Contribution
My Lords, I join others in thanking my noble friend for initiating the Bill. I know and appreciate her dedication to and belief in the cultural and creative sector. She is creative in every way.
I also welcome the noble Baroness, Lady Mackenzie. I first came across her in 2012, the doughty champion of what turned out to be the magnificent Cultural Olympiad—which was largely down to her, I think.
My noble friend said her speech was narrow, but I thought it was inspirational, alongside the speech of the noble Lord, Lord Cashman. I am afraid that I am going to be narrow, because mine is much more political.
We on these Benches wholeheartedly support the Secretary of State Lisa Nandy’s desire to unleash the power of our creative industries, but for this to happen, there needs to be universal access to creative education. This Government, as so many have said, inherited years of decline in the numbers of students taking GCSE and A-level arts-related subjects, as well as the number of teachers who can teach them. So we very much welcome the curriculum review and its acceptance that the EBacc must go, and I join my noble friend in applauding its abandonment. Is the STEAM/STEM argument finally won?
It is not totally clear that the Government fully understand how to achieve their laudable aims. My noble friend does. In her Bill, she has laid out a clear course of action; it gives impetus and direction, and I hope the Minister agrees. As we have heard, the Bill requires state schools to increase their hours of creative education per week. Also, schools must be transparent about what is being taught, and Ofsted must consider the breadth and quality. We on these Benches have long believed that Ofsted inspections should give top ratings only to schools that can demonstrate excellence in creative teaching as well as in other subjects. The measures in the Bill follow recommendations from the CLA, which argues that the teaching of creative subjects should be an essential and equal part of a broad and balanced curriculum, rather than “an optional extra”.
Noble Lords may have noticed that Prince George started secondary school last week. What does Eton offer him? Extensive opportunities across cultural and creative disciplines, with the seamless integration of these subjects into its formal academic curriculum. That is what my noble friend Lady Featherstone is seeking for all our children. As the noble Baroness, Lady Wheatcroft, said, it should not be the preserve of those whose parents can afford to pay.
Crucially, the Bill also requires that schools include careers advice on the creative industries. In recent Cambridge University research, many young people described being
“steered away from creative subjects by teachers and parents … and being told that creative careers were risky or not for them”.
It found that students’ economic background impacted on their likelihood of choosing the arts. This feeds into the lack of diversity from which the sector suffers.
The Bill also requires collaboration between schools and the arts sector, with the Secretary of State’s help to enable this—a creative access guarantee, as my noble friend calls it. The recent ACE report from the noble Baroness, Lady Hodge, suggested exactly this, saying:
“The Department for Education, Department for Culture, Media & Sport and Arts Council England should consider working together on a specific project with philanthropists, trusts and foundations to create a joint fund that would support improvements to the cultural offer in schools. This … could contribute to the cost of training and paying for specialist teachers, and transport costs to visit theatres or museums”.
Can the Minister say whether this advice will be followed?
Lastly, noble Lords will not be surprised to hear me bring in the BBC. Every teacher and parent will tell you of the value that it supplies through Bitesize, teacher support packs, arts and music archives, and many other things. Does the Minister not agree that a well-resourced and supported BBC is essential?
This Bill provides a legislative framework of action. Much of what it says is contained in a recent UAL report. Who was its recent vice-chancellor? James Purnell. I hope that he is listening to this debate, but, most importantly, I hope that the Government will support my noble friend’s Bill.