The Curriculum and Assessment Review by the Department for Education is due to publish its final recommendations in autumn 2025. Together with the newly published Creative Industries Sector Plan (PDF 11.7MB) from government, the review presents an opportunity to highlight the value of creativity and restoring creative education as central to the education and skills system.
Having engaged fully with the review we are now offering a snapshot of the key evidence and messages. These will support creative education, especially alternatives to A Levels and T Levels.
Read our report
We have developed a snapshot report – Building on what works in creative education: evidence from UAL Awarding Body (PDF 2.4MB) which contains our key headline recommendations.
This is a provocation to policy makers, school and college leaders, creatives, employers and educators. It presents selected evidence from UAL Awarding Body as a specialist provider with significant experience and reach in the sector. The issues presented here are based squarely in the experiences of an expert awarding organisation, nested within a successful creative University. This is a unique opportunity to learn from what works in creative education.
We hope you share and debate these findings across your networks as we are with key policy makers and stakeholders. Together we can avoid unintended damage to a successful part of the creative education system and its learners, while building and improving on it for the future.
Key recommendations:
- Protect assessment approaches that best support creative arts learners, because in creative subjects exams are not the only way to high quality provision.
- Support learners with SEND (Special Education Needs and Disabilities) and those facing barriers to access and participation.
- Ensure progression to Creative Higher Education and the Creative Industries.
- Retain a range of qualification types and sizes in the creative arts subjects.
Get involved
Read our Building on what works in creative education: evidence from UAL Awarding Body report (PDF 2.4MB).
Read the initial "interim” findings the review panel published in March 2025 for reference.
If you are interested in getting involved and supporting our messaging via testimonials, case studies, endorsements, we would love to hear from you. Please get in contact with comms.awarding@arts.ac.uk and we will be in touch.
The full Curriculum and Assessment report is due in Autumn 2025.