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MPs have called on the government to make creative learning a priority.
In a report published on Wednesday, the Commons education and skills committee said that the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF), needed to take the issue "far more seriously".
The MPs warned that the creation of the national curriculum in 1988 and national literacy and numeracy strategies in 1998 and 1999 had "unintentionally constrained" creativity.
And they claimed that the creative partnerships scheme - which pays for professionals to work with schools - was a "second-order priority" for the DCSF, with most funding coming from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
Stressing the importance of resources to help pupils learn creatively, the report also recommended that equal emphasis be put on developing "soft skills", such as team-working and self-confidence, as on academic achievement.
"We believe that creativity has value in its own right and that improved attainment, while to be welcomed, should be viewed as an additional benefit rather than the main purpose of the programme," it said.
The committee also urged the government to review whether the Arts Council should remain the lead organisation in creative partnerships.
Committee chairman Barry Sheerman said: "Successful schools are creative schools. Our inquiry found a high level of support for creative approaches to teaching and learning in schools, with many practitioners clearly convinced of the positive effects on a child's learning and development.
"It is not always clear that the DCSF is similarly convinced; it needs to take this issue far more seriously with active support for creativity in schools. Creativity should be at the very heart of teaching and learning."
It should also be assessed whether the national curriculum "requires fundamental change to make space for creativity," Sheerman added.
Dods Parliamentary Communications Ltd