The Government is consulting on reforms to Progress 8 and Attainment 8, with responses due by 4 May. This consultation is a critical opportunity to challenge accountability measures that have narrowed the curriculum and marginalised arts subjects in schools, including drama, music, dance and visual arts .
Progress 8 and Attainment 8 are the two main GCSE performance measures used in England to judge how well secondary schools are doing at Key Stage 4 . The proposed model removes EBacc subject slots and restructures Progress 8 into eight slots: double weighted English and Maths, two science slots, and four ‘breadth’ or ‘choice’ slots.
For the first time, creative subjects are explicitly included within breadth, alongside humanities and languages.
This is progress. But it is not enough.
With so many subjects competing in the breadth bucket, Arts subjects are at risk – particularly in schools that already prioritise science, humanities and languages.
The consultation also proposes the possible creation of an additional science category. This would directly undermine the aim of rebalancing the curriculum and dilute any positive impact for the arts subjects
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