Opinion with Alice King-Farlow

If I ask a colleague at the National Theatre how they came to be a technician, actor, producer or playwright, many tell me it was school that opened the door. Often it was a drama teacher who nurtured their interest, pointed them to youth theatres locally, and encouraged them to consider a career in theatre or the wider creative industries. Those industries contribute £108 billion to the economy annually and are growing at more than one and a half times the rate of the wider economy according to the Department of Culture, Media & Sport. The theatre industry is a powerhouse for the UK, but it depends on the next generation of creative talent from across the country and their diverse skills, backgrounds and experiences.

In the last year roughly one in five drama classes in state secondary schools were taught by a non-specialist teacher, according to the Department for Education. Fewer teachers and squeezed budgets also mean less extracurricular drama and fewer theatre trips.

At the National Theatre we believe that every child in the UK should have access to drama within the curriculum as well as the chance to extend their interest through youth theatre and theatre trips. This offering should not be reserved for just the next generation of technicians or playwrights. It should be available for all young people, whatever their future careers. We know that access to the arts has a positive impact on wellbeing and social development, as well as building confidence and skills for all careers. Across the country, dedicated teachers and school leaders continue to put drama at the centre of school life, but this is far from universal.

The National Theatre, like theatres across the country, works with schools to support access to drama. Our NT Collection makes 60 productions available for free in any state school classroom in the UK, and for primary schools we're delighted to include titles from the Unicorn Theatre. Last year the National Theatre worked directly with 42,000 young people, toured schools across England, launched Speak Up in 55 secondary schools to encourage young people to explore issues that mattered to them and took our Young Technicians training programme nationwide. We're committed to widening routes into the industry – we've trained 60 apprentices in the last decade in all aspects of theatre-making, from scenic carpentry and technical theatre to caring for the collections in our archive.

But the foundation of curriculum access in all schools remains vital. That is why we are working across the industry to make the case for drama in schools – urging political parties to prioritise the arts in their education manifestos, contributing to the Government's Cultural Education Plan and supporting campaigns like the Society of London Theatre's call for every child to have access to the theatre, and the Drama and Theatre Education Alliance's Seize the Day.

Drama should be a core entitlement in school. Equal access is vital for the future of the creative industries, and to develop essential skills for working life in any industry. We hope that over the next few years, the statistics for drama entries will tell a more positive story.