The Arts in Schools - Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation

Politicians are not alone in resisting the idea of a common policy for the arts.Some arts educators resist it too. They fear that it will lead inevitably tocombined arts courses and through these to less specialist teaching and lowerstandards of work. There is anxiety too that schools will use such coursescynically to cut overall provision. Both of these fears have some foundation.Some schools have cut arts provision through combined arts and some coursesare superficial and badly thought out. But bad practice does not deny a soundprinciple. Some combined arts courses have generated powerful partnershipsbetween teachers, and new and compelling opportunities for pupils. But theargument for a common policy is not only, nor even principally, to do withthe specific issue of combined arts.One of the basic tenets of arts education is that the arts help to develop thewide range of pupils' abilities in education. But pupils have different abilitiesand aptitudes within the arts themselves. Meeting these differences calls fora whole school policy on the arts and for co-operation among arts teachers inthe timetable if not in the classroom and studio.These curricular arguments are outlined in this report. They have beendeveloped in detail in the three publications of the Arts in Schools projectpublished by Oliver and Boyd under the general title The Arts 5-16. Thesethree publications draw on the project's national development work in schoolsfollowing the Gulbenkian report and look closely at the new context createdin schools by the Education Reform Act:1. The Arts 5-16: A Curriculum FrameworkGiven the many pressures on time and resources, and the wide range ofarts disciplines to consider, schools have repeatedly called for advice onthe sorts of arts provision they might offer. This publication discussesthe central issues for curriculum planning and assessment and offers ageneral framework of ideas for schools to consider in developing theirarts policies.2. The Arts 5-16: Practice and InnovationThe teachers taking part in the project documented over three hundredinitiatives to enhance provision for the arts in the curriculum. Thispublication draws from this rich reservoir of experience to discuss andillustrate approaches to a range of practical issues from curriculumplanning to improving continuity and meeting special educational needs.3. The Arts 5-16: A Workpack for TeachersCurriculum development involves staff development. The workpackoffers ideas, resources and suggestions for organising in-serviceworkshops with staff in primary and secondary schools and for use ininitial training courses.The Gulbenkian The Arts in Schools report has done a great deal to focusattention on the necessity of the arts in education, and has mobilised aconsiderable amount of practical action since it first appeared. Other developmentsin education have harmonised with the views it presents. In particularxvi