A government plan to revive music education in schools will fail without more training, funding and specialist teachers, subject experts are warning.
The warning comes ahead of September’s deadline for schools to have a revised or new “music development plan” in place, setting out how they will deliver last year’s national music education plan.
The plan needs to show how a “high-quality music provision for all pupils in the three areas of curriculum, co-curricular and enrichment” will be delivered.
This should include plans for teaching music to 5- to 14-year-olds for at least an hour a week each term.
Sean Dingley, director of music at the Ridgeway Education Trust in Oxfordshire, said the government’s aims would not become reality “unless more music teachers are recruited [and] there is increased training and support for primary teachers”.
The expectations had also been made more challenging by the “burden” of Sats and the English Baccalaureate, he said.
Under the non-statutory guidance, schools should ensure: that the curriculum provides for at least an hour of music teaching each week of the school year for key stages 1 to 3; access to lessons across a range of instruments and voice; there is a school choir and/or vocal ensemble and a school ensemble/band/group; space is provided for rehearsals and individual practice; a termly school performance; and opportunity to enjoy a live performance at least once a year.
The national plan, which built on the Model Music Curriculum published in 2021, said music hubs would be asked to build local “ecosystems” for music education, with more schools buying whole-class teaching packages and instrument lessons from hubs.
The Department for Education has allocated £79 million per year to fund hubs until 2025, and £25 million for hubs to buy instruments.
Mr Dingley welcomed the focus on his subject but was concerned about longer-term funding for whole-class instrument teaching.
He said: “It is typically the school that funds an initial year of teaching. But following this, the cost becomes the responsibility of parents.
“With increasing cost-of-living pressures on families, this is not an equitable or sustainable option.”
Diana Salazar, director of programmes at the Royal College of Music, welcomed the model curriculum’s recommendation for every child in Year 3 or 4 to experience whole-class instrumental teaching for a minimum of one term as “a step in the right direction”, but asked what would happen next for students who show potential.
She said: “We face a situation where young people with musical potential are robbed of opportunities and music becomes the preserve of the wealthy and privately educated.”
DfE figures from August last year show uptake of GCSE music in England has fallen by 37.7 per cent since 2008.
Meanwhile, recruitment to music teacher training courses has fallen by 12 per cent since last year, according to the latest figures.
Julie McCulloch, director of policy at the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “The government has effectively sidelined the creative arts, and the action it is now taking is an attempt to repair some of this damage without actually addressing the underlying issues.”
There was a need for school accountability measures to be reviewed, as well as more funding, she added.
The DfE said the National Plan for Music Education shows a commitment to ensuring that every child is taught music to a high standard.
A spokesperson said: “Earlier this month, the department established a monitoring board made up of experts to track the progress in delivering the commitments in the plan.”
