Cultural Learning Alliance

Today we publish our Report Card 2026 providing a crucial snapshot of the arts education landscape, enabling us to see the consequences of previous governments prioritising non-arts subjects through school performance measures. Our key findings:

These inequalities are structural, and avoidable. Teachers, leaders, artists, policymakers - this evidence is for you. Use Report Card 2026 to advocate for the entitlement all children deserve. Read more: #annual" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">culturallearningalliance.org.uk/evidence/#annu…

🔺 North East & West Midlands - Regions with the highest Free School Meals eligibility have the lowest GCSE Arts entry rates

Our Report Card 2026 reveals some stark findings: 🔺 The Arts entitlement gap begins in primary, not secondary - confirmed by a Teacher Tapp survey of 2,900 primary teachers

See what’s new in 2026: #annual" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">culturallearningalliance.org.uk/evidence/#annu…

Our third edition distils national datasets into annual indicators that track the health of arts education over time, including: ✨ A new primary phase indicator ✨ New data on Arts qualifications by SEND status & ethnicity ✨ New analysis of teacher qualification levels

🔺Published today 🔺 Report Card 2026🔺 Our first Report Card (2024) showed a 42% drop in Arts GCSE entries since 2010. This year’s picture is more mixed — some improvements, some worrying declines -but the story remains the same: expressive arts subjects need urgent attention

These are a @TheRSC/CLA co-commission, developed in partnership with Midlands4Cities, a doctoral research programme funded by the @ahrcpress A summary by Prof. Pat Thomson accompanies the reviews. Read the RERs: #rapid" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">culturallearningalliance.org.uk/evidence/#rapid

Today we co-publish a set of Rapid Evidence Reviews into Dance, Drama and Music education, as well as a refresh of the existing Rapid Evidence review for Art & Design.

🔺 Although Initial Teacher Training recruitment has notably improved for Arts subjects since 2025, many more teachers lack specialist Arts qualifications. Read the Report Card 2026: #annual" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">culturallearningalliance.org.uk/evidence/#annu…

🔺 The outlook for Arts subjects at Key Stage 4 (ages 14 to 16) is largely stable but remains concerning. 🔺 Arts subjects in the post-16 education landscape are characterised by decline and instability.

Today we publish our Report Card 2026 providing a crucial snapshot of the arts education landscape, enabling us to see the consequences of previous governments prioritising non-arts subjects through school performance measures. Our key findings:

You can see details of the Key Stage 4 Accountability Measures consultation and how to share your views here: consult.education.gov.uk/school-account…

Have your say on the government’s Progress 8 consultation: respond by 4 May. The government is seeking views on improving Progress 8 and Attainment 8 measures through a refreshed Progress 8 curriculum model. Who should respond? Anyone with an interest in education.

CLA Research Spotlight | April 2026 Prof. Pat Thomson reports on a large-scale longitudinal study (focused on England and Wales) which asks an important question: do fine motor skills in preschool years predict children’s later development? Read more: culturallearningalliance.org.uk/research-spotl…

CLA Briefing | The Transformative Potential of Arts Education for Inclusion We are pleased to be publishing in full a new CLA Briefing Paper by Professor Pat Thomson, CLA’s Research Associate. Read more: culturallearningalliance.org.uk/briefing-trans…

CLA Latest Thinking | Cush Jumbo on the importance of an Arts-rich education Cush has kindly allowed us to publish her House of Commons speech on the value of an Arts-rich education + the importance of a vibrant cultural sector in nurturing young talent culturallearningalliance.org.uk/cush-jumbo

And there are two Awards open to applications: 🔻 National Arts and Cultural Education Awards 2026 🔻 The 2026 Art Explora Académie des beaux-arts European Award (UK entrants are eligible!) Read more: culturallearningalliance.org.uk/latest-news-ap…

We also have cultural sector news: 🔻 Government response to the Hodge Review of Arts Council England published 🔻 New report on research, development and innovation in the cultural and creative sectors 🔻 A new report from Arts Council England on the state of theatre touring

CLA Latest News | April 2026 Another busy month for our sector, with news spanning an important performance measure consultation and CLA’s own consultation work on updating our Blueprint for an Arts-rich Education. Our Latest News digest this month features Education sector: