The UK economy depends on the creative industries, yet continuously sidelines arts in education. It’s time to follow Canada, says the Barbican’s Devyani Saltzman

In Canada, where I come from, arts education is mandated in every province and territory. In Ontario, although the arts have and continue to be vulnerable to funding cuts, all primary school children receive arts instruction and high school students must take an arts subject to graduate.

Contrast this with the UK, where arts GCSEs have plummeted by 42 per cent since 2010 and creative subjects are dropped in favour of STEM and a test-led curriculum. Arts provision in schools is at crisis point. And too many young people in Britain – especially in our most underserved communities – are growing up without access to the cultural experiences that should be a right – not a privilege.

Our economy depends on the arts

This is a national emergency. Mountains of evidence shows that creative learning is critical for a child’s development. At the Barbican, we see firsthand what........

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