National Plan for Music Education
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Last week the Department for Education opened a consultation for the refresh of the National Plan for Music Education. Since then, I’ve been reflecting on the achievements of the current Plan, the opportunities and challenges facing music education and thinking about what I’d like to see in the next Plan. I encourage you to do the same and to please share the consultation widely, encouraging as many young people, parents and teachers as possible to let Government know what they want music education in England to look like.
Contribute to the Consultation
The publication of the first Plan in 2011 was a momentous occasion for music education. It set out what every child should expect at each stage of their education and how music education partners would work together to ensure every child, no matter their background, could participate and progress. It has been a pleasure for me to work with so many programmes since then, particularly Music Education Hubs, and see how they have reached more and more young people each year. Since 2012, an additional 200,000 pupils are learning an instrument through Whole Class Ensemble Teaching, the number of children engaged in In Harmony has doubled, 10,000 more young people are being given opportunities through the National Youth Music Organisations and an additional 8,000 children and young people have participated in Youth Music projects.
The refreshed Plan must address these issues and ensure the music education sector listens to young people and meets their needs.
Despite this success, we know that there are still children and young people missing out on a musical education. ABRSM’s Making Music report in 2014 and Youth Music’s Sound of the Next Generation report in 2019 found that more children are making music than ever before, but this is not transferring to equal engagement with publicly funded music education. The number of pupils taking GCSE and A Level Music has reduced and Ofsted recognises the risk of a shortened Key Stage 3 on a broad and balanced curriculum. We also know that children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities, and those from lower income backgrounds, are particularly underserved or are not supported to engage with the wonderful breadth of opportunities music has to offer. The refreshed Plan must address these issues and ensure the music education sector listens to young people and meets their needs.
The Arts Council recently published its new ten-year strategy Let’s Create. Securing the creative and cultural lives of all our children and young people is critical to us and music has a key role to play in this. The Durham Commission showed us how important creativity is to young people and we know participating in creative and cultural activities has so many broad benefits for children and young people. I intend to ensure that our strategy, investment and relationships build on the love children and young people have for music – as listeners, music makers and critics. I want a creative, diverse and inclusive music education system to develop the skills, knowledge and confidence needed for children and young people to continue to experience, and enjoy, music throughout their lives.
I’ll share our full consultation response in due course, but in the meantime, here are my top ten things that I’d like to see in the refreshed National Plan for Music Education:
- Nurseries, schools and colleges – commit to delivering a high-quality music curriculum. Teachers (both specialist and non-specialist) have regular training, support and resources. Governors, Heads and teachers are aware of the Plan and the expectations of schools within it; including how DfE is investing in Music Education Hubs to support and build on the music education in the classroom.
- Age range – extended to 0-25-year olds. Music education should start as early as possible and young people should be supported following full-time education to continue their musical engagement as audiences, with the amateur sector or working within the creative industries.
- Equity – funding should be targeted to ensure music education is inclusive and no one is left out.
- Co-creation – young people should be empowered to decide what happens in their music education, with guidance and challenge from experts.
- Quality – we know what good looks like and are ambitious to make our work with young musicians better.
- Outcomes – Music Education Hubs should be empowered to focus on musical, educational, social and health and wellbeing outcomes rather than just outputs.
- Progression routes – are individualised and take place across different learning environments. The music industry, amateur music, youth and technology sectors are partners. Progression routes are available across genres, composition and production, and encourage experimentation.
- Technology – technological advances are reflected, and we ensure technology is supporting, augmenting and innovating children and young people’s music-making.
- Music education workforce – is valued, diverse, inclusive and well-trained.
- Funding – the Music Education Hub grant should increase to reflect inflationary increases since 2012 and any changes to their roles. Investment should be made in a broader range of National Youth Music Organisations and In Harmony should continue. An additional investment in musical instruments should be made, including for adapted instruments.
