A survey of music teachers conducted by the Incorporated Society of Musicians shows that 99% of respondents want to be consulted on the draft refreshed National Plan for Music Education (NPME) before it is published for implementation.

Over 500 music teachers in England took part in the survey, which ran between November 2021 and January 2022, to share their views on the possible contents of the refreshed NPME, the Government’s Call for Evidence and Report on the Call for Evidence.

Some of the preliminary findings include:

• 99% of respondents think they should be consulted on the draft refreshed National Plan for Music Education before it is finalised.
  
• 59% of respondents had not responded to the Call for Evidence in February 2020 – and over half of those who provided a reason for not responding (55%) said they were not aware of it.
  
• Less than half of respondents (43%) had read the Government’s Report on the Call for Evidence from August 2021.
  
• Of these, 60% did not think it was an accurate reflection of what is currently happening to music in the maintained sector.

We will publish the full results of this survey, along with other recent research, in due course.

ISM Chief Executive Deborah Annetts has thanked music teachers for taking part in our important survey:

'We’re really grateful to the music education community for taking part in the ISM’s survey. We’re still analysing the results, but they are already reinforcing how passionate music teachers are about what they do and how to make music education better in our schools.

The refreshed National Plan for Music Education is a great opportunity for Government to reverse the decline of music education in our schools and listen to teachers who really do know how to improve matters. We hope the Department for Education now commits to a meaningful consultation with music teachers on the draft refreshed National Plan for Music Education to make sure it is the best it can be. We must grasp this opportunity and make sure that all children in our schools have access to a great music education.

We will be publishing our research findings through reports in the coming months, which we hope will be informative to the sector and decision makers alike.'