§ Mr. WillisTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what progress has been made in implementing "All our Futures: Creativity, Culture, Education". [19953]
§ Mr. Ivan LewisThe report of the National Advisory Committee on Creative and Cultural Education "All our Futures: Creativity, Culture and Education", published in 1999, contained 59 detailed recommendations. Since then we have made considerable progress in addressing the report's recommendations.
The last national curriculum review introduced greater flexibility, which allowed teachers the freedom to incorporate more creativity into their planning and teaching. As a result of the review, the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority has established two projects, one on Creativity and one on the Arts, to produce guidance for schools on how to promote pupils' creativity and how the Arts can contribute to pupils' creative and cultural development.
This year, the Department's White Paper "Schools: achieving success" reinforced our commitment that all pupils should have access to a broad and balanced 258W education which includes opportunities for creativity and self-expression. This includes our proposals to support schools to provide "education with character" and our commitment that there should be more opportunities for children to learn music, PE, sports and a modern foreign language. We are also supporting the continued development of Creative Partnerships between schools and arts organisations.