• Amanda Smith
• ABC Radio National, Artworks

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25 October 2010With the introduction of a national curriculum - that includes the arts - for the first time, all Australian kids from Kindergarten through to Year 8 will all learn 5 art forms: music, drama, dance, visual arts and media arts.

And in the path towards that going into schools from 2012, something called a 'Draft Shape Paper' has been released this month. As the name suggests, it outlines the general thrust of the arts program, before specific curricula for each art form are written.

Joining Amanda Smith to talk through the whys and wherefores of all this - and who's happy with how things are proceeding and who's not - are:

• Rob Randall - Rob is the General Manager of Curriculum for the federal agency in charge of all this: the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority - hereafter known as ACARA.
• Derek Weeks - Derek's the Head of Arts at Indooripilly State High School in Brisbane; he's the president of the Australian Teachers of Media for Queensland; and a member of the National Advocates for Arts Education.
• Brian Ladd - Until very recently Brian was the head of public programs and education at the Art Gallery of News South Wales, and he's one of the founders of the Visual Arts Consortium, which has come together because of this move to a national arts syllabus.