Professionals in education departments and museum learning have backed the findings of a report by the National Society for Education in Art and Design (Nsead) which warns that schools in England are cutting visits to museums and galleries because of changes to the curriculum.
Nsead canvassed 172 of its members, including heads of art, craft and design departments and educators, on the impact of performance measures introduced for the new English Baccalaureate (EBacc) on the art, craft and design curriculum.
The ‘value’ and ‘visibility’ of those subjects in schools and colleges was also evaluated.
The EBacc was introduced in 2010 by the Department for Education as a ‘performance measure’ . It is awarded when pupils secure a C grade in English, mathematics, history or geography, the sciences and a language.
The government has since introduced a broader ‘best eight’ GCSE benchmark that measures pupils’ progress across eight subjects including three non-EBacc subjects.
However, the Nsead survey revealed that at key stages 3 and 4 (pupils aged 11-16), EBacc performance measures have reduced opportunities to engage with art, craft and design through museum and gallery visits.
Janice Welch, the interim head of learning at the Geffrye Museum in London, says: “It is a cause for concern as it is already difficult attracting secondary visits to the museum due to timetabling and teaching commitments at schools. An additional barrier such as this will not help us to extend our offer to secondary pupils.”
She adds, however, that the museum has not suffered a fall in visits by primary schools.
Sue Davies, the head of learning and audience development at Leeds Museums and Galleries, says she is aware of a general trend for a fall in visits in Yorkshire. “In our service, this is also the case. The reasons are unclear; many services have hiked up their costs, for instance.”
The Nsead report shows a growing divide in the attitude to creative subjects in state and independent schools. Half of teachers from state schools say their school supports pupils to engage with art works first-hand by visiting museums, galleries and creative practitioners, compared with 86% in the independent sector.
Welch points out that the impact of the rewritten national curriculum for five- to 14-year-olds, which will be implemented this month, on state school visits remains to be seen.
Welch says: “Secondary schools find it difficult to visit even without the curriculum changes. If we are to remain accessible to secondary students, we shall have to work with schools to find new ways of engaging with them.”
It is probably too soon to account accurately for the impact of curriculum change. Schools of any stripe are struggling to make budgets stretch and this will mean that school visits are still under the cosh.
What has made it more difficult for secondary schools is the new GCSE emphasis on exams in place of course work; thus the syllabus becomes less outward looking and more exam focused.
Trips out are seen as a luxury, when before they were used to transform attitudes in young learners.
The contribution of Michael Gove can be summarised as broadly unhelpful to off-site cultural and heritage learning, except in a few isolated cases.
It will be interesting to see if the new secretary of state [Nicky Morgan] can usher in a more optimistic and skills-focused climate. The early indications are not promising.
Nick Winterbotham is the chairman of the Group for Education in Museums
Nsead canvassed 172 of its members, including heads of art, craft and design departments and educators, on the impact of performance measures introduced for the new English Baccalaureate (EBacc) on the art, craft and design curriculum.
The ‘value’ and ‘visibility’ of those subjects in schools and colleges was also evaluated.
The EBacc was introduced in 2010 by the Department for Education as a ‘performance measure’ . It is awarded when pupils secure a C grade in English, mathematics, history or geography, the sciences and a language.
The government has since introduced a broader ‘best eight’ GCSE benchmark that measures pupils’ progress across eight subjects including three non-EBacc subjects.
However, the Nsead survey revealed that at key stages 3 and 4 (pupils aged 11-16), EBacc performance measures have reduced opportunities to engage with art, craft and design through museum and gallery visits.
Janice Welch, the interim head of learning at the Geffrye Museum in London, says: “It is a cause for concern as it is already difficult attracting secondary visits to the museum due to timetabling and teaching commitments at schools. An additional barrier such as this will not help us to extend our offer to secondary pupils.”
She adds, however, that the museum has not suffered a fall in visits by primary schools.
Sue Davies, the head of learning and audience development at Leeds Museums and Galleries, says she is aware of a general trend for a fall in visits in Yorkshire. “In our service, this is also the case. The reasons are unclear; many services have hiked up their costs, for instance.”
The Nsead report shows a growing divide in the attitude to creative subjects in state and independent schools. Half of teachers from state schools say their school supports pupils to engage with art works first-hand by visiting museums, galleries and creative practitioners, compared with 86% in the independent sector.
Welch points out that the impact of the rewritten national curriculum for five- to 14-year-olds, which will be implemented this month, on state school visits remains to be seen.
Welch says: “Secondary schools find it difficult to visit even without the curriculum changes. If we are to remain accessible to secondary students, we shall have to work with schools to find new ways of engaging with them.”
Nick Winterbotham
It is probably too soon to account accurately for the impact of curriculum change. Schools of any stripe are struggling to make budgets stretch and this will mean that school visits are still under the cosh.
What has made it more difficult for secondary schools is the new GCSE emphasis on exams in place of course work; thus the syllabus becomes less outward looking and more exam focused.
Trips out are seen as a luxury, when before they were used to transform attitudes in young learners.
The contribution of Michael Gove can be summarised as broadly unhelpful to off-site cultural and heritage learning, except in a few isolated cases.
It will be interesting to see if the new secretary of state [Nicky Morgan] can usher in a more optimistic and skills-focused climate. The early indications are not promising.
Nick Winterbotham is the chairman of the Group for Education in Museums