Primary schools have traditionally been strong advocates of the importance of the arts and creativity. The majority have stoically continued to deliver a curriculum which gives pupils chance to express themselves, design and make, even though the Department for Education (DfE) focus is firmly on the basic skills of the core subjects.
This commitment isn’t always easy to put into practice. Many teachers lack confidence in delivering music and schools have often opted to buy-in specialist music provision. Design technology can be difficult to resource and is tackled by some with trepidation.
The first draft of the new curriculum was not greeted warmly by the subject associations for these subjects. The music and art programmes of study did not appear to encourage children to engage and create their own work, but seemed to be more about developing passive receivers of a cultural heritage. Many saw the design technology content, with the inclusion of horticulture and basic mechanical maintenance, as a joke.
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