The National Plan

TheNationalPlan: Implementation and impact

The political sands have continued to shift since the publication of the refreshed National Plan for Music Education in England, and the Department for Education now has its fifth Education Secretary of the year and the fourth since July. Dr Jodie Underhill, ISM’s Research Associate, discusses what this means for the refreshed plan

Over the coming months we are going to have to be very vigilant and continue to make the case for music education. We cannot take it for granted that, with so much change happening, the role of music in education will not be questioned and come under threat. Cuts to funding are a real possibility, despite the government’s three-year funding commitment at the current level (£79 million) which accompanied the release of the refreshed National Plan plus the promise of an additional £25 million for instruments. We have seen this before, unfortunately, with the disappearance of the multi-million-pound Arts Premium which was promised in the 2019 Conservative manifesto.

The refreshed National Plan for Music Education in England was published in June 2022, and we welcomed its broad ambition and scope. However, its implementation is gradual and therefore its impact so far is almost impossible to measure. This is due, in part, to the nonstatutory nature of the document and the ever-evolving political situation, but also to the long lead times of many of its initiatives, which are not expected to be in place until the start of the 2023-24 academic year or beyond. There are also a number of unknowns, including the monitoring board arrangements – due to be published by the Department for Education (DfE) towards the end of this year – and, perhaps most concerningly, the details of the Music Hub investment programme which Arts Council England has said will not be published until next year. We do know that the DfE wants to see fewer Hub lead organisations, covering wider geographical areas; and there is a concern that jobs could be lost as a result of the reorganisation, something which the ISM will strongly push back on.

School budgets are currently under enormous pressure, which could lead to schools cutting non-EBacc subjects from the curriculum in order to balance their books. In addition to funding there are challenges surrounding the workforce – both classroom teachers and peripatetic and instrumental teachers. The refreshed National Plan is ambitious, which in principle is encouraging, but there are concerns that a sufficient music education workforce does not currently exist to support it. Many music specialist undergraduate primary courses and post-graduate secondary programmes have closed; and the DfE removed the training bursary for music in 2020, limiting the opportunities to pursue a career in music teaching. The National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) forecasts that just 57% of the 2022/23 target for music will be recruited.

The situation in Wales and Scotland is perhaps a little more stable. The Welsh Government’s investment in music education continues, with a bespoke, bilingual version of Charanga being made free to all schools in Wales. In addition to its lessons, which support the Expressive Arts Area of the Curriculum for Wales, it includes training and professional development for teachers. Although there was some concern in September over funding being paused for the Youth Music Initiative in Scotland, potentially impacting hundreds of jobs and music programmes in local authorities, the Scottish Government confirmed that the funding is ‘ secure’ and programmes could resume.

The ISM has produced a number of resources relating to the refreshed National Plan.

Visit ism.org/npme-national-plan-for-music-education for more information