Inequalities in school arts take-up labelled a ‘national scandal’

Children living in the most deprived parts of England are less likely to study expressive arts subjects at GCSE and A Level, according to new research, with the situation being labelled a “national scandal”.

The Cultural Learning Alliance’s (CLA) 2025 report card found that expressive arts subjects – consisting of art and design, dance, drama and music – accounted for 6.6% of all GCSE entries and 4.2% of all A Level entries last academic year across the most deprived fifth of local authorities in England.

In comparison, expressive arts made up 8.3% of GCSE entries and 5.4% of A Level entries in the least deprived fifth of English local authorities, which CLA says is both creating an ‘arts entitlement gap’ and continuing the existing ‘arts enrichment gap’. 

The alliance said the findings “demonstrates the impact of the systemic de-prioritisation of the expressive arts in secondary education since 2010”.

The report card adds that the arts entitlement gap persists outside the classroom, with 56% of 11- to 19-year-olds in the two most deprived fifths of the country experiencing creative and cultural extra-curricular opportunities, compared with 76% of their peers in the most affluent fifth of the country.

In response, the CLA has said expressive arts education and access to such opportunities and experiences represents a social justice issue.

Sarah Kilpatrick, president of the National Education Union, commented that the “glaring inequalities” in provision have become a “national scandal”. 

“Arts education should be a right for all children and young people. But for many students, it is a right denied,” Kilpatrick said.

“The entitlement gap in access to the arts will only close if we can invest in arts and creative education and the workforce who deliver it. The dire state of school funding that has led to so many cuts to provision across education must also be addressed.”

Recruitment crisis

The report card also reveals that the teaching workforce for the expressive arts is “in crisis”.

Teacher training has fallen by an average of 66% across the expressive arts since 2020/21, with initial teacher training (ITT) recruitment for studying the same subjects down 30% on average since 2022/23.

Comparing 2023/24 ITT figures with those from 2020/21, recruitment in art and design is down 84%, music is down 76%, drama has dropped 60% and design and technology has decreased 45%.

“These findings make clear that pandemic and immediate post-pandemic improvements in ITT recruitment have concluded, and that ITT is returning to the pattern of low recruitment for arts subjects that has been the overall norm since 2010,” the report card says.

The figures also mean that the government has only met 44% of its target for new ITT recruits in art and design, and 27% of its music and design and technology targets.

Despite a decrease in training numbers, CLA did note a slight increase in the number of expressive arts teachers in the secondary school workforce in 2023/24, increasing at a faster rate than the overall teacher workforce.

However, the report card emphasises that the figure remains 27% down on the size of the expressive arts teacher workforce in 2011/12, despite the overall secondary teacher workforce growing by 6% over the same time period.

Interventions

CLA has developed a series of interventions to address its findings, aimed at ensuring equal curriculum access to the expressive arts.

The interventions include repositioning the expressive arts as a core and equal curriculum area, bringing in a minimum four-hour expressive arts entitlement within the school week and introducing an entitlement to teacher training and teacher development opportunities in expressive arts subjects.

Sally Bacon, CLA co-chair, called the ongoing curriculum and assessment review a critical moment to ensure arts subjects are recognised, “not as optional extras, but as essential to a broad, balanced and future-facing education”.

“This is an entitlement gap that the government cannot afford to ignore,” Bacon added. “There has been a long-term dismantling of the infrastructure that supports young people to access and benefit from arts and culture, and the most marginalised children and young people have been bearing the brunt of this decline.”