Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to increase dedicated arts funding for schools to ensure (a) music, (b) drama and (c) art are delivered as core subjects.

Art and design, music and drama within English are important parts of the national curriculum, and the government trusts schools to determine how best to teach all arts subjects, including teaching time.

Schools are expected to fund the teaching of arts subjects from their core budget. School funding is increasing by £3.7 billion in the 2025/26 financial year, meaning that core school budgets will total £65.3 billion.

In addition, a £76 million annual core grant is provided to 43 Music Hub partnerships to provide instrument tuition, loans, and whole-class ensemble teaching alongside £25 million for instruments and technology. From September 2026, the National Centre for Arts and Music Education will also support excellent teacher training in the arts, boost partnerships between schools and arts organisations and promote arts subjects.

The department launched the four-year music opportunities pilot in September 2024 across 12 local areas, backed by £2 million and a further £3.85 million from Arts Council England and Youth Music. The pilot supports pupils eligible for the pupil premium and others to learn how to play an instrument or sing to a high standard, including fully funded one-to-one tuition. The findings from the pilot will inform future policy on widening music opportunities.