CULTURE

13 February 2008

Commenting on the Government’s plans to give schoolchildren access to five hours of culture a week, Steve Sinnott, General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers Europe’s largest teaching union, said:

“All young people, not just those from well off backgrounds should be entitled to go to museums, art galleries and the theatre. The benefits for children are enormous.

“But there are two conditions which have to be in place. There has to be sufficient funding not only for the extra school costs but for cash strapped arts centres.
The pressures on schools caused by the excessive testing regime has to be lifted. Schools need the confidence to be able to stop teaching to the test.

“We still have an overloaded curriculum particularly in primary schools. Its clutter needs to be stripped out to enable schools to be culturally creative”.