funded for educational programmes and that such work still has low priority. There are concerns about the supply of teachers and the extent to which current training takes account of the importance of creative and cultural education. Introduction and Summary NACCCE report 8

10 vii. The key message of this report is the need for a new balance in education: in setting national priorities; in the structure and organisation of the school curriculum; in methods of teaching and assessment; in relationships between schools and other agencies. Over a number of years, the balance of education, in our view, has been lost. There has been a tendency for the national debate on education to be expressed as a series of exclusive alternatives, even dichotomies: for example, as a choice between the arts or the sciences; the core curriculum or the broad curriculum; between academic standards or creativity; freedom or authority in teaching methods. We argue that these dichotomies are unhelpful. Realising the potential of young people, and raising standards of achievement and motivation includes all of these elements. Creating the right synergy and achieving the right balance in education is an urgent and complex task, from national policy making to classroom teaching. Structure of the Report viii. The report is in four parts. In Part One, we set out our definitions and framework for creative and cultural education. In Part Two, we look at the implications for the school curriculum, for teaching and for assessment. In Part Three, we argue for a broad base of partnerships between schools and other agencies and consider issues of resources and training. In Part Four we present a series of detailed recommendations as a framework for a national strategy. The arguments of the report are as follows: Part One: Facing the Future 1. The Challenge for Education Education throughout the world faces unprecedented challenges: economic, technological, social, and personal. Policy-makers everywhere emphasise the urgent need to develop Ôhuman resourcesõ, and in particular to promote creativity, adaptability and better powers of communication. We argue that this means reviewing some of the basic assumptions of our education system. New approaches are needed based on broader conceptions of young peopleõs abilities, of how to promote their motivation and self-esteem, and of the skills and aptitudes they need. Creative and Introduction and Summary NACCCE report 9

11 cultural education are fundamental to meeting these objectives. 2. Creative Development There are many misconceptions about creativity. Some people associate creative teaching with a lack of discipline in education. Others see creative ability as the preserve of a gifted few, rather than of the many; others associate it only with the arts. In our view, creativity is possible in all areas of human activity and all young people and adults have creative capacities. Developing these capacities involves a balance between teaching skills and understanding, and promoting the freedom to innovate, and take risks. 3. Cultural Development Culture too is often associated with the arts. However, we relate the arts to a broader definition of social culture which includes the impact of science and technology on ways of life and the increasing interaction between cultures. Young people need to be helped to engage positively with cultural change and diversity. The dangers of cultural intolerance make this task a particular priority. We argue that creative and cultural education are dynamically related and that there are practical implications for the curriculum and for the classroom. 4. Meeting the Challenge In this section, we draw together our arguments for creative and cultural education and show how in principle they contribute to meeting the challenges for education that we have identified. In Part Two we move from principles to practice. Part Two: A New Balance 5. Developing the School Curriculum There have been many benefits in the introduction of the National Curriculum. There are also difficulties for creative and cultural education in the existing rationale, structure and levels of prescription. These issues need to be tackled to allow more initiative to schools within a clear framework of public accountability. All schools should review their Introduction and Summary NACCCE report 10

12 provision for creative and cultural education within and beyond the National Curriculum. 6. Teaching and Learning Creativity can be ÔtaughtÕ. Teachers can be creative in their own teaching; they can also promote the creative abilities of their pupils. The roles of teachers are to recognise young peopleõs creative capacities; and to provide the particular conditions in which they can be realised. Developing creativity involves, amongst other things, deepening young peopleõs cultural knowledge and understanding. This is essential both in itself and to promote forms of education which are inclusive and sensitive to cultural diversity and change. 7. Raising Standards Assessment and inspection have vital roles in raising standards of achievement in schools. But they must support and not inhibit creative and cultural education. There is a need for a new balance between different types of attainment target in the National Curriculum, and between the different forms and criteria of assessment and inspection. Raising standards should not mean standardisation, or the objectives of creative and cultural education will be frustrated. Part Three: Beyond the School 8. Developing Partnerships Schools are now able to work in partnership with a wide range of individuals and organisations to enrich provision for creative and cultural education. The benefits of successful partnerships, and the roles of various partners in creative and cultural education are different, but complementary. There is a great deal of good practice, but there is an urgent need to establish better systems of funding, training and quality assurance of the effectiveness of partnerships. 9. Funding and Resources Local management of schools has reduced many services and facilities that were once provided by local education authorities to support creative and cultural education. Coordinated action is needed to provide these services in new Introduction and Summary NACCCE report 11

13 and imaginative ways in the short and longer term. There are also many new sources of funding available to schools and organisations through a wide range of schemes and initiatives. New patterns of partnership are needed between government departments and funding agencies to make more effective use of resources. 10. Training People The new provisions in initial teacher training present serious difficulties to the future of creative and cultural education. Urgent action is needed to ensure a continuing supply of appropriately trained teachers. We also see new roles for continued professional development and the need to review the priorities for funding. New training strategies are needed for specialists other than teachers. Action is needed to improve the quality of training for youth workers to promote the creative and cultural development of young people. Part Four: A National Strategy We welcome the governmentõs commitment to developing the creative capacities and cultural understanding of young people. We recommend that it should now co-ordinate a national strategy to promote higher standards of provision and achievement. This strategy should include action by the government itself and by the national agencies for the school curriculum, inspection and teacher training. It should also include action by local education authorities and schools and by other national and regional organisations. Throughout this report we make a wide range of specific recommendations that provide a framework for this strategy. In Part Four, we draw these recommendations together, indicate how they are related and the time scale over which some of them should be implemented and by whom. All of these recommendations are addressed to three principal objectives. a. To ensure that the importance of creative and cultural education is explicitly recognised and provided for in schoolsõ policies for the whole curriculum, and in government policy for the National Curriculum. b. To ensure that teachers and other professionals are encouraged and trained to use methods and materials that facilitate the development of young Introduction and Summary NACCCE report 12

14 peopleõs creative abilities and cultural understanding. c. To promote the development of partnerships between schools and outside agencies which are now essential to provide the kinds of creative and cultural education that young people need and deserve. If these objectives were achieved the benefits would be felt by all young people, the education sector and by society as a whole. How important is this? ix. There is intense concern with raising standards in education, and schools and the education sector in general are already deluged with reports. How important is this one? For some people, the very theme of this report may seem a distraction from the main business of raising standards. We do not think so. Our concerns are the same as everyone elseõs. How can education enable our children to make the most of themselves and take the best advantage of the opportunities and uncertainties that they face in a fast changing world? Let us anticipate some of the legitimate questions that might be asked of this report. 1. IsnÕt an emphasis on creativity and culture a distraction from the core concerns with literacy and numeracy? We are not advocating creative and cultural education as alternatives to literacy and numeracy, but as equally relevant to the needs of this and of future generations. We support the need for high standards of literacy and numeracy. These are important in themselves. They can also enhance creative abilities: equally creative teaching and learning can enhance literacy and numeracy. These are complementary abilities, not opposing objectives. The Government and the vast majority of people in education recognise this. 2. How are creative and cultural education relevant to raising academic standards? Ability comes in many forms and should not be defined only by traditional academic criteria. Academic ability alone will no longer guarantee success or personal achievement. Every Introduction and Summary NACCCE report 13

15 child has capabilities beyond the traditionally academic. Children with high academic ability may have other strengths that are often neglected. Children who struggle with academic work can have outstanding abilities in other areas. Equally, creative and cultural education of the sort we propose can also help to raise academic standards. The key is to find what children are good at. Self confidence and self esteem then tend to rise and overall performance improve. High standards in creative achievement require just as much rigour as traditional academic work. 3. What has this got to do with helping young people get jobs? We live in a fast moving world. While employers continue to demand high academic standards, they also now want more. They want people who can adapt, see connections, innovate, communicate and work with others. This is true in many areas of work. The new knowledge-based economies in particular will increasingly depend on these abilities. Many businesses are paying for courses to promote creative abilities, to teach the skills and attitudes that are now essential for economic success but which our education system is not designed to promote. 4. Is this committee a lobby group for the arts? This report does not represent a particular lobby. It expresses concerns across a wide range of public and professional interests about the balance and priorities of education as we move into the twenty-first century. Our members come from different professions and backgrounds: including science, the arts, education and business. Creative achievement is obvious in the arts but it is essential to achievement in all other fields including the sciences and business. 5. Is this a return to the progressive teaching ideas of the 1960s? No. We are advocating a new balance between learning knowledge and skills and having the freedom to innovate and experiment Ñ a system of education that fosters and channels the diverse abilities of young people and which gives everyone the opportunity to achieve on their own merits. Introduction and Summary NACCCE report 14

16 This is why we link creative education with cultural education. 6. Teachers are already under enormous pressures. Are these recommendations going to add to the burden? Good teachers and many high performing schools are already doing what we are recommending. We want to emphasise the importance of their work and to establish national priorities for creative and cultural education in all schools. The curriculum is already over-full and we think it should be thinned out. We want teachers to have more freedom to use their own creative and professional skills. Greater freedom for teachers in the classroom will help to promote creative teaching and this is essential to promote creative learning. Looking Forward x. The issues we are dealing with in this report are essential to the overall quality and standards of education. They are also difficult in terms of definition, policy and practice. We have found our own debates as a group exciting and enlightening. We have had an opportunity which is all too rare to meet across specialisms and to talk from a wide range of different backgrounds. We continually found that ideas and values that we thought particular to our own fields are common to us all. Too often, our own education had taught us otherwise. In what follows, we have tried to say as directly and clearly as we can what we are concerned with and what we are concerned about. We have tried to balance a discussion of definitions and principles with recommendations that are practical and feasible. We have not dealt in detail with all of the issues we raise: we have not done justice to every subtlety of argument on the way. Our task has been to balance depth with breadth, theory with practice and detail with brevity. In publishing this report we believe with even more strength than we did at the outset, that the tasks we identify are urgent and the arguments compelling; that the benefits of success are enormous and the costs of inaction profound. xi. In his introduction to Excellence in Schools (DfEE 1997), the Secretary of State for Education and Employment relates the GovernmentÕs aims for education to five priorities: Introduction and Summary NACCCE report 15

17 xii. xiii. the need to overcome economic and social disadvantages; the creation of greater fairness within the education system; the encouragement of aspiration; economic competitiveness; unlocking the potential of each individual. We believe that these are the right priorities for education; and that they are all related. Our aims are to show how these priorities can be realised through a systematic approach to creative and cultural education; to promote higher standards in creative and cultural education in all disciplines; to promote parity of provision between the arts, humanities, sciences and other major areas of education; and to stimulate a broad base of partnerships between schools and outside agencies. We see all of these as essential to realising the potential of young people; and to promoting the quality of national life and of individual achievement that are the ultimate purposes of education. The foundations of the present education system were laid at the end of the nineteenth century. They were designed to meet the needs of a world that was being transformed by industrialisation. We are publishing this report at the dawn of a new century. The challenges we face now are of the same magnitude, but they are of a different character. The task is not to do better now what we set out to do then: it is to rethink the purposes, methods and scale of education in our new circumstances. This report argues that no education system can be world-class without valuing and integrating creativity in teaching and learning, in the curriculum, in management and leadership and without linking this to promoting knowledge and understanding of cultural change and diversity. The arguments and proposals that follow are to help set a course for the next century while addressing the urgent demands of the present. Professor Ken Robinson; Chairman Introduction and Summary NACCCE report 16

18 Part One Facing the Future NACCCE report 17

19 1. The Challenge for Education Educating for the Future 1. Countries throughout the world are re-organising their education systems. Like us, they are engulfed in rapid economic and social change. Everywhere, education is seen as the main way of enabling individuals and nations alike to meet these changes. Schools have a complex task. We expect education to prepare young people for the world of work and for economic independence; to enable them to live constructively in responsible communities; and to enable them to live in a tolerant, culturally diverse and rapidly changing society. Perhaps above all, we expect education to help young people to build lives that have meaning and purpose in a future we can scarcely predict. The burning question, for everyone involved, and increasingly that is everyone, is how is this to be done? What kind of education is needed? In our view the answers involve much more than increasing the amount of education that goes on: and more than doing better what we have always done. They involve reviewing some of the basic assumptions on which education so far has been based. We need new approaches, because the challenges we all face are unprecedented. What are these challenges? A successful creative economy is one of the governmentõs priorities, and a key source of jobs of the future. The only way that we will compete in these new sectors is through the talents of our people. The Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon Tony Blair MP The Economic Challenge 2. To develop in young people the skills, knowledge and personal qualities they need for a world where work is undergoing rapid and long-term change. One of the most basic expectations of general education is that it will enable young people to get a job when they leave school. The modern system of education in England was introduced by the 1944 Education Act. The Act was planned, in part, to provide a workforce for the post-war industrial economy. It was estimated that this would consist of roughly 80 per cent manual workers and 20 per cent clerical and professional staff. More than fifty years on, the economic context has changed completely: in some fields of employment this ratio is being reversed. This is because of the radical transformations world-wide in both the nature and the patterns of work. Our top priorities must continue to be literacy and numeracy. Without these basic skills, no child can gain maximum benefit from the rest of the curriculum. However, in the workforce of the future, I have always recognised that creativity, adaptability, and communication skills will also be vital. We must enable young people to develop their creative potential and to meet the fundamental challenges that face our country. Rt. Hon David Blunkett MP, Secretary of State for Education and Employment The Challenge for Education NACCCE report 18