Ed Sheeran has welcomed revisions to England’s national curriculum that promise increased opportunities for students to pursue creative subjects.
The acclaimed singer-songwriter lauded the government’s initiatives to modernize educational content and eliminate “outdated systems that stop kids from studying music and the arts.”
The curriculum’s first comprehensive review in over a decade will also introduce instruction on identifying misinformation and understanding financial instruments such as mortgages.
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson stated the government’s aim to “revitalize” the curriculum while maintaining a “firm foundation” in core subjects like English, mathematics, and reading.
Head teachers have described the review’s recommendations as “sensible” but emphasized the need for “sufficient funding and teachers” to implement them effectively.
These changes follow a government-commissioned review of the national curriculum and assessments in England last year, with the goal of developing a “cutting edge” curriculum and reducing achievement disparities between disadvantaged students and their peers.
The government has indicated its intention to adopt the majority of the review’s recommendations, including the removal of the English Baccalaureate (EBacc), a school performance measure introduced in 2010.
The EBacc evaluates schools based on the number of pupils studying and achieving grades in English, maths, sciences, geography or history, and a language.
The Department for Education (DfE) characterized the measure as “constraining,” suggesting that its removal, along with reforms to another school ranking system, Progress 8, would “encourage students to study a greater breadth of GCSE subjects,” including the arts.
In March, Sheeran, supported by artists such as Harry Styles, Annie Lennox, and Sir Elton John, penned an open letter to the government advocating for increased investment in music education and the abolition of the EBacc.
Sheeran stated that the curriculum reforms “give young people hope and the opportunity to study music.”
“Without the encouragement I received in school, especially from my music teacher, I wouldn’t be a musician today.”
“My music education went beyond learning and playing. It helped me find confidence in myself, and music itself was – and still is – so important for my mental health.”
He added that there was still “a lot more to do to support music education, especially our music teachers.”
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has expressed gratitude to Sheeran for his advocacy of music education, pledging that his government will revitalize the arts in schools.
“I wanted you to know that your voice has been heard,” the prime minister wrote.
“Learning music at school made a huge difference to my life.
“We will make sure every child has access to those experiences…so that creativity isn’t a privilege, but a right.”
Arts Council England has also lauded the curriculum reforms, hailing it as “a great day for the next generation of creative talent in England.”
Other reforms stemming from the curriculum review include:
The review also advocated granting oracy the same status as reading and writing within the curriculum, a move praised by the charity Voice 21 as a “vital step forward” in teaching children essential speaking, listening, and communication skills.
When asked about lessons that would be removed from the school day, Phillipson told BBC Radio 4’s Today program that the changes would focus on “better sequencing” of the curriculum overall, rather than a direct swap of content.
“We need to ensure that we avoid duplication so that children aren’t repeating the things that they might have already studied,” she added.
However, the government is not adopting all of the review’s recommendations.
It is proceeding with reading tests for Year 8 pupils, reported in September, whereas the review had suggested compulsory English and maths tests for that year group.
Phillipson explained that pupils who are unable to read “fluently and confidently” often struggle in other subjects, when asked why she stopped short of adopting the review’s recommendation.
She also addressed concerns that abolishing the EBacc could result in fewer students taking history, geography, and languages at GCSE, stating that the measure “hasn’t led to improved outcomes” or “improvement in language study.”
“I want young people to have a good range of options, including subjects like art and music and sport. And I know that’s what parents want as well,” she said.
She stated that ministers acknowledged “the need to implement this carefully, thoroughly and with good notice,” adding that schools would be given four terms’ notice before the new curriculum is implemented.
Shadow education secretary Laura Trott criticized some of the changes in the House of Commons on Wednesday.
Subsequently, she told the BBC that, while she agreed with some “elements” of the changes, others were “fundamentally wrong” and “really bad for standards.”
“It’s education vandalism and we will fight it all the way,” she said, claiming that the government is “not being honest” about the impact the changes will have.
“They talk about all the things they want to put into the primary curriculum, but they are not being clear about what they are taking out,” she said, explaining that the reforms will mean “reducing standards [and] reducing accountability.”
“It will be the disadvantaged children who will suffer the most,” she added.
Prof Becky Francis, who chaired the review, stated that her panel of experts and the government had both identified a “problem” pupils experience during the first years of secondary school.
“When young people progress from primary into secondary school, typically this is a time when their learning can start falling behind, and that’s particularly the case for kids from socially disadvantaged backgrounds,” she told the BBC.
She said the approach to the review was “evolution not revolution”, with England’s pupils already performing relatively well against international averages.
She said the call for more representation of diversity in the curriculum was not about “getting rid of core foundational texts and things that are really central to our culture”, but was more about “recognising where, both as a nation but also globally, there’s been diverse contribution to science and cultural progress”.
The former Conservative schools minister, Nick Gibb, said the decision to scrap the EBacc would “lead to a precipitous decline in the study of foreign languages,” which he said would become increasingly centered on private schools and “children of middle class parents who can afford tutors.”
The Liberal Democrats have welcomed the broadening of the curriculum, but said “scrapping instead of broadening the EBacc is not the right move.”
Education spokeswoman Munira Wilson said head teachers were having to “cut their budgets to the bone” and would be asking how they are supposed to fund the changes.
“Without a costed plan and proper workforce strategy, these reforms will stretch teachers even further and fail our children,” she said.
Pepe Di’Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said the review had proposed “a sensible, evidence-based set of reforms.”
But he said delivering a “great curriculum” also required “sufficient funding and teachers,” adding that schools and colleges did not currently have all the resources they need.
“It’s ironic that the government keep asking for more and more from a pot that is actually getting smaller and smaller,” Di’Iasio added.
“We’d ask the government to look carefully at school finances and make sure they invest so that we can make sure we can implement the shared aspirations and ambitions of this report.”
He said a set of “enrichment benchmarks” – which the government said would offer pupils access to civic engagement, arts and culture, nature and adventure, sport, and life skills – had been announced “randomly” and “added to the many expectations over which schools are judged.”
Additional reporting by Hope Rhodes
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