Children’s creative talents must be nurtured in state schools to reduce inequalities and boost the economy, the final Child of the North education campaign report says.
Experts are calling for the Government to embed creativity as part of inclusive school curriculums to improve equitable access to creative subjects and careers. The current system risks missing disadvantaged children’s creative talents, and this could hinder the future of the UK’s creative economy, according to the new report.
“An evidence-based approach to creating a culture of inclusive opportunity through arts and creativity” is the twelfth and final monthly report in the Child of The North/Centre for Young Lives Series, which is edited by Professor Mark Mon-Williams and Dr Megan Wood at the University of Leeds.
It is time to recognise that creativity is not an optional extra—it is a fundamental pillar of an inclusive, opportunity-rich society.”
The Durham University-led report recommends providing free music or singing lessons for three years for every child who wishes to learn, as well as embedding time for children to be creative in primary schools.
Professor Mon-Williams, Chair in Cognitive Psychology in Leeds’ School of Psychology and Child of The North report series editor, said: “The evidence is clear – embedding creative experiences in education has the power to boost social mobility, reduce inequalities, and equip children with the skills they need to thrive in a rapidly changing world and grow our economy.
“This report provides a blueprint for ensuring that every child, regardless of background, has access to the transformative power of a creative educational experience. It could not be launched at a better time as Bradford takes centre stage as the UK City of Culture 2025 and commits to supporting the government’s Opportunity Mission.
“It is time to recognise that creativity is not an optional extra – it is a fundamental pillar of an inclusive, opportunity-rich society.”
Exclusion from arts and cultural education
While more than 2m people are employed in the creative industries in the UK and the cultural sector accounts for £31bn in gross value added to the UK economy, the report finds that 93% of children are being excluded from arts and cultural education due to a lack of creativity funding in state schools.
There has also been a stark decline in creative subjects being offered at GCSE - 42% of schools are no longer entering pupils for GCSE Music, 41% no longer enter pupils for GCSE Drama, and 84% of schools don’t offer GCSE Dance.
Britain’s children have got talent - but we are often too slow to nurture it
The report celebrates work already being done by creative organisations across the North of England to engage children. West Yorkshire projects used as case studies include Bradford 2025’s UK City of Culture Year, a literacy programme at the Royal Armouries Museum, the Leeds School Library Service, Opera North, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, and Dance Action Zone Leeds.
Today’s report calls for a new era of creativity and the arts in schools as part of the Government’s Opportunity Mission, to boost the creative economy and provide new opportunities to children whose talents risk being wasted. It says the success of the UK’s cultural and creative industries is now seriously threatened, as the educational pipeline that supplies the talent for professional music careers is severely restricted.
Professor Simon J. James, Durham University, Executive report editor, said: “The evidence shows that every one of us is, or can be creative - but is the country doing all we can do to encourage all our children and young people to be creative, and to think creatively? There are profound economic and geographic inequalities in access to an education that develops creativity and creative thinking, inequalities which we need to address for the sake of all children, whatever their background, and wherever they grow up.
“We need to ensure we are nurturing not only the stars of the future, but also, the orchestras, brass bands and music teachers so vital for the happiness and wellbeing of our communities – and the support that is needed begins in childhood.”
Recommendations
The report’s recommendations include:
- Calling on the Government to meet its manifesto pledge to support the study of creative and vocational subjects in school, alongside embedding teaching for creativity into the curriculum and ensuring Ofsted inspections reflect the importance of creativity and the arts to attainment and inclusion.
- Setting up an £150m ‘Arts Premium Fund’ to develop the existing primary school workforce and train the next generation of teachers to provide arts learning.
- Expanding arts and music education, including free music or singing lessons for three years for every child who wishes to learn.
- Incorporating arts-based approaches and nurturing creative thinking in subjects such as history and science to increase pupil engagement and boost educational outcomes, while also widening the pipeline of talent and innovation needed for the creative economy to flourish.
- Putting creativity and the expressive arts at the heart of the primary school curriculum, with every primary school a ‘singing school’ where children should feel free to sing, make music, paint, draw, create, play, and act.
- Doubling the early years premium and directing these funds towards developing the foundational skills needed within primary school and society.
- Extracurricular enrichment opportunities, focusing on arts, storytelling, and heritage projects should be hard-wired into holiday programmes.
- Introducing a ‘Cultural Enrichment Fund’ to encourage partnerships with local cultural institutions, enabling schools to host artist-led workshops, theatre productions, or music classes and thereby enrich the experiences of all their students.
- Developing educational partnerships with cultural institutions such as museums, theatres, and music academies to offer alternative routes to engaging students who may not thrive in conventional academic environments (e.g., those with SEND), and prioritising partnerships with schools in socioeconomically disadvantaged or rural regions.
- Creating more hands-on learning experiences that allow students to work alongside artists, curators, and other creative professionals to help young people discover new career pathways, including those within the UK’s growing creative economy.
Baroness Anne Longfield, Executive Chair of the Centre for Young Lives, said: “Britain’s children have got talent - but we are often too slow to nurture it and we are frequently failing to harness the innate skills in our communities through our education system. This is hindering the ability of our country to flourish and thrive.
“Many of our most successful musicians and bands have benefited from a rich, cultural, and creative education in the private school sector. We need to invest in boosting the opportunities of children in our state schools, from all backgrounds, as part of a bold ambition to develop truly inclusive education, support creativity throughout childhood and to tackle problems like the attendance crisis and attainment gap.
“A career in the arts, music, and cultural industries must not become the preserve of only the most advantaged. Creativity and the expressive arts should be part and parcel of every child’s education from primary school, not just a small minority.
“This report provides evidence and proposals for how we can create more opportunities for all children to nurture and develop creative skills which are so important to growing our economy, and which would ensure we have a more diverse and thriving creative arts and music sector.”
Dr Camilla Kingdon, Former President of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, said: “We cannot afford to continue to squander the innate talent that exists everywhere in our country. We must encourage our future Benjamin Zephaniahs, Ed Sheerans, and Bridget Rileys – we have a rich cultural heritage to nurture. We want a society where children of all abilities and talents can flourish.”
Child of the North is a partnership between the N8 Research Partnership and the Northern Health Science Alliance / Health Equity North and includes partners from across the North of England. Its vision is to develop a platform for collaboration, high-quality research, and policy engagement to support fairer futures for children living in the North of England.