Today’s review is part of a series of research that
examines different subjects across the curriculum. It draws
on the evidence from the education inspection
framework (EIF) and other
literature to examine the contributions that can make a
high-quality music curriculum, pedagogy, assessment, and
the impact of school leaders’ decisions on music provision.
In England, all pupils should study music until the end of
key stage 3. This expectation is reflected in the national
curriculum and is at the heart of the EIF.
However, the number of pupils taking up music at key stages
4 and 5 continues to decline. Key stage 3 music provision
has also been reduced and trainee primary teachers are
offered shrinking amounts of musical training. And with
reduced lesson time, this has been accompanied by lower
levels of staffing to support a school’s rich musical life.
Therefore, it is more important than ever for schools to
find ways that put high-quality music at the core of the
curriculum.
Our review starts from the assumption that a central
purpose of a good music education is that it enables pupils
to perform the work of others, explore their own creativity
through composing work and, through wider listening and
engagement, come to a broader understanding of musical
culture and meaning.
There are various ways that schools can construct and teach
high-quality music curriculums. Our report identifies some
common features that schools may want to consider in
developing their music education, including:
- Curriculum content that might reasonably be mastered in
the time available, remembering that sometimes less is
more.
- Plentiful opportunities for pupils to return to and
consolidate their short-term learning, with repetition of
key curricular content and gradual introduction of new
ideas, methods and concepts.
- Curricular scope that includes enabling pupils to
develop technical control over the sound they are producing
through the voice or instrument.
- Extensive listening opportunities to help develop
pupils’ musical understanding.
- Space and time for pupils to explore the constructive
components that build musical compositions and use these
effectively to compose their own music.
- Opportunities to gain knowledge of how music over time
and across cultures has been a conduit for human
expression.
- High levels of guidance for beginners, remembering that
pupils in every key stage are sometimes novices, with
increasing freedom as pupils gain greater competence.
- Judicious use of summative assessment to identify pupil
misconceptions or inaccuracies.
- Adequate curriculum time and regularity to allow
musical learning to take place.
Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Amanda Spielman said:
Music touches the heart of our humanity and its sense of
wonder has influenced human societies throughout history.
For many pupils, the music they love will be part of the
narrative of their lives.
Music is part of the curriculum but simply ‘doing’ music
is not enough. We shouldn’t be satisfied with just having
music on the timetable. We need to be ambitious about
what we expect for music in the classroom and make sure
that time is well used. So I hope the review provides
helpful guidance for schools on designing and developing
a high-quality music curriculum.
Ofsted plans to publish a report on the quality of the
music curriculum taught in schools in 2022. We will gather
the evidence for this through subject ‘deep dives’ during
inspections under the EIF.
To find out more about Ofsted’s curriculum work, read the
principles behind
the research reviews and subject reports.
