Good news: Article and letter published in The Times

Yesterday The Times newspaper published the cultural sectors’ collective letter about the EBacc. The have also published an article about the letter in the main paper (including in the print edition).
 
Please do share this widely with colleagues by email and through social media using the hashtag #BaccfortheFuture.
 
Template letter to MPs and consultation responses
 
If you are keen to support the campaign further, please also direct people towards the BaccfortheFuture.com website where they now have a template letter to MPs available which you can use to make the case to your MP, and advice on responding to the Government consultation.
 
 There are two useful rebuttals to the Department for Education’s short response in the article:
 
1. The Department for Education’s figures omit Design & Technology numbers and (inexplicably) only include some types of qualifications (GCSE, early entry AS level) whilst excluding other DfE approved Key Stage 4 qualifications (BTEC); this masks a significant overall decline.
 
2. The small upturn in some arts subjects this year came after a u-turn on the original EBacc proposals (7 February 2013) and the introduction of a new 8 subject measures (progress 8 and best 8) which allowed creative subjects to count. These new proposals are significantly different and would make the EBacc all but compulsory for secondary school pupils.