Schools: Music and Drama Access

Question

14:58:00

Asked by

To ask His Majesty’s Government what steps they intend to take to ensure that all pupils in state schools have access to music and drama.

I thank my noble friend for her Question, which seems particularly apt given that it is Christmas week and so many children are involved in pantos and choirs. One of the aims of the independent curriculum and assessment review is to deliver a broader curriculum, so that pupils do not miss out on subjects such as music and drama. The Government have committed to ensuring that all students can study a creative or vocational subject until they are 16, reflecting this in accountability measures, and to launching a new national music education network to help families, children and schools access music opportunities, as was in our manifesto.

My Lords, the latest OECD PISA assessment shows that UK 15 year- olds have among the lowest life satisfaction. Fewer than two-thirds feel that they belong at school, in contrast with an average of three-quarters in other countries. Many studies have shown how creativity can enhance young people’s welfare and well-being. Will my noble friend the Minister ensure that proper consideration is given in Professor Becky Francis’s curriculum review, which she referred to, to the provision of creative subjects such as music and drama for all secondary state school pupils, not just the relatively few who study them in preparation for external examinations?

It is essential that our education system enables children and young people to develop the knowledge, skills and attributes required to thrive and be ready for life and work. The independent curriculum review will ensure children enjoy a richer, broader, cutting-edge curriculum that gives them strong foundations in core subjects and the opportunity to enjoy creative subjects. This will build on our commitment to high standards, ensuring that no child or young person is left behind. It is our goal that the arts are accessible to all and not the preserve of a privileged few.

My Lords, does the Minister recognise that the single most significant thing that the Government can do to boost the arts is to scrap the EBacc?

I thank the noble Earl for his question; the civil servants will be delighted that this was raised. As we are undertaking a curriculum review and looking at everything in the round, I look forward to coming back with an update in due course after we publish the curriculum review next year.

My Lords, in my generation, many schools in England recruited music teachers from Wales. Is the Minister aware that, between 2014 and last year, there was a drop of over 40% in the number of A-level pupils in Wales studying music, which now threatens the viability of some university music departments? Will she please liaise with her colleagues in the Department for Education and Senedd Cymru to try to seek urgent initiatives to avoid such a disastrous outcome?

I thank the noble Lord for his question. This is a devolved matter, but it is something that we work closely with the Senedd on. To reassure the noble Lord, there are challenges with recruiting music teachers in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland. Last year, under the previous Government, we managed to meet only 21.8% of the recruitment target for arts teachers and music teachers. That is why this Government have announced an increase in teacher trainer incentives for 2025-26 and will be paying a £10,000 tax-free bursary to teachers who sign up to teach art. We look forward to engaging with our colleagues across all the nations to see how we can share best practice.

My Lords, not only does exposure to music—and there is evidence of this—improve children’s well-being, as my noble friend Lady Ramsey says, but it has a direct effect on their ability to learn other subjects. It is really crucial to their education.

I thank my noble friend and completely agree with her. I live in Stoke-on-Trent and engage actively with my local schools. Fundamentally, we have to ensure that any curriculum and extracurricular activities, and our investment in arts and culture, allow children to dream, and that they are rounded students who can engage properly in society afterwards.

My Lords, as a young teenager, I was privileged to play in the National Youth Orchestra, a group which drew together musicians from a wide variety of socioeconomic backgrounds, many of whom have gone on to contribute substantially to the creative arts in the country. Given that music is being squeezed out across many parts of the state sector, what steps will the Government take to ensure that able musicians have access to the best possible quality tuition and opportunity, not least with specialist music schools, regardless of their ability to pay for it?

My Lords, I thank the right reverend Prelate for his question and I envy his talent, which I do not share. There are multiple programmes that the Government are doing, not least the music hub partnerships, which cover each area of England and were developed on the recommendation of the noble Baroness, Lady Fleet—we thank her for her work. Some £79 million pounds per year is spent on those hubs, and £25 million will be spent next year on capital projects. Spending on the music and dance scheme, which supports 2,000 students, will be £32 million going forward.

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My Lords, there is plenty of time, so we will hear from the noble Baroness on the Conservative Benches next.

My Lords, does the Minister not agree that this choice should not be limited to music and drama, and that dance should be included?

I thank the noble Baroness and I completely agree.

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We will hear from the Lib Dem Benches next.

My Lords, creative subjects in schools have been in decline, I am afraid to say. You just have to look at the figures for, for example, drama, the importance of which for oracy, emotional development and learning is so important. Of course, as a country, our creative industries are a great success story. When the curriculum review is completed, it will be about not just the subjects but the examination requirements. If you do not include creative subjects in the examination subjects then head teachers will think that they do not need to include that subject and can save money. Will the Minister look at the recommendations from the Select Committee on the 11-16 curriculum, which unanimously agreed that the EBacc should be cancelled?

I thank the noble Lord and reassure him that our independent review is about the curriculum and assessment. We look forward to the recommendations that will come forward in due course. I agree with the noble Lord that this is a success story, with £124 billion as part of our economic development and 2.4 million jobs. We need to make sure we get this right.

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Cross Bench!

My Lords, in the years before we had a national curriculum, this country was a world leader in the amount of music and drama that took place in its schools, and there were worries at the time that we introduced it that everything that was not mandated would be excluded. Could the Minister comment on whether the curriculum review that is going on will look not only at what should be mandated to schools but at whether they will have any space to do things that are not decided in Whitehall?

The terms of reference of the curriculum and assessment review currently being undertaken have been published on the government website. There is an onus to encourage how we look to make sure that students have the right skills sets and tools in the round, including music, art and drama.

My Lords, the Minister talked about the Government delivering a cutting-edge curriculum, which slightly puts gloom in the hearts of those of us who have watched the cutting-edge curriculum in Scotland implode and children there suffer as a result. Maybe she could spell out to the House why the same will not happen here.

I am very disappointed in the tone of the question. We have requested and engaged Professor Becky Francis to come forward and look at this in the round. We are using evidence gathered by the last two reviews on education and culture, which the noble Baroness was involved with. We look forward to working with key partners as soon as we have the outcome of the review. What is delivered next will be of key importance.

My Lords, it is very important to get music and drama into the classroom. Does my noble friend the Minister agree that it is also very important to get kids into museums, art galleries, theatres and concert halls so that, from a young age, all children, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds, feel that they can enjoy these cultural spaces? What plans are there for visits from schools to cultural institutions?

I thank my noble friend for her question. Through Arts Council England, we are investing £444 million each year into arts throughout England in our national portfolio, and 79% of the portfolio is targeted at activity specifically for young people and for children. With regard to school trips, which many children will be undertaking this week, while we do not set an expectation on them, we value the added cultural experiences that they give, celebrate them and encourage every school to participate.