Policy Connect and the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Design and Innovation (APDIG) are delighted by the traction that the Creative Education Manifesto received during the recent Party Conference season.  

The Creative Education Manifesto, launched by the #ArtsIsEssential Campaign in September 2023, calls on the next government to commit collectively to restoring creative arts education and protecting the critical talent pipeline that feeds the UK’s successful creative economy. 

With the Liberal Democrats voting the Creative Education Manifesto into their General Election manifesto, the Conservative Party have requested that its three key recommendations are distilled for inclusion in the ‘Cultural Education Plan’. 

Emphasising that ‘protecting and nurturing creative skills in education can have huge economic and societal benefits’, the Creative Education Manifesto is a welcome contribution to Policy Connect’s current research on the Skills Agenda; Further Education reform; Innovation and Productivity; and Independent Living and Wellbeing.

Sandra Booth, FRSA Director of Policy, Council for Higher Education Art and Design (CHEAD) explains that: 

"Creativity is coveted by employers across all sectors as the essential future skill most in demand. As our creative education manifesto shows, creative graduates are resilient, risk-taking, change-making, problem-solving, team-working, tech-savvy, inspiring individuals who hold the key to unlocking UK’s creative potential, enriching all our lives and creating inclusive opportunities for all young people."

Following the launch of the Creative Education Manifesto, on 10 October the Department for Education’s welcome announcement of £196 million to attract new trainee teachers across key subjects. This includes an increase in bursary for Design and Technology, as well as a newly introduced bursary for those teachers applying to teach music.  

Announcing proposals to introduce the advanced British standard as a new single qualification for 16- to 19-year-olds, the Government pledged to ‘give students the freedom to take a mix of technical and academic subjects, boosting their skillset’. With current projects on Higher Technical Qualifications and the Skills Agenda, Policy Connect hopes the Government will continue to tackle challenges across Further Education.  

For further information on APDIG and the Creative Education Manifesto, please contact victoria.zeybrandt [at] policyconnect.org.uk (Victoria[dot]Zeybrandt[at]policyconnect[dot]org[dot]uk)