Secret Teacher: Issue 86

Like many of you, I’m sure, I spent the final few days of the Summer Term involved in Enrichment week – always an exhausting yet timely opportunity that gets students out of the confinement and comfort of the school routine. This year, alongside my art and music colleagues, I accompanied thirty students to London. During those two days, we spent an afternoon in the National Portrait Gallery, took in a West End show and toured the National Theatre’s backstage. It was an excellent example of creative arts enrichment, enhancing students’ classroom learning, as well as introducing them to an array of art organisations. It is this kind of experience that is increasingly under threat in our state schools.

Barely a week goes by without well-known figures in the creative sector speaking about the pressures facing arts subjects. Shakespeare’s Globe reported a 7% decrease in education visits over the past year and the Royal Shakespeare Company and Unicorn Theatre have raised concerns about the sustainability of their work with schools. Outside of the capital, Tom Morris, artistic director at the Bristol Old Vic has talked about the ‘ongoing budget cuts’ faced by regional theatres.

Speaking with colleagues makes it clear how a decade of austerity has taken its toll on schools: namely their ability to provide a sustained, varied and high-quality arts enrichment programme. The high-stakes atmosphere of student outcomes – where teachers are held increasingly accountable for their students’ exam results – is making these opportunities scarcer. Why wouldn’t you sacrifice the weekly drama club to off er interventions for those students who are below target, particularly if your job depends on it? This depressing picture is made worse by the Brexit-obsessed political class, who are failing to show the kind of urgency and imagination that our young people deserve.

We need to ensure, in an often hostile environment, that we can continue to provide these experiences for our students. And we can’t do it alone, we need the moral and financial support of parents, governors, senior leadership teams and, increasingly, MAT trustees who claim to champion the arts, though fail to back up their claims with the time and money that arts enrichment needs. The pressure on our political representatives must not let up!

Do you have views you'd like to express anonymously? Get in touch with the editor at sarah.lambie@markallengroup.com and ask if you can contribute a Secret Teacher column. We'd love to hear from you!