'Creativity isn't an add-on. It must form a vital and integral part of every child's experience of school. Research has shown that, if it does, it can contribute to improved learning and increased standards across the school as a whole.'
So said education secretary Charles Clarke to head teachers at a conference at London's Barbican last month. Early years practitioners and teachers are unlikely to disagree with him.
But it would be understandable if they were sceptical about his commitment.
The last major report into the importance of creativity, which was commissioned by the Government and conducted by Professor Ken Robinson and his fellow members on the National Advisory Committee for Creative and Cultural Education (NACCCE) in 1999, was treated less than creatively by the then education secretary David Blunkett.
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