Some Schools Spend Just £1 Per Pupil on the Arts. Why This Matters – and What We’re Doing About It
On 9 January 2026, The Times published a powerful article by Richard Morrison highlighting a stark and troubling reality: in some English state schools, spending on arts education has fallen to as little as £1 per pupil per year.
It is a figure that should stop us all in our tracks.
Despite repeated promises from successive governments to champion creativity, culture and wellbeing in schools, the lived experience for many children is one of little or no access to art, music, drama or dance. In too many schools, arts education has become optional, marginal, or entirely absent.
A national problem — felt locally
The article reflects a wider national trend. Over the past decade, curriculum pressures, accountability measures and budget constraints have steadily pushed the arts to the margins. Subjects that nurture creativity, confidence, communication and emotional wellbeing have been deprioritised in favour of a narrower academic focus.
As Richard Morrison notes, “arts funders in the state seem hostile to private efforts” — a comment that speaks to the difficulty grassroots organisations face when trying to step in where provision has collapsed.
Yet for children, the impact is immediate and profound. Schools without arts provision often report:
-
Reduced pupil engagement and confidence
-
Fewer opportunities for self-expression
-
A narrowing of aspiration and cultural experience
-
Lower wellbeing and enjoyment of school
Where CATS comes in
This is precisely the gap Cotswolds Arts Through Schools (CATS) was created to address.
Since launching in 2023, CATS has worked with over 60 primary schools, delivering hundreds of free, high-quality workshops in visual art, music and drama. Our work has reached more than 10,000 children — many of whom would otherwise have had no meaningful access to the arts at all.
We work directly with schools to:
-
Remove cost barriers
-
Bring professional artists into classrooms
-
Support teachers who may not have arts specialisms
-
Embed creativity into everyday school life
For many schools, CATS is not an “extra” — it is the only arts provision their pupils receive.
Why arts education matters
The arts are not a luxury. They are fundamental to how children learn, communicate and thrive.
Arts-rich education has been shown to support:
-
Emotional regulation and mental health
-
Language development and oracy
-
Collaboration, empathy and social skills
-
Academic engagement across all subjects
When arts education disappears, it is often the most disadvantaged children who lose out first — widening existing inequalities.
A call to action
The Times article is a welcome spotlight on an uncomfortable truth. But awareness alone is not enough.
If we believe that every child deserves a broad, balanced and inspiring education, then arts provision cannot depend on postcode, parental fundraising, or individual headteachers fighting impossible budgets.
At CATS, we will continue to do what we can — working with schools, artists, donors and communities to ensure creativity remains part of childhood.
But lasting change requires:
-
Stronger national commitment to arts education
-
Recognition of the value of grassroots delivery models
-
Partnership between schools, funders and cultural organisations
The question is not whether we can afford arts education.
It is whether we can afford to raise a generation without it.
Read the full article HERE.
