Responding to Labour's pledge to make the arts accessible to every child in Britain, Paul Whiteman, general secretary at school leaders' union NAHT, said: "Access to the arts should be an entitlement for every pupil throughout their time at school.

"Children can gain so much from subjects such as music, art and drama, which allow them the opportunity to explore and develop their unique interests and talents.

"Sadly, the current narrow accountability system we have in this country places little value on creative subjects and so we often see them squeezed out of the school timetable.

"Every pupil deserves to experience a broad and balanced curriculum and the arts should be a core part of that." 

Graham Frost, national executive member at school leaders' union NAHT, and head teacher at Robert Ferguson Primary School in Carlisle, said: "Creativity sits at the very heart of our school curriculum.

"We see no tension between creativity and high standards, in fact those two things go hand in hand.

"I want children to leave our school having experienced a rich, broad education. That of course involves a strong foundation in reading, writing and maths, but it also means an equally strong grounding in music, drama, art and sports. The arts should never be seen as a bolt-on or simply ‘enrichment’ for the lucky few, they should be a basic entitlement for every child in this country.

"Artistic activity is deep in our DNA and an essential part of being human. Children’s wellbeing is best served by opportunity to engage in a broad, rich curriculum which includes creative arts. There persists a naive undervaluing of the employment potential of quality education in the arts, in a country with a heritage and longstanding reputation for arts culture which will fade unless we invest in artistic learning."