Some schools are tryingÌýto make up for lost learning time during the CovidÌýpandemic by reducing time for creative and practical subjects, a union has warned.
The NASUWT’s annual conference this afternoon voted toÌýchallenge schools that decrease pupils’ access to theseÌýsubjects.
NASUWT general secretary Patrick Roach said: “Creative and practical subjects were already being reduced or removed in some schools prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, but this risk is even greater now.
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“Children and young people must not be deprived of their entitlement to a broad and balanced curriculum.
“Creative and practical subjects, including art, music and drama, provide unique educational opportunities. They must be guaranteed and protected in all schools.â€
Mover of a conferenceÌýmotion warning of the change, art and design teacher Paul Nesbitt, said “now more than ever†creative and practical subjects were needed to support pupils’ mental health and wellbeing.
He said: “It alarms the NASUWT that some schools are reducing creative arts subjects to catch up on lost learning.â€
National executive member Ruth Duncan, a teacher of textiles technology, said that while the government-fundedÌýNational Tutoring Programme was helping pupils catch up, it did not apply to creative and practical subjects.
Fiona Hawksley, a geography teacher, from the NASUWT Sheffield branch said: “The decline in arts subjects is short-sighted and morally wrongâ€.
The union says it will also lobby governments and administrations to take effective action to intervene where schools plan to remove creative and practical subjects.
