Forest Arts Music Hub

This conference will examine priorities and next steps for creative education in England’s schools, colleges and HEIs, looking at the curriculum, training and career development in the creative industries.

It takes place with the importance of creative subjects being highlighted in the Department for Education’s major Curriculum and Assessment Review, in advance of its final report due in Autumn.

New approaches to creative education

With the Review calling for new approaches to teaching and learning in creative education, key stakeholders and policymakers will discuss implications and priorities for schools and the creative industries - and how suggestions could be taken forward for improving access to art, drama and music, including the introduction of interactive teaching practices outside the classroom and utilising external expertise.

Following plans announced by the Government for a National Centre for Arts and Music Education, delegates will assess strategies for promoting arts education, supporting teachers, and encouraging children’s creative interests. They will look at how best to address declining participation in creative subjects, as well as at the impact on disadvantaged children and how extra-curricular opportunities can be widened.

The teaching workforce

The agenda looks at how to improve teacher retention and recruitment in the creative subjects, particularly in music, art and design. Support for early career teachers and overall professional development will be discussed, alongside addressing workload challenges.

Timetabling, assessment, inspection and funding

Discussion will also consider the impact of the EBacc performance measure on arts subjects, including access to and time allocated by schools, which was highlighted by the Curriculum and Assessment Review.

Sessions will also explore ways to recognise creative pursuits under the upcoming Ofsted report card system. Delegates will examine the suitability of existing assessment methods for creative subjects in schools, avenues for adaptation, and priorities for adjusting the balance of content and assessment in both creative and core subjects.

The conference will also examine levels of arts funding within schools to improve teaching and facilities, and priorities for utilising the £3m in funding to expand the Creative Careers Programme, announced in the 2024 Autumn Budget.

Higher education

Further discussion will assess progression to HE, assessing the state of current careers guidance and priorities for improving access to high-quality careers advice, particularly for disadvantaged and underrepresented learners. Delegates will discuss next steps for raising awareness of vocational routes into the creative sector and for widening participation in creative HE courses, as well as the impact of outreach programmes on student recruitment.

The sustainability of creative HE will also be considered, examining challenges such as funding concerns, rising costs, student recruitment pressures, looking at priorities for adapting funding models to support creative arts programmes.

Skills, career pathways and accessibility

The agenda will also bring out latest thinking on strategies for addressing skills shortages in the creative industries as outlined in Skills England’s initial report published in September, which identified arts, entertainment and recreation as an industry with elevated job demands. Discussion is expected on opportunities for career development and upskilling of the workforce, considering whether current education and training structures are adequately preparing workers for careers in the creative industries.

Those attending will consider approaches to diversifying the talent pipeline for creative careers and implications of tax reliefs for the creative industries. Discussion will consider priorities for improving access to extra-curricular activities for disadvantaged and underrepresented learners, and strategies for improving partnerships between external cultural providers and education institutions. We also expect wider discussion on improving diversity within the creative arts, with the Creative PEC finding high socio-economic inequality in the current workforce.

Delegates will assess next steps for ensuring that the UK industry remains an attractive destination for international talent, with regard to aims outlined in the Government’s Invest 2035: the UK's modern industrial strategy Green Paper. There will also be discussion on the future of Music Education Hubs and delivery of the National Plan for Music Education amidst concerns surrounding funding and costs.

[jump to relevant developments]

All delegates will be able to contribute to the output of the conference, which will be shared with parliamentary, ministerial, departmental and regulatory offices, and more widely. This includes the full proceedings and additional articles submitted by delegates. As well as key stakeholders, those due to attend include parliamentary pass-holders from the House of Commons, the House of Lords, and officials from IPO and DfE, NI.

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The agenda:

Draft subject to change

8.30	Registration
9.00	Chair’s opening remarks Senior Parliamentarian
9.05	Assessing the current creative education landscape in England Jill Cowley, Pro Vice-Chancellor Skills and Training and Dean, Faculty of Arts, Design and Humanities, De Montfort University Questions and comments from the floor
9.25	Creative education in schools moving forward priorities for improving access to art, drama and music | key findings from the Curriculum and Assessment Review interim report | plans for addressing falling participation | funding and support requirements in schools | assessing the suitability of existing assessment methods | creativity under the new Ofsted inspection framework and recognising creative pursuits in the Ofsted reports | reframing the value of arts in education Jacqui O’Hanlon, Director, Creative Learning and Engagement, Royal Shakespeare Company Kate Fellows, Head of Learning and Access, Leeds Museums and Galleries Sophie Leach, Deputy General Secretary, National Society for Education in Art and Design Richard Harris, Head, Art and Design, Raynes Park High School Senior representative, awarding body Questions and comments from the floor
10.15	Priorities for widening access to creative education, and key findings from the Curriculum and Assessment Review interim report Dr Vanessa Ogden, CEO, Mulberry Schools Trust; and Member, Curriculum and Assessment Review Group Questions and comments from the floor
10.40	Chair’s closing remarks Senior Parliamentarian
10.45	Break
10.55	Chair’s opening remarks Senior Parliamentarian
11.00	Developing effective talent pipelines for the creative industries Stuart Worden, Principal, The BRIT School Questions and comments from the floor
11.20	Pathways into higher education and the future of creative subjects in university raising awareness of vocational routes into employment | providing access to high quality careers guidance | priorities for the Creative Careers programme | strategies for fulfilling the needs of creative HE providers | financial sustainability of HEIs in the creative sector | outreach and widening participation Lucy Kennedy, Chief Executive, National Saturday Club Professor Fintan Walsh, Head, School of Creative Arts, Culture and Communication, Birkbeck, University of London James Murray-Walsh, Principal, Global Academy Janine Streuli, Dean, Royal Academy of Dance Senior representative, employer
11.45	Raising awareness of vocational routes into employment and priorities for providing access to high quality careers guidance John Yarham, Interim Chief Executive, Careers & Enterprise Company
11.55	Questions and comments from the floor
12.15	Assessing current talent pipelines and improving pathways into industry examining the Government’s Invest 2035 aims | tackling the skills gap in the creative sector | meeting the needs of industry | strategies for career development and upskilling | maintaining the UK’s attractiveness for international talent | priorities for Skills England Dana Gamble, Policy Manger, Skills, Innovation and International, GuildHE Heather Carey, Director, Work Advance Senior representative, employer Questions and comments from the floor
12.55	Chair’s and Westminster Forum Projects closing remarks Senior Parliamentarian Sean Cudmore, Westminster Forum Projects

 

Additional senior participants are being approached, but if you or a colleague would like to be considered as a speaker at this seminar, please contact us at speakeroffers@forumsupport.co.uk specifying the event and session where you would like to speak and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible. If you are offering to speak yourself please don’t fill in the booking form, as this will be taken as an order and you will be charged for a place subject to our T&Cs.

 

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Relevant developments:

 

-          Young people to benefit from creative education boost - announced by the Secretary of State for Education in March 2025, with plans including:

o    development of a National Centre for Arts and Music Education

o    development of an Enrichment Framework, covering extra-curricular activities, from sport to volunteering

o    creation of a Digital, AI and Technology Task and Finish Group, made up of sector and digital experts, to advise on how best to prepare young people for jobs of the future

-          Government to supercharge creative education, says DCMS minister - published by Marketing/Beat in February 2025, focusing on returning creative arts at the heart of state education, with plans including:  

o    STEM to be replaced by ‘STEAM’

o    reforming the apprenticeship levy from August this year to include options for six month apprenticeships

-          Invest 2035: the UK's modern industrial strategy - consultation launched by DBT in October 2024

o    outlining plans to prioritise growth-driving sectors, such as the creative industries, by unlocking private investment, boosting exports, and developing a highly skilled creative workforce

-          Autumn Budget 2024 - published by HM Treasury in November 2024, announcing:

o    £3m for expansion of the Creative Careers Programme, aiming to improve school children’s awareness of creative career paths

o    continued tax relief for cultural and creative institutions

o    £25m in funding for the North East Mayoral Combined Authority to develop The Crown Works Studio

-          Curriculum and Assessment Review: interim report - published by DfE in March 2025

o    suggesting that English Baccalaureate performance may constrain student choice, impacting their engagement and achievement, and limiting their access to arts subjects

o    calling for improvements to equipment, more specialist teachers, and better access to extra-curricular activities in the arts

-          Driving growth and widening opportunities - Skills England report published in September 2024

o    identifying arts, entertainment, and recreation as industries with elevated employment need

-          Creative Further Education in the four UK nations - Creative PEC report published in July 2024, finding:

o    that enrolments in creative subjects at FE are declining in all UK regions

o    a 57% drop in creative subject enrolment at FE for students aged 19 and above in England between 2014/15 and 2022/23

-          Cultural Learning Alliance Report Card 2025 - published by the Cultural Learning Alliance in April 2025, looking at arts education in England and finding:

o    a clear correlation between the poverty of an area and its pupils not studying the expressive arts in school

o    a significant drop in ITT recruitment, averaging 66% across expressive arts subjects since 2020/21

o    a persistent fall in take-up at Key Stages 4 and 5

-          The Arts in Schools: Foundations for the Future - published by A New Direction and Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation in March 2023

o    calling for urgent action to reintegrate the arts into England’s education system through a collaborative approach from policymakers, schools, and arts organisations

-          Creative People: our development actions in 2024/25 - published by Arts Council England in November 2024, with objectives from their Delivery Plan 2024-2027, including:

o    development of a Creative Ageing Peer Network, supporting older people in creative settings

o    a Youth Voice project in the South East, enabling young people to design and participate in creative activities

-          An Evidence-Based Approach to Creating a Culture of Inclusive Opportunity Through Arts and Creativity - published by the Centre for Young Lives and Child of the North in March 2025, highlighting concerns that the UK’s creative industries are at risk due to the neglect of arts education

o    it calls for a cultural shift to an inclusive education system with creativity at its heart

 

Booking arrangements:

 

To book places, please use our online booking form.

 

Once submitted, this will be taken as a confirmed booking and will be subject to our terms and conditions below.

 

You can also pay in advance by credit card on 01344 864796. If advance credit card payment is not possible, please let me know and we may be able to make other arrangements.

 

Options and charges are as follows:

• access to Next steps for creative education in England - creative subjects in schools, FE and HEIs, progression, and career development (plus a permanent record of proceedings) is £299 +VAT per delegate
• concessionary rate places for small charities, unfunded individuals and those in similar circumstances are £140 +VAT. Please be sure to apply for this at the time of booking.

 

If you find the charge for places a barrier to attending:

• please let me know as concessionary and complimentary places are made available in certain circumstances
• typical eligibility: individual service users or carers not supported by or part of an organisation, full-time students, unemployed and fully retired people with no paid work, and small charities
• concessions are not offered to businesses, individuals funded by an organisation, or larger charities/not-for-profit companies.

 

Please note terms and conditions below (including cancellation charges).

 

Can’t attend on the day? Watch on-demand:

 

You can pre-order a recording of this conference via our website to watch on-demand when it suits you. The digital packs include:

• a full video recording of the conference as it took place, with all presentations, Q&A sessions, and remarks from chairs
• an automated transcript of the conference
• copies of the slides used to accompany speaker presentations (subject to permission)
• access to on-the-day materials, including speaker biographies, attendee lists and the agenda

 

 

Fast-track briefing: typically distributed within a week following conference	Policy reference: distributed one to six months following conference	Research archive: distributed six months following conference
Price: £269 +VAT School price: £228.65 +VAT Concessionary price: £126 +VAT	Price: £199 +VAT School price: £169.15 +VAT Concessionary price: £99 +VAT	Price: £99 +VAT School price: £84.15 +VAT Concessionary price: £75 +VAT

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