The final report and recommendations of the Curriculum and Assessment Review have been published. The announcement that the English Baccalaureate is to be scrapped has been widely welcomed by those working within arts education.
The English Baccalaureate (EBacc) was introduced in 2010 as a performance measure for schools in England. It was a new accountability measure that tracked how many students achieved a certain level in a core set of ‘academic’ subjects at GCSE level. The impact on the take up of arts subjects at GCSE has dropped drastically with arts subject associations calling for the abolition of this harmful and divisive measure. NSEAD have been leading the call to end the Ebacc for 15 years, gathering evidence and analysis to successive Secretaries of State.
NSEAD General Secretary and CEO, Michele Gregson says:
‘The Ebacc created a hierarchy of subjects in our schools, with the arts being marked as low status. The consequence has been a reduction in curriculum time, fewer pupils opting for arts at Key Stage 4, teachers losing their jobs, and a whole generation denied real choice. Finally, our politicians have woken up to the damage done by this divisive measure, and have taken action. It has taken 15 years of vocal, well evidenced and creative campaigning to get here. Well done everyone who has raised their voice and united to end the Ebacc.’
We welcome the focus on sustainability, diversity and equity as overarching curriculum principles, and the need to ensure that our national curriculum prepares learners for the future, as well as the world they live in. Art and design is a subject that actively supports these principles, and it is important that a revised curriculum for Art and Design addresses these themes just as much as the modest revisions identified for our subject by the review panel.
NSEAD will be responding with a full analysis of the report and the recommendations made by the Curriculum and Assessment Review panel and the implications for art and design education, in due course.
Some key moments on this very long road:
NSEAD have been campaigning alongside friends, partners and allies, to end the Ebacc since its introduction in 2010.
2011, July: NSEAD Patron and Ebacc activist Bob and Roberta Smith created his artwork A letter to Michael Gove, calling out the education policies,which were an attack, not just on art and design education, but on creativity itself.
2012, September: Subject associations including NSEAD came together in The 'Bacc for the Future' campaign launched by the Incorporated Society of Musicians (ISM)
2013, September: Our member magazine AD featured Bob and Roberta Smith, with a scathing take down of the Government’s arts strategy - ‘Diminish the role of art and design in the economy by making art and design a second-class subject in schools’.
2013, November: Bob and Roberta Smith’s The Art Party Conference, was held in Scarborough. A riotous assembly of artists, performers and educators, making the point: art matters. NSEAD’s Lesley Butterworth gave a rousing speech, highlighting the dangers of creating a hierarchy of subjects in our schools.
2013, December: Sharon Hodgson MP established the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for art, craft and design in education, was established, reporting on the impact of Government policy on our subject.
2016: the NSEAD member survey (shared with the then Minister for School Standards Nick Gibb) revealed the reduction in GCSE entries, teaching hours, and specialist teachers.
2023, February: Save Our Subjects. The arts subject associations came together again; NSEAD and One DanceUk working alongside ISM and the Edge Foundation, renewed our calls for reform.
2023, June: The APPG for Art, craft and Design in Education published the Art Now inquiry report, which highlighted the decline in the time for art and design education and the impact on teacher morale.
2024: the Creative Arts Manifesto, led by the Universities Alliance, NSEAD was a key signatory to a cross sector Compact agreement, pledging our commitment to eradicate the EBacc and to champion arts education,
2025, February: The Arts and Minds campaign was launched. The campaign, led by the NEU and a coalition of over 20 organisation,(including NSEAD), plus artists and performers, working together to secure a broad and balanced arts curriculum in schools. The abolition of the Ebacc was a key campaign aim.
2025, October: Save Arts Education. The times publishes a letter from the Save Our Subjects campaign, and 1,300 signatories, calling for reform to accountability measures.
November 4, 2025. The Curriculum and Assessment Review panel recommend that the Ebaac be abolished.
Download our Ebacc timeline for change here
Read the Curriculum and Assessment Review Final Report here