In a move to support cultural education, the schools minister has claimed that an Ebacc curriculum and a cultural education can only complement each other.

In a recent speech at the launch of Cultural Education Challenge – an Arts Council England initiative to increase cultural engagement and education in schools – Nick Gibb said: “There is no reason why an academic core curriculum should in any way imperil a cultural education, or vice versa.” He went on to claim that the suggestion that “the EBacc will drive pupils away from creative subjects at GCSE has been made vocally in the media, but proven to be unfounded.”

The speech also reinforced the ability of cultural education to build positive character traits amongst pupils such as confidence, perseverance and team work, and ruled out the assumption that an arts education should be just for the wealthy.

Meanwhile, the 2015 annual survey results from the National Society for Education in Art and Design are set to show that performance measures, including the Ebacc, have negatively impacted on subject choice and allocation of time given to art and design in schools. The Society will “continue to challenge the implications of the Ebacc on a broad and balanced curriculum and a cultural entitlement for all pupils across all phases”.