Creative Education Access Bill [HL]

Baroness Wheatcroft Excerpts

2nd reading
Friday 11th September 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Wheatcroft (CB)]

My Lords, I am so grateful to the noble Baroness, Lady Featherstone, for introducing this Bill and doing so with such passion. Her commitment to this issue is incredibly impressive. I welcome the noble Baroness, Lady Mackenzie of Sherwood, and am looking forward to hearing her maiden speech. Her commitment to this cause and to theatre generally cannot be in doubt.

This issue is crucial to the country. I know we all want the best for our children. The younger generation deserve the best possible start in life. We do not want them to end up as NEETs. That is punishing for them, and it is not great for the country, as we know. As others have already pointed out, a more rounded education could stop another generation falling into that trap. The need for this Bill is pressing.

However, we should not overlook that it is important for children to have the best possible grounding in a broad education, so I was glad to see the figures this week from PISA, the Progression for International Student Assessment. It appears that there are some benefits to the education that we have been giving our children and that performance in traditional subjects has improved, particularly in science. But it is not enough. If these children are going to grow into rounded human beings and be able to put that classical benefit to use, they need a much broader education.

We have heard about the expense that this new education approach has already taken to teachers from the arts. The numbers are staggering. We need to address that, and the Bill is a great step towards that. If, as the noble Baroness, Lady Featherstone, suggested, we survive that 10% risk of being obliterated by AI—let us hope—then we can make the most of the new technology. In order to use it positively, the next generation will need to have the broad approach that a creative education can provide. It will become a tool that will need to be used creatively.

The private sector already recognises exactly how important creative skills are. Children who already have the benefit that generally takes them to those schools get the increased benefit of a broad opportunity to experience and take part in the creative arts. We all know that an increasing, really worrying number of the people who are making it to drama school come from what can only be termed a privileged background.

I normally shy away from demanding legislation— I do not want to see money that the country does not have being squandered—but the amount of money that would be required to implement this Bill is tiny, and the benefits would be huge. Looking at what has been achieved so far, there is a genuine case for legislation.

The concept of creative education is incredibly broad. We know its importance. We need to equip our youngsters to bring design and technology skills to industry. If the Government’s vision of a reindustrialised country is to be realised, it will be very different to the old-style industry. Its success will depend on brilliant design, high standards of finish and slick marketing. Maths and science will play their part, but it is the creative skills that will be important.

Look at the importance of tourism to this industry. If the tourist levy is to succeed, we need to bring in a constant flow of visitors to this country. Our arts institutions already do that, but the importance of festivals is huge. Look at what goes on in France—there are festivals for everything, and people flock in. If we have a creative country, new festivals can start here. We need music, art and theatre, which will build confidence, as others have said. My experience is that arts organisations want to engage with schools, but sometimes it is difficult. We can make it easier for them.

My final point is that if outreach is to be successful, what about reaching out to our communities? If schools put on performances, they can invite in all the people who live locally who support their work. It will build communities and relationships. We may not really enjoy listening to too many five year-olds playing the recorder, but some people will.