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Stand up for the arts in schools, say children’s laureates

Observer cartoonist explains the need for action by writers and illustrators for children

Children’s fiction sections of bookshelves are stalked by imaginary giants and superheroes. But these books have also given Britain a succession of real-life literary giants, from Lewis Carroll to Roald Dahl.

Now a group of leading modern-day titans of the field, the eight former children’s laureates, have joined forces with the current holder of the post, Chris Riddell, to create one formidable force.

At an initial war council held earlier this month, these award-winning writers and illustrators – including Michael Morpurgo, Malorie Blackman and Quentin Blake – prepared to battle to ensure the future of creativity in British schools. “[There was] the film Marvel Avengers Assemble. Well, this could be described as Laureates Assemble,” said Riddell, who won the Greenaway prize for children’s literature for a record third time last week for his work on The Sleeper and the Spindle with Neil Gaiman.

“I wanted to talk to my predecessors about what they had done as laureates and to make it an inclusive thing,” said Riddell, who is the political cartoonist of theObserver.“I felt that since I was appointed last year, I have relied heavily on the credit of the people who have gone before mebut I wondered if I could now make it a collective thing. Could we all get together and tackle some of the issues?”

The role of children’s laureate was created in 1999 after conversations between Morpurgo, the author of War Horse, and the then poet laureate, the late Ted Hughes. Renowned illustrator Quentin Blake was the first, chosen for his outstanding contribution to children’s literature. Next came Anne Fine and then Morpurgo himself, followed in 2005 by Jacqueline Wilson, author of the Tracy Beaker books. In 2007, poet Michael Rosen took over. Illustrator and writer Anthony Browne took up the challenge next and was followed in 2011 by Julia Donaldson, who wrote The Gruffalo. Malorie Blackman, author of Noughts and Crosses, preceded Riddell. The role is now supported by the BookTrust with a bursary of £15,000 a year.

During their tenures, each one has promoted a variety of causes, including visual literacy, readers with disabilities and writing for young adults. Now they are all homing in on the need to preserve creativity in UK schools.

“When you have someone like Jacqueline Wilson involved, or Michael Rosen, who has never stopped campaigning, I feel we could get somewhere. People have asked what the collective noun for children’s laureates might be and I have suggested an ‘enthusiasm’,” said Riddell. He added that he is not expecting the laureates to agree on everything, “but when we do, that is quite powerful. The falling value of creativity is a big problem.”

The fall coincides with a rise in young people studying English baccalaureate (EBacc) subjects, the exam which provides a “more traditional” curriculum and is being encouraged by the government. While the total number of GCSE entries in all subjects this year has grown by 0.3%, over the same period exam entries for arts subjects have fallen by 8%.Last week, the results of a survey suggested a major drop in the take-up of arts subjects at GCSE level. The survey, compiled by the magazine Arts Professionaland based on official statistics published by the exam watchdog, Ofqual, revealed a fivefold decline in the number of children taking subjects including art and design, media, music, drama and design and technology, over the past year. Entry numbers fell by 46,000 this year, compared with a decline of 9,000 in 2015.

A parliamentary petition opposing the exclusion of art, drama, music and other creative subjects from the EBacc has been signed by more than 100,000 people, triggering a debate on the issue in parliament, due to be held on 4 July.

Riddell said that while creativity “can be examined to death”, it must be generally promoted. “It does not have to be the basis of a career, but it leads to a lifelong enhancement. People more qualified than me can make the case for the value to the exchequer, but these are things that touch lots of people, so that is where we will be starting from.”[Pls keep online] Next month Sally Tallant, director of the Liverpool Biennial, will be championing cultural education by launching a series of large scale commissions inviting artists to work with children. The artist Marvin Gaye Chetwynd will be taking part and has made a film with children and for children inspired by a 1936 musical.

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