Fighting for music education

Wednesday 21 December 2011

The ISM is fighting for music education and for music to be included in the National Curriculum and the English Baccalaureate.

The ISM is fighting for music education…

The Incorporated Society of Musicians (ISM) is a member of the Council for Subject Associations (CfSA), and our Chief Executive, Deborah Annetts, is Chair of the Music Education Council. We also provide secretariat support to the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Music Education.

…we have welcomed the National Plan for Music Education…

The National Plan for Music Education recognises the pre-eminence of music education in this country and the central role music plays in our creative and cultural economy. The Government has clearly listened to the sector and we will work in partnership with the Government to deliver their aspirations in the future.

However concerns remain over the practicalities of the proposed music education ‘hubs’ – the funding process needs to be transparent and accountable to ensure that conflicts of interest cannot arise. Also the National Curriculum needs to play a more prominent role in the National Plan for Music Education.

…and are campaigning for music to remain a key subject in the National Curriculum...

Deborah Annetts, Chief Executive of the ISM, welcomed the recommendation from the National Curriculum review team that music remain in the National Curriculum to Key Stage 3 and compulsory up to Key Stage 4 within ‘the arts’. This follows the Henley Review into Music Education in England which found that ‘the provision of Music Education should remain a statutory requirement as part of the National Curriculum’.

On BBC Radio 3’s Music Matters, Michael Gove, Secretary of State for Education, stated:

‘I think anyone looking at the care and dedication that has gone into the National Plan for Music Education, following on from Darren Henley’s fantastic work, would presume from that, that it would be eccentric of the Department for Education not to have music enjoying a prominent place in the National Curriculum.’

On the same programme Deborah Annetts welcomed this statement as an indication of the Government’s commitment to music education.

…but we are continuing our calls for a review of the English Baccalaureate.

The English Baccalaureate (EBac) currently ranks schools on the proportion of pupils who get an A* to C grade in five pillars of subject option: maths, English, a language, a science and a humanities subject. This ranking system means schools are increasingly concentrating on these five pillars to the detriment of music.

The Government must review the EBac with the aim of including music in a sixth pillar of creative and cultural academic subjects.