Only 7 per cent of school leaders will spend more time on creative subjects despite the removal of the English Baccalaureate (EBacc), a survey has revealed.

The government committed to scrapping the EBacc performance measure following the curriculum and assessment review in November.

Despite the changes, the polling found no major impact on arts provision in schools is expected. With 56 per cent of heads surveyed saying they will keep their curriculum the same, while just 7 per cent will increase time spent on creative subjects.

The survey, commissioned by the Arts and Mind Campaign and carried out by Teacher Tapp, polled 1,916 primary and secondary school leaders and senior leadership teams.

‘Crowded’ curriculum

The campaign group warned that the government’s commitment to restoring the status of creative subjects in schools has “not gone far enough”.

It added: “A crowded curriculum, the ongoing burden of statutory assessments and accountability measures and not enough funding all mean that little to nothing will change in classrooms in the coming years.”

The EBacc measures the number of students entering GCSEs in English language and literature, maths, the sciences, geography or history and a language.

It was introduced by former education secretary Michael Gove in 2010, but has been criticised for encouraging a limited view of the curriculum.

Some 56 per cent of primary leaders and 39 per cent of secondary leaders warned that “too many other curriculum priorities” prevent them from spending more time on creative subjects.

Cuts to school funding and the teacher recruitment challenges also play a role: 23 per cent cited difficulty finding specialist teachers, and 13 per cent believed lack of funding is a contributing factor.

Reducing assessments

Some 38 per cent of all respondents said that reducing statutory assessments would be the most popular policy to allow more time for students to study the arts.

This was followed by changes to accountability measures (33 per cent) and increased per-pupil funding (33 per cent).

The campaign is calling on the government to “restore parity” between subjects and give schools the “trust and flexibility” they need to educate in the way they choose.

It also urged the Department for Education to “end high-stakes assessments at primary school and reduce the exam burden at GCSE”.

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