Music and Dance Schools: Affordable Access

Baroness Royall of Blaisdon Excerpts

Thursday 16th October 2025 Grand Committee

[Baroness Royall of Blaisdon (Lab)]

My Lords, I have worked to ensure access to excellent education for talented children from all social backgrounds, and specialist music and dance schools are no different. As a society, we have a duty to break down barriers that prevent young people from underrepresented backgrounds—working-class kids—achieving their potential in the subjects in which they have exceptional talent. Education transforms lives, enables social mobility and is a great way of investing in our economy and future growth. My friend Natasha Kaplinsky, chair of the Royal Ballet School, brought this issue to my attention. The school is a shining example of excellence and accessibility. However, it has great financial challenges.

I particularly like the title of the MDS paper, Supporting Potential Before Privilege. It is clear that we have to do this both to ensure fulfilment and success for the students themselves, and to safeguard the domestic talent pipeline for the creative sector, which contributes such a vast amount of money to the Exchequer, as well as providing thousands of jobs.

To sustain the success of our creative industries, we must nurture talent and develop skills. The UK’s status as a global creative superpower, of which I am hugely proud, is only as good as the talent that underpins it. The education that students receive in the music and dance schools simply cannot be provided in mainstream schools, and it must be protected. Financial support is critical to ensure that talented children and young people from all backgrounds can become the stellar performers of the future. It is also vital to enhance the resilience of the schools. I therefore strongly support calls on the Treasury to provide an uplift of £4 million to the current MDS settlement, and I support restoring three-year MDS grant agreements from the DfE. It would be a tragedy if not only was access limited but schools themselves had to close.