ABSTRACT
Art, a compulsory Foundation subject, is an important component of the curriculum recognised as providing a valuable foundation to a balanced and broadly based curriculum. Chris Smith, MP, as Secretary of State at the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, concluded his speech to the National Association of Head Teachers’ conference in 1998 by saying ‘time spent on the arts is not peripheral – it is absolutely fundamental to all that we are trying to achieve’. The Labour Party, in a document on the arts (1997), quoted John Ruskin in the preface: ‘A person who everyday looks upon a beautiful picture… will soon become a transformed person – one born again.’ AFSTED comment (1998, p. 3) that ‘the most persuasive argument for an education in the arts (Art, Dance, Drama and Music) concerns the benefits of attainment in the arts for its own sake’. The arts are ‘intrinsic components of human culture, heritage and creatively’ which ‘mirror the whole repertoire of human experience.’ Furthermore, they ‘give people opportunities to explore their feelings, and come into contact with the spiritual.’
