Dear Secretaries of State

The government has made repeated commitments to put the arts back at the heart of education. We welcome the ambition to ensure every child has the chance to study creative subjects and reach their full potential wherever their talents lie.

In its interim report, the government's independent Curriculum and Assessment Review panel rightly notes that “some subjects within the category ‘the arts’ have seen a decline” and that the “EBacc measure limits students’ access to and time for arts” at secondary school.

However, over the last 14 years arts provision has been significantly reduced across every school stage – a direct result of inadequate funding, an overly burdensome assessment and accountability system and the lack of status afforded creative subjects. As you know, access to the arts is growing ever more restricted for pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds. This has to stop and can only be reversed through government action.

The next few months offer a unique opportunity to break down the barriers to studying arts subjects in primary and secondary school. Now is the time to invest in the arts, restore their status, and reform assessment and accountability across the board.

We are calling on you to ensure that ALL children can enjoy these rich and inspiring subjects THROUGHOUT their school life. There is growing support for this call in the creative industries, in Parliament and amongst leading lights in the arts world including our Arts Ambassadors Steve Coogan, Dame Arlene Phillips and the Kanneh-Mason family.

Taking bold action today will not only unlock our young people’s imaginations, skills and ambitions, it will benefit the UK’s creative industries, the economy and society as a whole. It’s time to make space for the arts.

Yours sincerely