The Stage And Art School Announce Investigation Into The Impact Of Education Changes On Secondary School Drama Teaching

The Stage and Art School, the new organisation being set up to bring the education sector and arts industry together to help protect and improve arts education, have announced they are launching an investigation into the impact of EBacc and other education changes.

The survey, which is being launched today, is for secondary school drama teachers in England and investigates how recent changes to secondary school education are affecting the teaching of drama.

Jennifer Tuckett, Director of Art School, said: "We are delighted to be launching this survey with The Stage. With EBacc not including creative subjects and other changes such as the cancellation of arts A Levels including Creative Writing, now is a crucial time to investigate what impact these changes are having and to explore how we can best protect and improve arts education if we are to have a sustainable, diverse and flourishing arts industry in the future. Arts education has often not been given the serious attention it deserves, for example LynDon Johnson, upon signing into existence the National Endowment for the Arts said: "Art is a nation's most precious heritage. For it is in our works of art that we reveal to ourselves and to others the inner vision which guides us as a nation. And where there is no vision, the people perish." In addition, arts education has also been shown to have an impact more widely, for example developing problem-solving, communication and creativity skills that benefit jobs and society more generally. This is why Art School was set up, to investigate how best we can protect and improve arts education, and we couldn't be more pleased to be working with The Stage on this investigation".

Alistair Smith, editor at The Stage, said: "Arts subjects in the school curriculum appear to be under constant threat. It's crucial for the future health of the theatre industry that all children are given the chance to experience drama, and other creative subjects, from a young age, to ensure the sector attracts a future workforce that is as diverse and skilled as possible. The Stage has launched this survey with Art School to fully investigate the impact of funding cuts and the introduction of EBacc on the teaching of drama in secondary schools."

Art School will also be running a series of public events on how to improve arts education with speakers from the education sector and arts industry - for more information and to be kept informed as speakers are announced, please sign up to the Art School mailing list: http://artschool.space/mailing-list/

To complete the new survey being launched by The Stage and Art School, please go to: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/dramateachersurvey

Any teacher who teaches drama to pupils aged between 11 and 18 at a secondary school or sixth form college in England is eligible to fill out the anonymous survey.

For more information on Art School, please go to: www.artschool.space.