Baroness Keeley
To ask His Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to improve the quality and quantity of music education in state schools.
Baroness Keeley (Lab)
My Lords, I am co-chair of the Classical Music APPG, which I have chaired for more than 10 years. I have worked with the noble Lord, Lord Berkeley of Knighton, who has been my co-chair, as well as the noble Lord, Lord Aberdare, the noble Earl, Lord Clancarty, the noble Baroness, Lady Fleet, and other noble Lords.
During the last six years, there has been a strong message coming to us of a growing crisis in music education in state schools. I will start with a review of the issues in that crisis, inherited by this Government last July. However, first, I welcome the fact that my noble friend Lady Debbonaire will make her maiden speech in this debate. It was a pleasure to work with her in the shadow team in 2023 and 2024 when she was shadow Culture Secretary and I was shadow Minister for Music. It was also a pleasure to hear her play the cello in the string quartet, the Statutory Instruments.
At the heart of the crisis in music education in our state schools are issues affecting quantity and quality. The ones I want to highlight are the shortage of specialist music teachers and the problems of teacher confidence and expertise, lack of curriculum time for music, and declining uptake and inequalities in access to music at both GCSE and A-level. These issues have been explored in debates, and in reports to Parliament and to all-party parliamentary groups.
In the 2019 report Music Education: State of the Nation by the Independent Society of Musicians, we heard that the policy of the former Government around accountability measures, such as the English baccalaureate, has had significant negative impacts on music education in schools in England. We also heard that curriculum time for music, which is statutory for key stages 1-3, had reduced, along with opportunities for children to pursue music to GCSE and A-Level.
The report posed serious questions to be addressed regarding the music education workforce becoming demoralised because of the increasing marginalisation of music in our schools. It called on the Government to review and reform the EBacc and Progress 8 accountability measures or, at the very least, to add a sixth pillar to the EBacc for creative subjects, including music. The 2019 report of the Commons CMS Select Committee on the social impact of participation in culture and sport also recommended that the Government add arts subjects to the EBacc. More recently, in your Lordships’ House, the 2024 report of the Education for 11-16 Year Olds Committee recommended that the Government should:
“Abandon the EBacc school performance measures and review the other measures in the 11–16 phase”.
A 2022 survey of music teachers by the Independent Society of Musicians found significant variability in music provision, particularly in primary schools. It also found that the key stage 3 music curriculum had been progressively narrowed, mostly in academies, by placing music on a carousel or rota system, where it was offered for only part of the year, in rotation with other subjects.
The Cultural Learning Alliance’s Report Card 2024 highlighted that access to music education opportunities now varies greatly across the country, with 42% of schools no longer entering any pupils for music GCSE, and young people’s take-up of musical instruments and ensemble playing varying greatly by socioeconomic background.
I think we can say that all of this means that far too many young people are missing out on the benefits, experiences and opportunities that music education can bring. The curriculum and assessment review could play an important role in improving the quantity of music education in our state schools, because two of the issues that need to be resolved are the pressures on schools created by the accountability measures for the EBacc and Progress 8, and the lack of curriculum time for music.
Over recent years, Dr Adam Whittaker, of the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, and Dr Anthony Anderson, of Birmingham City University, have worked on the issue of the significant disparities in access to advanced-level music qualifications across the country. I am grateful to Dr Whittaker and Dr Anderson for making several suggestions to improve the quality and quantity of music education in state schools.
The first recommendation is to ensure a sustained and universal music curriculum throughout a young person’s life. We are nowhere near this, particularly at secondary level, in many state schools, where report after report has shown that music education and opportunities are not being sustained.
I want to mention here the excellent work done up and down the country by orchestras, opera companies, churches, cathedrals and music projects working with schools and in the community. To mention just a few, the London Philharmonic Orchestra has the Music Makers and BrightSparks programmes for schools; the Royal Ballet and Opera’s learning programme reaches 100,000 pupils per year; Opera Holland Park has just held two performances of the opera “Itch” for local schools; and the National Schools Singing Programme has worked with over 36,000 children and young people. These enrichment activities are very important, but we must make sure that music at school is present as part of the curriculum for every young person.
The next key recommendation is for government to support the availability and uptake of formal music qualifications. A-level music has been a long-standing feature of the musical training of many musicians. However, last year there were five local authorities without a single level 3 music entry, including A-levels: Barnsley, Hartlepool, Knowsley, South Tyneside, and Barking and Dagenham. By comparison, in Hertfordshire there were 378 level 3 music entries, and in Essex there were 321. These inequalities start at GCSE, with Blackpool and Middlesbrough having just 35 and 53 entries for GCSE music, compared with over 1,400 in Hertfordshire. Low levels of entry in those areas highlight that music qualifications are not available to all young people in all local authorities. This matters because a child cannot choose a subject that local schools do not offer, unless they can afford to travel out of the area to go to another school—and they should not have to do that to get a music education.
National statistics confirm that there has been a marked reduction in the amount of time teachers are spending teaching music, despite substantial growth of the pupil cohort in secondary schools. Since 2011, the total number of teaching hours for music in secondary schools has fallen by over 6%. Most concerning is the decline in hours taught in examination school years, with school hours for key stage 4 declining by 9%. The largest fall in taught hours for music was for key stage 5, with a catastrophic fall of 40% since 2011. This reduction in hours shows that qualifications such as A-level music are being restricted, or just not offered, in school key stage 5 options in some areas. It may mean that, even where such qualifications are offered, they are not given the same proportion of teaching time that they were in 2011-12, baking in potential disadvantage for those who wish to pursue a musical pathway to higher levels of achievement.
State schools need to be supported by government to offer music qualifications right through to the end of key stage 5, even when only small numbers take up those options. A small subject supplement could be transformative. For example, Dr Whittaker and Dr Anderson estimate that a national 50% subsidy on all school-based level 3 music qualifications could be delivered for less than £750,000. If a scheme were targeted to address the disparities I mentioned, it could be delivered at an even lower level of funding. Support like this from government could help protect the progression routes for pupils into advanced music education.
The next key recommendation is to address the music teacher recruitment crisis and to invest in high-quality, reflective continuing professional development—CPD—for music teachers. There is a continuing and significant shortfall in the recruitment of music teachers, with an almost 60% shortfall against DfE’s recruitment target last year. While there are over 400 fewer secondary music teachers in total than there were in 2011, there are almost 1,200 fewer teachers at key stage 5—that workforce has declined by 35%. That loss of expertise may prove very difficult to recover, as not all music teachers are able to teach immediately at key stage 5, especially during their first year after qualifying.
The Ofsted subject report on music education, published in 2023, highlighted considerable differences in how well teachers teach music. The Ofsted report found that in some secondary schools leaders assume that because their music teachers are specialists, they do not require further subject-specific training, but this can result in significant gaps in their subject knowledge not being addressed. Access to CPD is critical for music teachers but it is problematic, because music teachers are often the only teacher in the department, so difficulties covering their absence mean that they are less likely to be released for CPD.
Dr Anderson and Dr Whittaker feel that bridging the gap between trainee music teachers and early career teachers in music, by investing in that reflective CPD, is one focus that could make a real difference. On costings, they say that, for less than £5 million a year, each secondary school music teacher could be released for one day for CPD, which could improve the musical lives of 3.2 million pupils, at a cost of only £1.56 per child.
We have only a very short time for our debate. I hope I have opened up some issues which need to be addressed. I look forward to hearing from my noble friend the Minister about government action to improve music education in state schools.
Baroness Fleet (Con)
My Lords, it is an honour to follow the noble Baroness, Lady Keeley, and I pay tribute to her for securing this debate. I declare my interest as chair and co-founder of the London Music Fund, and former chair of the model music curriculum and the national plan for music education. I am very much looking forward to the noble Baroness, Lady Debbonaire, making her maiden speech.
No Government in the last 25 years have done enough to support and promote music education. What do they not understand? Music brings young people together. It enriches lives. It helps emotional and social development. Music helps reading, listening, concentration and memory. And all this filters through to help with grades and exams. Music changes lives.
The previous Government made a start and published the national plan for music education in 2022, which was delivered by teachers working with music hubs across the country with guaranteed funding—it was never enough but a start. What did the Labour Government do? They pulled the plug on the national plan. Since then, there has been nothing but uncertainty and anxiety. Has funding been secured? No. Have music hubs been supported? No. Have specialist teachers been reassured? No. Have hubs been exempted from additional NI contributions? No. What are the plans to reduce the administrative burden on hubs?
Astonishingly, despite strong headwinds, many schools—not enough, but many—deliver outstanding music education. That is thanks only to the dogged determination of music leaders and teachers. We heard today that the brilliant music and dance scheme is secure for a year—but then what? As for the proposed national centre for arts and music, there is confusion and dismay. Will it be a new bureaucracy or just an information centre? There is no budget and no brief, just delay.
Schools can only build music departments with at least three years of funding, to allow everyone to plan properly. With the support of an ambitious trust, music could be delivered in every school. We await the Professor Becky Francis curriculum review. However, as of today, all those in music and the arts feel utterly let down by this Government.
Lord Shipley (LD)
My Lords, I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Keeley, for the opportunity to hold this debate, and I very much look forward to hearing the maiden speech of the noble Baroness, Lady Debbonaire.
First, I acknowledge the important work of the 43 music hubs as well as organisations that partner with state schools, such as the Church of England. I also acknowledge the excellent work of the many cultural organisations that promote young people’s participation in music, such as The Glasshouse, Gateshead—close to where I live—which makes an outstanding contribution.
Nevertheless, the evidence is clear: music is part of the national curriculum only to key stage 3. We need more secondary schools to teach music at GCSE level, because 42% of secondary schools did not have any GCSE entries in music in 2024. Worryingly, the vacancy rate for music teachers increased sixfold between 2010 and 2023, and teacher recruitment in music over the same period dropped by half. The result is that there are fewer students studying music at secondary level. In addition, over the last two years we have seen a drop of one-third in vocational qualifications in music achieved at level 2.
As the noble Baroness, Lady Keeley, reminded us, in 2019 the House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee found that the introduction of the English baccalaureate—EBacc—had resulted in fewer students studying music at secondary level, because only GCSEs in English, maths, the sciences, one humanity and one language are measured for the proportion of students reaching grade 5. As the Select Committee said:
“We remain deeply concerned about the gap between the government’s reassuring rhetoric and the evidence presented to us of the decline in music provision in state schools, for which the Ebacc is blamed and which affects students from less advantaged socio-economic backgrounds disproportionately”.
What can the Government do about that situation? I hope that the Minister will tell us what plans they have to reverse the trend.
Lord Berkeley of Knighton (CB)
My Lords, I congratulate the noble Baroness, Lady Keeley, on securing this vital debate, and I am delighted to precede the maiden speech of the noble Baroness, Lady Debbonaire. When she was in the other place, the musical world was thrilled to have a former orchestral player in such an important position. I still enjoy seeing the cello case come down the Corridor, with the noble Baroness in close attendance. I am sure that she appreciates, all too significantly, the power of taking music into schools.
Yesterday, I recorded a conversation with the Children’s Commissioner, Dame Rachel de Souza, who said that her success in turning around failing schools was hugely due to music. What do we need to achieve that? We need an inspiring and passionate teacher and the opportunity to experience and perform music. Rachel mentioned the visit of a singer who left the children agog with wonder as she rose through the stratosphere with the famous aria from Puccini’s “La rondine”. As we heard, orchestral and operatic visits to schools are absolutely vital.
In light of the Oral Question yesterday from the noble Lord, Lord Brennan, about aid to live music, I have a suggestion for the Government: subsidise more visits to schools; up the number of peripatetic teachers; make sure that the hubs understand the policies and rationale behind the decisions; and do not tie them up in red tape and make them endlessly fill in forms about compliance.
I hope that Becky Francis will put creativity back in schools. I would like to see music back on the curriculum —that would make such a statement. Most importantly, more vital still, let us give children who are not advantaged the ability to listen to and make music. Surely that would be a natural step for a Labour Government, in relation to which the noble Baroness, Lady Debbonaire, is such a distinguished party member.
Baroness Debbonaire (Lab) (Maiden Speech)
My Lords, I am grateful to follow the noble Lord, Lord Berkeley. It has been a pleasure actually seeing him in real life, as opposed to just hearing him on Radio 3, which is still a great pleasure.
I rise for my first speech in your Lordships’ House. I am grateful to all noble Lords for the warm welcome I have received, and I am particularly grateful to my noble friend Lady Keeley—we really were a great team. I declare my interest as a member of the Musicians’ Union; the noble Lord, Lord Berkeley, has outed me as a cellist already.
Music and, more broadly, arts and culture are everywhere and everything: the tune we sing in the shower; the stories we read to children; the poems that I have tattooed—there really is something for everyone. Just saying that is not enough; we need to make a political case for the arts. The arts give us ways to dream and to imagine a better world. They are good for our economy, for our lives and for our planet. They give good economic return on investment for exports, tourism and jobs. The social return is enormous.
This is an ecosystem. The commercial and the non-commercial, the different art forms and the enormous range of skills—they all interact to sustain the whole. But much of this sector is threatened, as other noble Lords have referred to, and we risk losing our global reputation for excellence. I benefited from outstanding musical education, and I want every child to have that chance.
This ecosystem means that the person who started out at the National Theatre becomes a writer on “Succession”. It is why film soundtracks are recorded in the UK—because our musicians really are the best. A TV costume designer visits a museum to capture exactly how a suit of armour moves. A game’s creator was inspired by their art teacher. The ecosystem is essential, not optional.
When we do this right, music and the arts give enjoyment for everyone—and for people from all backgrounds to earn a good living. Opera, for example, as my noble friend will know, employs so many working-class people, from the chorus to the technicians. It truly is a way to make your way in the arts. When we do it wrong, opportunities become exclusive, and we allow talent to go undeveloped. When museums are honest about the stories behind their objects, they make better museums. When the performing arts are at their best, they tell better stories and have more excellent performers.
Fighting for the whole ecosystem, and for everyone to enjoy it, will always be necessary, and I will use my skills, my knowledge, my experience and my time in this place to make that political case while I am here. Thank you.
Viscount Stansgate (Lab)
My Lords, what an honour, privilege and pleasure to follow my noble friend Lady Debbonaire and congratulate her on her maiden speech. I do not think that I have ever been present for a maiden speech that has had to be made in more compressed circumstances as this, but even so, she spoke with great passion about a subject about which she knows a great deal and feels even more.
I congratulate my noble friend Lady Keeley on securing the debate. The fact that so many Members wanted to take part, and that we have such a short time, shows the Government Front Bench that, the next time this happens, we must have more time now.
I have only a minute or two, and I want to devote it all to praising my noble friend and what she brings to the House. She brings her musical talent. She brings her patronage of the arts. She brings her extensive experience over many years with women’s refuges; she was the national officer of the Women’s Aid Federation of England. She has authored books and papers about domestic violence and was the national research manager for the anti-domestic violence organisation Respect. She brings all this enormous and valuable experience to this House.
Of course, she brought that in equal measure to the other House. She was first elected a decade ago to represent the city of Bristol, which, I hope the House will understand, I have a lifelong family affection for. Five years later, she was already shadow Leader of the House, playing a busy part in the important parliamentary debates in the 2017 to 2019 parliamentary Session, before being appointed as shadow Secretary of State for DCMS. In that role, she did, if I may say so, an enormous amount to prepare for the Government who were elected in June last year.
I need hardly add, but I am proud to do so, that my noble friend is a cellist. She has performed professionally. Indeed, she still does, because she is a member—as Members may know—of the parliamentary string quartet, which has performed at both ends of the Palace of Westminster. I recommend it strongly when noble Lords get the chance. They are known as the Statutory Instruments because they used to rehearse in my noble friend’s office in the House of Commons, where piles and boxes of statutory instruments were used in lieu of music stands. I should perhaps declare an interest because my daughter, Emily, is the first violinist in the parliamentary string quartet.
I endorse everything my noble friend said in her maiden speech about the importance of music, and everything I have heard so far. When I look back on my own experience, my state secondary school had a fantastic music department: we learned to play instruments, and we had a choir and an entire orchestra. I do not think you can start music at too young an age. Both my children started at the age of five or just before; they do not know a life without music. I endorse everything that the noble Baroness, Lady Fleet, said about the importance of music to people’s lives. It is absolutely crucial. Both my children went on to study at the Royal College of Music. While there, they played in youth orchestras and toured over Europe, which is exactly why I am so strongly in favour of any moves to help improve the relationship for creative artists touring in Europe.
There is more I could say—my time is up—but we must not allow music to become the preserve of the private sector. I end by saying that I hope my noble friend enjoys a long and distinguished career in the House, and that the next time we hear from her there will be much more time to hear her opinions, judgment and passion. I hope the whole House will at least agree with that. Many congratulations to my noble friend.
Lord Aberdare (CB)
My Lords, until recently, I chaired a charity aimed at inspiring young people with a love of classical music. We developed teaching resources for schools based on Berlioz’s “Symphonie Fantastique”, branded as Fantastique! for Schools. Schools that used them were delighted with them, but scaling up proved challenging.
How can we do more with the resources and dedication already out there from teachers, hubs, musicians, orchestras, opera companies, choirs, venues, charities, grant-givers and, of course, parents? We need a better awareness of what is actually available. Perhaps a central hub run by the proposed new national centre for arts and music education could signpost resources and guidance for schools.
We should also actively share good practice and success stories. Recent events hosted by the Opera APPG in the Jubilee Room have showcased some inspiring examples: a class of 20 violinists from an east London primary school; a school choir which sang in ENO’s “La Bohème”; and a class of ocarina players reading music at sight. Examples such as these show how music fosters discipline, behaviour and learning, and could motivate other schools.
We should encourage more partnerships and less fragmentation, but none of this will work without enough trained music teachers, including part-time, non-specialist and peripatetic music teachers. The Government should focus on recruiting, training and retaining them, and ensuring they have time in the curriculum and the support they need to turn the national plan for music education from fantasy into reality.
I have enough time to congratulate the noble Baroness, Lady Debbonaire, on her magnificent speech in such a short time. I have now overrun.
Lord in Waiting/Government Whip (Lord Wilson of Sedgefield) (Lab)
I respectfully say to noble Lords that we need to keep to the two-minute limit so that we have time for the Minister to respond.
Lord Black of Brentwood (Con)
My Lords, I declare my interest as chairman of the Royal College of Music, of which the noble Baroness, Lady Debbonaire, is a distinguished alumna. We have had countless debates on this subject over the years. Each time another comes along I feel a growing sense of frustration—indeed anger—because, for all the fine words, we never seem to make progress. It did not make me popular with my colleagues at the time, but I was very critical of the previous Government for their failure to act to secure better music education in state schools.
As music should be a bipartisan issue, I hoped that, with the change in Government, we would finally see some progress. But it is a year on from the election and still nothing has changed: no progress on post-Brexit visa issues, the curriculum, funding, or the long-term financial sustainability of the hubs and the music and dance scheme, both of which are forced to exist from hand to mouth.
Because this inaction has been going on for so long, there is now a real danger of terminal damage to the entire music ecosystem, which depends totally on the ability of talented young musicians to be able to progress from their earliest years to the start of their careers. It is a complex and intensive pipeline which depends on music and singing in primary schools, the easy availability of peripatetic teaching, professional music teachers, entry to a conservatoire or university with dedicated but intensive one-to-one teaching, and then career opportunities. It cannot be left to chance. It needs understanding from government and a co-ordinated, strategic approach.
At the moment, we do not have that, as government is not joined up, with policy spread across at least four departments. No one is in charge and there is no coherent, functioning national plan. That must change and quickly. We need someone to take overall responsibility. We need to establish long-term commitments to and sustainable funding of the hubs and the MDS. We need action on the curriculum and we need to make music an attractive profession for young people to enter, which means sorting out touring visas and ensuring we have a proper copyright regime in place to tackle the threat of AI. I hope that next time we have a debate there will be meaningful progress on all these issues.
The Earl of Clancarty (CB)
My Lords, I congratulate the noble Baroness, Lady Keeley, on her comprehensive introduction and the noble Baroness, Lady Debbonaire, on her passionate maiden speech.
In Keir Starmer’s Guildhall speech in March last year, he said that
“from day one, Labour will reform the school accountability framework, to make sure arts count”.
Day one is long gone, but the accountability measures, which have nothing to do with the curriculum per se, are still with us. We should remember that both the EBacc and Progress 8 were introduced to prioritise academic subjects and therefore lessen the importance of arts subjects. Removing them is an essential prerequisite for improving not just music education in our schools but arts education more generally. Music needs to be fully brought back into our schools and the resources and funding should be made available to do so, as they should be for all art subjects.
On the pipeline, the sectoral plan published yesterday was a plan for the more commercialised end of the creative industries. It was not a plan for the arts. Depressingly, the cuts to DCMS funding announced in the spending review appear to confirm this. I understand the Government’s wish to capitalise on the areas which are already highly commercial—it is what the previous Government did—but that combination of local authority and DCMS funding allowed both necessary and innovative work in music, including classical music, dance, theatre and the visual arts to flourish, while feeding into the commercial end of the ecosystem. This requires, and has always required, government investment, which nevertheless gets repaid many times over both artistically and financially, as the recent Arts Council England report Leading the Crowd demonstrates. We urgently need that plan—a plan for the arts—because without it even a good music education will be worth far less.
Baroness Ramsey of Wall Heath (Lab)
My Lords, as the Government’s important curriculum and assessment review continues, this is a timely debate. I am very grateful to my noble friend Lady Keeley for securing it and for the opportunity to contribute alongside so many noble colleagues. I particularly enjoyed listening to my noble friend Lady Debbonaire’s wonderful maiden speech, not least as I know full well her commitment to this cause.
Children have a right to know about the best music that has been written, from Bach to Bernstein to Beyoncé. Although 99% of adults will not earn their living as a musician, they will all listen to music, attend concerts or gigs and enjoy the stimulation of a beautiful song or symphony. Learning to compose and perform is every bit a blend of skill and intuition as learning to read books, a new language or the beauty of mathematics. My husband, a proud owner of both a master’s degree in mathematics and a piano, asked me to add that last bit.
The discipline of understanding a chord sequence sitting below a melody that makes you want to whistle or hum in the street is not just entertaining but an academic discipline in its own right. Music education is not about a top-set culture; every child can engage in music at whatever level makes most sense for them. Some children who find much of school difficult only attend because of their music teacher. They attend because, in a music lesson or extracurricular club, they can succeed and therefore feel that they belong in school. Many schools have deployed their pupil premium funding to provide music lessons for this very reason: so that disadvantaged children can feel successful. Precisely for this reason, their reading, writing and maths improve too.
With the curriculum review that a number of noble colleagues have mentioned coming to its final conclusions, now is the time to ensure that music education plays the fullest possible part in all children’s schooling.
Baroness Wheatcroft (CB)
My Lords, I give my congratulations to the noble Baroness, Lady Keeley, on securing this valuable debate, and to the noble Baroness, Lady Debbonaire, on her fascinating maiden speech.
So far, we have all sung from the same hymn sheet: we want more and better music education in state schools. The last Government shared that aim, but their national plan managed to be simultaneously inadequate and yet wildly ambitious. I am sure this Government embrace the same aims, but they are not getting anywhere close.
We know that music is fundamental to improving the education attainment of all children. The provision of instruments is crucial. It makes an enormous difference in deprived schools for children to have an instrument of their own, to play in an orchestra, to be part of a team. It takes them out of gangs and into positive teams. The provision of instruments was promised—there was going to be £25 million for instruments and equipment—but the guidance on accessing that money was almost impossible, and I doubt that any of it has been handed over so far.
One can only sympathise with teachers who try to eke out what they have in the storeroom—a few triangles and the odd recorder. We know that those orchestras that can survive make a huge difference. We must thank Andrew Lloyd Webber and the wonderful work of the Music in Secondary Schools Trust, and we need some more help for them.
However, given that money is tight, I want to make a special plea for the importance of music in maths—we all know the importance of maths in society today. New research shows that the early indications are that maths can help not only if it is taught separately but if the teaching of maths and music is integrated—that makes a difference to both. I urge the Government to look at possibility of merging early years education in maths and music.
Lord Kirkham (Con)
I declare an interest as deputy patron of Outward Bound and former chair of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. Those charities both focus on engaging children in challenging outdoor activities, but music has exactly the same potential to build resilience, self-confidence, perseverance and teamworking skills, boost mental health and deliver life-enhancing satisfaction, in real time, away from mobiles, tablets and screens.
In a world where artificial intelligence will eat up jobs, it is surely vital that children leave school with a wide range of interests and hobbies. Yet here we are going backwards from times when everyone started the school day singing together in assembly, as a relentless focus on STEM subjects squeezes out music and culture—as if possessing soft skills in the arts does not make better scientists and technologists. There are music hubs, but in reality, to access those, a child needs middle-class parents who know what is available and can push to get it.
What of future professional musicians? The Government support these through the Music and Dance Scheme, funding means-tested, subsidised places at specialist independent schools. At the Purcell School, one of the leaders in the field, 70% of pupils are receiving state support, delivering effectively a government programme to enable gifted but disadvantaged children the opportunities for social mobility through the arts.
Music is under pressure of both time and money at every level of our education system, and it richly deserves and needs more of both. Government should focus not on cost but on value, and the importance of music to education and society—to life—is invaluable.
Lord Harries of Pentregarth (CB)
My Lords, in stressing the importance of music education in schools and the lack of it at the moment, so ably emphasised by the noble Baronesses, Lady Keeley and Lady Debbonaire, I want to draw attention to the contribution the Church of England is making to the musical education of our young people.
Portsmouth Cathedral, for example, uses parish Choir Church projects and its Cathedral Sing project to widen participation in music education across the diocese, and working with more than 2,000 children a year. Sheffield Cathedral is teaching nearly 1,000 children each week. In some of its partner schools, over 100 languages are spoken, and it is prioritising the schools reflecting the greatest disadvantage. Liverpool Cathedral, in partnership with Liverpool John Moores University, is also deeply engaged with its local community. Sheffield, Portsmouth and Liverpool dioceses are examples of cathedrals where the choirs deliberately recruit from a wide range of schools, state and independent, urban and suburban, and actively seek both boys and girls.
Choirs with well-established heritage choir schools are also widening participation and supporting local schools with great success, and they are seeing increased diversity within their cathedral choirs. St Paul’s, for example, is working with 12 primary state schools across the diocese of London through its choral partnership programme, and it has seen multiple children from its partner schools join the cathedral choir on cathedral scholarships.
Choral music and singing are a fundamental part of the cultural heritage of the country. Cathedrals and churches, which are already playing their part in the musical education of young people, are very open to increasing their contribution in co-operation with state primary and secondary schools, and we hope the Government will be able to build on that.
Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Lab)
My Lords, I want to congratulate my noble friend Lady Keeley on obtaining this debate, and of course I congratulate my noble friend Lady Debbonaire on her passionate maiden speech.
There is no doubt from all the speeches tonight: we have heard of the importance of music in the curriculum as a tool to develop our children and the need for children to have equal and fair access to such a music education to develop their talents and skills. To give a perspective from Northern Ireland, there are inequalities in access to and in the provision of music education: rural versus urban, more affluent areas against economically disadvantaged areas, and of course in the Northern Ireland context, segregation and sectarianism also play a part. Those inequalities in access to music provision in schools have led to students not being able to develop their talents in music and the dramatic arts, while those who have had the access have excelled on the global stage.
However, what is most important is the role of music education in the state sector for those with special needs and the role with the voluntary sector in ensuring inclusion, development of voice, and dexterity with musical instruments. Therefore, I ask my noble friend the Minister whether she will ensure that best practice in music education throughout the UK is shared, and that the role of the voluntary sector along with education providers is celebrated as they provide music and drama arts against funding and staff challenges to ensure the further development of all children within the state sector.
Lord Freyberg (CB)
My Lords, I add my congratulations to the noble Baroness, Lady Debbonaire, on her excellent maiden speech and to the noble Baroness, Lady Keeley, on securing this debate.
Music education cannot flourish without expert teachers, but recruitment into initial teacher training for music has fallen by 76% since 2020. While a £10,000 bursary is now available, music trainees must still pay £9,225 in tuition fees. The support is welcome, but they are almost certainly taking on significant debt to train. In contrast, maths and physics trainees receive nearly three times as much—enough, in many cases, to cover both fees and living costs. This disparity sends a clear and damaging message: that music matters less.
Government messaging matters. When adverts highlight high bursaries for other subjects but omit music, we should not be surprised when our best graduates look elsewhere. We need national campaigns that champion music teaching, celebrate its impact, and make it clear that becoming a music teacher is not only valued but vital.
We must offer music teachers career pathways that keep them in the classroom. The restoration of schemes such as the advanced skills teacher programme would help us retain the best and allow them to mentor the next generation. Further, we must support school leaders. Too often, music is squeezed out by the EBacc, confined to carousel timetables or forced into silent, worksheet-led lessons. Music is practical, messy and joyful. If head teachers misunderstand this, children miss out. The Government must help leaders understand what high-quality music education looks like, provide clearer guidance to head teachers and trust music teachers to deliver it.
Finally, on music hubs, 2024’s restructure created complex compliance-heavy consortia that add workload without benefit. Funding is top-sliced and local expertise marginalised. If the Arts Council cannot make the system work in practice, it is time to ask whether it is the right body to oversee it.
Lord Wallace of Saltaire (LD)
My Lords, I welcome the maiden speech of the noble Baroness, Lady Debbonaire.
I declare my interest as, for 10 years, the chair of the VOCES8 Foundation, which combines music performance with taking singing into schools. We were shocked when we began to go into primary school after primary school where there was no teacher with any musical knowledge. We developed ways of getting students to sing together in catches and in parts. All the evidence is—the Institute of Education did a study—that if you get pupils to sing together, and, even better, to sing in groups, competing and combining with each other, it lifts the school as a whole and it lifts the sense of common purpose.
Co-operation with outside bodies is therefore fundamental, and I hope that the Minister can reassure us that this Government believe in that. The most depressing meeting with a Minister I have ever had was when VOCES8 went in to see Nick Gibb, who told us his views on musical education, which I vaguely remember from my primary school a very long time ago.
Music hubs are a problem. I note that south-west London, which has an excellent music hub in Wandsworth, to which my grandson goes every Saturday, has not yet agreed the new reorganisation. I have read very critical comments on the reorganisation. I hope that the Minister can reassure us that this is not going to lead to a greater weight of bureaucracy on the hubs now imposed over their other counterparts.
In conclusion, I have been extremely lucky; not only did my children go to a state secondary school which had a strong musical tradition but my grandchildren now go to a Church of England secondary school, St. Cecilia’s—the clue is in the name—in Wandsworth, which has an excellent music tradition. If you go to Wimbledon this year, you will hear the St. Cecilia’s school band playing on one of the days in the first week and the Wandsworth Music orchestra playing on another day—all state school children, and my grandson will be playing in both of them.
The Earl of Effingham (Con)
My Lords, I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Keeley, for securing both this important debate and her Oral Question today. I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Debbonaire, who correctly highlighted the social return of music.
We know that music has the ability to enrich lives, so it is worrying that the future of music education is at risk. In government, we introduced 43 music education hubs and committed £70 million per year of funding for those very hubs. We announced the music progression fund, which was piloted by Young Sounds UK, to support up to 1,000 young people from low-income families over four years. The UK Music chief executive has called on the Secretary of State for Education to turbocharge music education funding and invest in 1,000 new music teachers, as has Ed Sheeran in his open letter to the Prime Minister. So we must ask: what are the Government’s plans to recruit more music teachers?
A survey of 2,200 music teachers by the British Phonographic Industry found that 20% of primary school teachers reported that there is no regular music lesson for their class, and the majority are not taught by a music specialist. Almost 40% of secondary schools now have no compulsory music lessons in year 9. Surely this should be ringing alarm bells.
What are the Government doing to address the drop in pupils taking GCSE and A-level music? We recognise that the Government have plans to launch a new national centre for arts and music education, but, as the noble Baroness, Lady Fleet, so well highlighted, there is very little detail other than that the centre
“is expected to be established in September 2026”.
That is 15 months away. As Ed Sheeran said in his letter, signed and backed by over 500 signatories from the world of music:
“We’re losing time … The time to act is now”.
Please can the Minister provide clarity?
Baroness in Waiting/Government Whip (Baroness Blake of Leeds) (Lab)
My Lords, I thank everyone in the Chamber for such a rich debate, especially given the time pressures that we are all facing. I thank my noble friend Lady Keeley for opening this valuable debate. She is such a great advocate for music education, and I think we should all be very grateful to her. Many noble Lords have considerable expertise and experience in this area, and it has been my privilege to talk to many of them over the last few months.
I start by thanking my noble friend Lady Debbonaire for her tremendous maiden speech. I am delighted that she was able to make a contribution in her maiden speech to this debate on the importance of the quality and quantity of music education in schools. I know that this is a subject dear to her heart. As we have heard, she will continue to make a valuable contribution to this House, and we can all look forward to it. I particularly echo her sentiment that we all need to be fighting for the whole ecosystem. What a powerful contribution. I also thank the noble Viscount, Lord Stansgate, for his very warm words and acknowledgement of his family connection to this subject.
This Government are clear: music education must not be the preserve of the privileged few. I assure the noble Lord, Lord Wallace, that as part of our opportunity mission, we want to widen access to the arts, including music, so that young people can develop their creativity and find their voice. This is important in its own right. As the noble Lord, Lord Berkeley, said, creative exploration is a critical part of a rich education. It helps young people to find opportunities and it powers growth in the creative industries, while raising self-esteem and resilience and contributing to young people’s well-being, as so many noble Lords have said.
Participation in the arts can bring wider benefits for children and young people. We have heard about the connection to maths, but there are outcomes in other curricular areas as well, as picked up by my noble friend Lady Ramsey and the noble Baroness, Lady Wheatcroft. I have mentioned before that I saw this first hand with Opera North’s project “In Harmony”, delivered in the most deprived schools in Leeds, with every child learning a stringed instrument. The impact on their maths attainment was incredible. We must all look at these examples, and I reassure my noble friend Lady Ritchie that we must look across the UK and at all the different voluntary groups that can be involved. As my noble friend Lady Keeley mentioned, many other organisations, such as the London Philharmonic Orchestra, are making sure that high deprivation is targeted, enormously benefiting those young people.
I assure the noble Baroness, Lady Fleet, that, as I have said before in this Chamber, the work done under the national plan is not lost and is being used. This work will be integrated moving forward, and I thank her and the noble Baroness, Lady Bull, for their contributions. As part of our plan for change, we are committed to ensuring that arts and culture thrives in every part of the country, with more opportunities for people to engage in and benefit from work in the arts and culture where they live. The Government have announced over £270 million of investment in our arts venues, museums, libraries and heritage sector, made up of multiple funds including an £85 million creative foundations fund, to name just one. We are continuing the generous tax reliefs.
Turning to lack of government action on touring, for example, at least this Government have had a meeting with our EU counterparts. Those discussions are part of the European Union reset, and we look forward to the outcome of those talks. As per the commitment in Labour’s Creating Growth plan, DCMS is undertaking a review, documenting current and past funding for the arts, culture and heritage sector, as referenced by the noble Lord, Lord Berkeley.
The noble Earl, Lord Clancarty, raised pertinent points. We have discussed these measures a great deal, but I point to the independent review undertaken by Arts Council England. It will examine whether the regions have access to high-quality arts and culture, and whether everyone is able to participate in and absorb culture and creativity regardless of their background.
We want every child, regardless of background, to have a rich, broad, inclusive, innovative curriculum that includes creative subjects such as music. That is why the independent review, chaired by Professor Becky Francis, is looking at all subjects, including music, and seeking to deliver a curriculum that prepares young people for life and work, including in creative subjects and skills. It is being informed by evidence and data, in close consultation with educational professionals. That there have been more than 7,000 responses to the public call for evidence perhaps explains why it will take some time to pull that together, but we are expecting a final report in the autumn, along with the Government’s response.
We will consider the associated implications for accountability measures such as EBacc and Progress 8, mentioned by my noble friend Lady Keeley, and look at teacher time and all the wider implications that the review has been charged with bringing in. We are legislating so that, following the review and implementation of reforms, academies will be required to teach the reformed national curriculum alongside maintained schools. This will give parents certainty over their children’s education. Also, academies will be able to adapt the curriculum to meet the needs of their pupils. I was very interested in the example of Blackpool versus Hertfordshire. As an aside, my nephew is a peripatetic music teacher at Hertfordshire.
I can assure the noble Lord, Lord Freyberg, that reorganisation will not create additional workloads for music hubs. Responding to the noble Baroness, Lady Fleet, music hubs play a vital role in communities across England, supporting children and young people and providing opportunities for them to progress. We have heard about the range of services on offer, and the Government continue to support this crucial programme. Music hubs grant funding of £76 million has been secured, and longer-term funding will be confirmed in due course. To widen access to musical instruments, the Government are investing £25 million in capital funding for instruments, equipment and technology.
We heard about the music and dance scheme from the noble Lord, Lord Kirkham, and we absolutely recognise the importance of specialist training. That is why the Government continue to provide generous support to help students access specialist music, committing £35 million over the next academic year. The details of that have been well profiled. This important scheme provides means-tested bursaries and grants, again making sure that young people do not miss out.
There are so many areas to cover on government support for the arts, which was raised by the noble Baroness, Lady Fleet, and the noble Lord, Lord Shipley. We have not mentioned the Government’s announced investment of over £270 million in venues in the plan for change, ensuring that arts and culture thrive in every part of the country. Generous tax reliefs also provide £3 million to expand the creative careers programme; it is critical that young people get to realise their ambition.
There has been much comment on high-quality teaching, which is fundamental and will make the biggest difference to children’s outcomes. That is why the Government’s plan for change is committed to recruiting an additional 6,500 new expert teachers across the sector. We are also offering a teacher training incentive package worth £233 million, which is a £37 million increase on the last cycle and includes a £10,000 tax-free bursary. We are seeing positive signs and an increase in initial teacher training numbers. They are going up, but there is still much more to do.
As the noble Lord, Lord Aberdare, mentioned, we need to showcase good practice, and I believe that the national centre for arts and music education will enable us to do just that. That is why in March we announced our intention to launch the new centre, offering excellent arts education and building on existing support for music education.
The music opportunities pilot targets disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND. We are investing £2 million to support it over a four-year period. It is delivered by Young Sounds UK in 12 areas of the country.
This has been a rich debate, and I know that this will continue to be a subject of much interest. I pay tribute to the noble and right reverend Lord, Lord Harries, for his contribution. The department is providing a grant of over £210,000 to the Choir Schools’ Association, recognising its choir schools scholarship programme offering means-tested support to choristers attending different schools.
I apologise for the whistle-stop tour through this. I have 30 seconds left to finish the debate, and it has been a pleasure to be here. In closing, I underline this Government’s commitment to ensuring that all children can access and engage with high-quality music education in and through their schools and leading into their careers. Creative subjects such as music are a vital part of a rich, broad school experience and to our economic success. As I said when I started, we must all work together to make sure that they are not the preserve of a privileged few.