Asked by
To ask His Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to
provide free music education for all children aged five to
14.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for
Education () (Con)
My Lords, this Government recognise the importance of all pupils
receiving a broad and ambitious music curriculum. As set out in
the national plan for music education, we expect schools to teach
at least one hour of music a week. We have committed £70 million
per annum for music hubs until 2025, alongside £25 million for
musical instruments. We will consider future funding for the next
spending review in due course.
(Con)
My Lords, I thank my noble friend the Minister for that Answer
and declare my interests as registered, including as former chair
of the national plan for music education. The national plan for
music education is ambitious, but does it not need to be well
funded to succeed? The Department for Education currently
provides £76 million a year for music education, but there are
nearly 7 million children aged between five and 14 in our
schools, all of whom should be learning to play an instrument,
sing and many other things besides. We can all do the maths:
children from disadvantaged families are missing out. They simply
cannot afford to learn to play a musical instrument.
What is the logic of going for growth in the creative sector,
which includes music, if there is so little support for the
pipeline of talent? When do the Government plan to provide
sufficient funds to ensure that children from low-income families
can fulfil their potential as musicians and
become part of the pipeline of talent for our brilliant
conservatoires and orchestras?
(Con)
I thank my noble friend for her part in chairing the national
plan for music education. She will understand much better than I
that money is important but not the only thing that allows
children from less advantaged backgrounds to participate in
music. Every child is offered the opportunity for a range of
musical experiences at schools. We have funding for the Music and
Dance Scheme, for particularly talented young people who have
been identified, of more than £30 million this year. We will also
publish more about our funding of the music progression fund
shortly.
(Lab)
Did the Minister take note of the report some years ago by Darren
Henley, which gave evidence that music education opens a door to
all other kinds of learning? Should not all children have this
benefit?
(Con)
I completely agree, which is why all children do have this
benefit and why music education is part of the national
curriculum from key stages 1 to 3.
(LD)
My Lords, I declare an interest as the former chair of the VOCES8
Foundation, which is a music education charity. We have found
from going into primary schools that a large number of them have
no teachers with any musical expertise. If that is the situation,
it is difficult to do things such as getting the whole school to
sing together, which clearly improves the entire atmosphere, let
alone encouraging the more talented people. Are the Government
willing to commit to ensure that every primary school has at
least one teacher with basic musical training?
(Con)
I understand the point that the noble Lord makes, but the data
for 2021-22 shows that more than 86,000 hours were spent teaching
music in secondary schools—I know the noble Lord referred to
primary schools—which is more than at any time since 2014-15. The
number of teachers has also increased since that date and now
stands at more than 7,000, of whom 83% have a relevant
post-A-level qualification.
of Knighton (CB)
My Lords, the aspirations of the plan are admirable, but surely
we need to see less reliance on hubs and more reliance on actual
music in schools. The best way to do that is to get music back on
the EBacc, of course. I realise that is perhaps a forlorn hope at
the moment, but will the Minister tell me how the Government are
going to find the right number of teachers, especially those
trained to deliver music in schools?
(Con)
The noble Lord is right that teacher recruitment, along with
recruitment in many sectors, is a real challenge at the moment.
But we are supporting schools, and I suggest to the noble Lord
that maybe it is a both/and: music hubs have an important part to
play, as does direct delivery in schools, which the hubs support.
The model music curriculum introduced in March 2021 helps support
schools in that delivery.
(Con)
My Lords, I congratulate my noble friend Lady Fleet on her
excellent work on the national plan for music education. When we
first worked on the first national plan back in 2012, one of the
things we did was to incorporate the In Harmony programme
conceived by Lloyd Webber, started by the last
Labour Government with great foresight and carried on by the
Conservative Government. I simply bring to my noble friend’s
attention how absolutely outstanding this programme is,
particularly in giving children not just a music education but
extraordinary life chances in some of the most deprived areas of
the country. I urge her to continue to support it as the music
education plan develops.
(Con)
My noble friend is absolutely right and I thank him very much for
drawing this to the attention of the House.
(Lab)
My Lords, in Wales the National Music Service is carrying out a
review of the terms and conditions for local authority-hosted
music service teachers, commencing this autumn. It will look at
whether the lack of teacher retention and pay is a factor in
delivering good music education throughout all key stages. Have
the UK Government thought of doing something similar in
England?
(Con)
We have just published a national plan for music education, Arts
Council England has just carried out a consultation review of our
music hub approach and we have published a new model music
curriculum, so it is fair to say that this area has received a
lot of attention.
(LD)
My Lords, in an earlier reply, the Minister said that every child
has access to a range of musical experiences. Can she confirm
that that extends to a right of every child to learn a musical
instrument for free?
(Con)
I think the noble Lord knows the answer to his question. Music
lessons are an area in which schools are allowed, with certain
restrictions—for example, children who are in care have an
absolute right to free musical instrument lessons—to charge if
the lesson is at the request of the pupil’s parents.
The (CB)
My Lords, the Minister repeatedly tells us that the EBacc has had
no effect on the arts, including music, in schools. How, then,
will she account for the fall in GCSE music entries of 27%
between 2010 and 2022, and the further expected fall of 12% in
the last year?
(Con)
I encourage the noble Earl to look at both the GCSE and the
technical award figures, which have stayed relatively stable at
about 8% of the pupil population over the last four years. I also
point to our absolutely extraordinary and thriving creative
industries which, despite the House’s concerns, appear to be able
to recruit just the people they need.
(Con)
My Lords, dance should be as valued as music in education yet,
according to recent research by One Dance UK, over the last
decade dance has been marginalised as an educational subject.
World-class organisations such as Rambert have produced fantastic
resources, such as Rambert CREATE. Will the Minister commit to
ensuring the place of dance within the creative arts and the
curriculum, perhaps through working with organisations such as
Rambert?
(Con)
I thank my noble friend for her suggestion. The department is
very open to working with organisations such as Rambert and is
very grateful to them for the work they do. Dance is included
within the physical education curriculum and it includes specific
requirements at key stages 1 through 3. Schools have flexibility
about how they deliver this curriculum, but I would be happy to
meet my noble friend and follow up her suggestion.
of Hudnall (Lab)
My Lords, in her last but one answer, the Minister observed that
the creative industries do not have any trouble in recruiting. I
point out to her that they do. There is a significant skills
shortage across the creative industries, which causes
considerable concern. She might not necessarily agree, but many
people believe that a lot of that is to do with the fact that the
arts, and in particular music, are not given the privileged
status within our schools that she imagines they should have and
tells the House they have.
(Con)
I apologise if I gave the impression that there are no skills
pressures in the creative industries. I just pointed out that our
creative industries are world beating and are able to recruit
talent in a way that allows them to be so.
