Letters | 21 March 2009

Art for money’s sake

Sir: It is hardly surprising that Olivia Cole (‘How to put children off art’, 14 March) found so many schoolchildren in the National Gallery and that they seemed to be learning little about art from their visits. The Gallery, like other public bodies, has a funding agreement with its sponsor department, the Department of Culture, Media and Sport. The agreement for the current financial year is not on the Gallery’s website but for 2007/8 it was set a target for the number of children aged 15 and under visiting the Gallery in ‘organised educational sessions’, of 105,000, which it exceeded. There is no target for the benefit that the children gain from these visits.

In the agreement the Department states that ‘The National Gallery’s ability to show measurable improvements in service delivery, the achievement of Funding agreement targets and its contribution to the delivery of Government Policies will be factors in the Secretary of State’s decisions on future allocations.’