The introduction of the EBacc, the rights of academies to diverge from the national curriculum and funding cuts have all led to a “postcode lottery” in the quality of music education, MPs have said today.
The report on the live music industry by the Commons Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee adds to growing calls for arts subjects to be added to the EBacc.
Music education was investigated by the MPs because of its role as a “talent pipeline” to the live music industry - which generated almost £1 billion for the UK economy and employed more than 28,000 people in 2017.
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The report stated that many teachers did not agree with schools minister Nick Gibb when he stressed that the numbers of students taking GCSE and A-level music had remained “broadly stable” since the introduction of the EBacc.
“Many in the music and teaching professions perceive the EBacc’s impact on music education to have been more damaging,” the report from the committee pointed out.
It added that there were other factors creating a decline in music education - saying that it had been given evidence that academies’ autonomy to set their own curriculum and pressures on school finances also made the music curriculum in schools vulnerable.
And the report pointed out that music teachers are not always as valued as they should be.
“It is very important that the role of music in the life of schools is valued by the inspection regime - too little credit is given to teachers who support music in schools, often in their own time,” the report states.
The report said that music education helped ensure people from all backgrounds had opportunities.
“It is impossible to know where the next multi-million-selling artist or classical virtuoso will come from, and it is therefore important that young people and musicians have opportunities to develop their talent irrespective of their socioeconomic background,” the report states.
Deborah Annetts, chief executive of the Incorporated Society of Musicians (ISM), said: “If the EBacc is not to be abolished, despite the evidence against it, then the addition of a sixth pillar for arts subjects would go some way in ensuring all students benefit from a creative education, as the report recommends.
“We need an education system that addresses the forthcoming challenges of Brexit and the fourth industrial revolution. We call on the secretary of state, Damian Hinds to take a fresh look at the EBacc and conduct an urgent review.”
A Department for Education spokesperson said: “We want all pupils to have the opportunity to study music at school - that’s why it is compulsory in the national curriculum from the age of 5 up to 14. Analysis from last year shows that through our Music Hubs programme, more than 700,000 children learnt to play instruments in class together in 2016-17.
“We are putting more money into arts education programmes than any subject other than PE - nearly half a billion pounds to fund a range of music and cultural programmes between 2016 and 2020. This money is in addition to the funding that schools receive to deliver their curriculum.
“We are currently working with music groups and practitioners to refresh the national plan for music education and develop a high-quality model music curriculum.”
