|
Music education: a far from level playing field
Deborah Annetts Chief Executive at the Independent Society of Musicians |
06.02.23
When the ISM decided to survey secondary school music teachers in 2021, we already knew that times were tough, but the results we received from over 500 teachers across the UK were sobering and some cases heartbreaking.
Our report based on the survey findings, Music: A subject in peril?, revealed a shocking picture of increasing inequality between state and independent schools in funding for music departments. One teacher had to manage on less than £1 per pupil per year. Others were repairing instruments themselves as there was no money to replace them. The findings also showed an increasing narrowing of the curriculum, with music being taught on a carousel with other arts subjects in Years 7 and 8 and often dropped altogether by Year 9.
There are various reasons why music is struggling in schools, but one of the clearest messages that came out of the survey was the damage done by government accountability measures – the EBacc and Progress 8. The EBacc suite of subjects, which the government would like 90% of students to be taking at GCSE by 2025, does not include any arts subjects. Progress 8, which assesses pupils’ progress between Year 6 and Year 11 and is used in school league tables, is heavily skewed in favour of EBacc subjects. Together these measures have created a two-tier system of subjects, with EBacc ones often taking priority in school budget and resource decisions.
The result has been devastating for music. An overwhelming 93% of respondents to our survey said that the EBacc and/or Progress 8 had caused harm to music education provision. One teacher said, ‘the EBacc agenda… demoted arts to second class choice.’ According to another, ‘the introduction of Progress 8 and EBacc have done huge damage to music in schools… resulting in courses not running and music departments shrinking.’ Even worse was the respondent who said, ‘…candidate numbers decreased in music. As a result, my school’s curriculum became so narrow that I was made redundant as there was no music to teach.’
Our report based on the survey findings, Music: A subject in peril?, revealed a shocking picture of increasing inequality between state and independent schools in funding for music departments. One teacher had to manage on less than £1 per pupil per year. Others were repairing instruments themselves as there was no money to replace them. The findings also showed an increasing narrowing of the curriculum, with music being taught on a carousel with other arts subjects in Years 7 and 8 and often dropped altogether by Year 9.
There are various reasons why music is struggling in schools, but one of the clearest messages that came out of the survey was the damage done by government accountability measures – the EBacc and Progress 8. The EBacc suite of subjects, which the government would like 90% of students to be taking at GCSE by 2025, does not include any arts subjects. Progress 8, which assesses pupils’ progress between Year 6 and Year 11 and is used in school league tables, is heavily skewed in favour of EBacc subjects. Together these measures have created a two-tier system of subjects, with EBacc ones often taking priority in school budget and resource decisions.
The result has been devastating for music. An overwhelming 93% of respondents to our survey said that the EBacc and/or Progress 8 had caused harm to music education provision. One teacher said, ‘the EBacc agenda… demoted arts to second class choice.’ According to another, ‘the introduction of Progress 8 and EBacc have done huge damage to music in schools… resulting in courses not running and music departments shrinking.’ Even worse was the respondent who said, ‘…candidate numbers decreased in music. As a result, my school’s curriculum became so narrow that I was made redundant as there was no music to teach.’
The impact can be seen in uptake of music at GCSE, which has fallen by a staggering 27% since the EBacc was introduced in 2010, while the figures for A-level music are even starker. Research by Birmingham City University in 2018 concluded: ‘A-level music is continuing to decline in terms of numbers of entries and that, if the trend continues at the same rate, there won’t be any more entries for A-level music by 2033.’
The government’s education policies are making music increasingly inaccessible to those who cannot afford to study it privately – the very opposite of the levelling-up agenda. It is also short-sighted in terms of the country’s economic future. Music is one of the UK’s most successful industries and British artists made up the entirety of the UK’s Top 10 singles in 2022 for the first time since records began. In 2019 the music industry contributed £5.8 billion to the economy. If we do not teach music properly in our schools, we will shrink the talent pipeline that provides both the musicians and the audiences of the future.
The ISM fundamentally believes that every child has the right to a high-quality arts education, regardless of their background, as part of a broad and balanced curriculum. Our previous #BaccForTheFuture campaign, which called for an arts pillar in the EBacc, accurately predicted the damage the EBacc would cause. We now urgently need reform of the accountability measures that relegate arts subjects to second-class status in schools. We hope you will join us and help save our subjects.
Established in 1882, the ISM has over 11,000 members across the music industry and campaigns on behalf of all musicians.
The government’s education policies are making music increasingly inaccessible to those who cannot afford to study it privately – the very opposite of the levelling-up agenda. It is also short-sighted in terms of the country’s economic future. Music is one of the UK’s most successful industries and British artists made up the entirety of the UK’s Top 10 singles in 2022 for the first time since records began. In 2019 the music industry contributed £5.8 billion to the economy. If we do not teach music properly in our schools, we will shrink the talent pipeline that provides both the musicians and the audiences of the future.
The ISM fundamentally believes that every child has the right to a high-quality arts education, regardless of their background, as part of a broad and balanced curriculum. Our previous #BaccForTheFuture campaign, which called for an arts pillar in the EBacc, accurately predicted the damage the EBacc would cause. We now urgently need reform of the accountability measures that relegate arts subjects to second-class status in schools. We hope you will join us and help save our subjects.
Established in 1882, the ISM has over 11,000 members across the music industry and campaigns on behalf of all musicians.
