Access to music should be every child’s basic right, says singer-songwriter
The recent Westminster Education Forum (WEF) event on the future of music education was, as one commentator noted, rather like the opening of A Tale of Two Cities. On the one hand, we had pats on the back, testimonies of success, words of encouragement and rallies to keep up the good work. On the other, there were the usual concerns over funding, policy, accessibility, training and progression.
The WEF bills itself as a “premier” vehicle through which stakeholders in education and policymakers can engage in discussion. The event featured a comprehensive spread of contributors, including Richard Morris, former head of ABRSM; Julian Lloyd Webber; national lead for music at Ofsted, Robin Hammerton; and Laura Gander-Howe, director of children, young people and learning at Arts Council England (ACE). There were also representatives from leading conservatoires, music services, hubs, plus schools from primary and secondary sectors, private and state. Teachers, academics, industry leaders and school heads were encouraged to pitch questions from the floor.
The result was a diverse, if perhaps sometimes too broad, platform of debate that captured some of the key issues in the current discourse surrounding music education. But it was singer-songwriter Rumer who left the most striking note, saying that access to music should be every child’s basic right.
It was the best of times
The forum often engaged in a tone of optimism. Lord Black, member of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Music Education, set a decisive tone, appealing to the audience with a pledge that music should be at the heart of all children’s education. Gander-Howe took the opportunity to acknowledge the recent commitment of the government to support music hubs, also citing increased innovation among hubs in raising funds to supplement subsidy. Ofsted’s Hammerton, whose well-documented report (pdf) last year heavily criticised hubs for their failings, was more positive, citing a wonderful year and praising the work of hub leaders and ACE.
Lloyd Webber, founder of the government’s In Harmony scheme, also had words of encouragement, acknowledging the rolling out of the scheme to encourage musical engagement within deprived areas and referencing data which showed rising levels of literacy in parts of Liverpool where the project has been running. There can be no doubting the argument for the holistic benefits of a musical education – that debate has been won – but professor Susan Hallam from the Institute of Education consolidated the position, depicting the weight of academic research that vindicates music as a powerful means of engendering social, psychological and intellectual wellbeing in children and young people.
Access to higher education was also raised. The audience learned that 80% of students from Trinity Laban Conservatoire for Music and Dance enter through the state sector. Professor Barry Ife from the Incorporated Society of Musicians also rolled out a series of impressive stats concerning the contribution of the music industry to the economy (£3.5bn gross; more than 100,000 jobs). There was even a chuckle from the floor when he quoted a recruitment drive from leading banks for arts graduates. Lord David Lawrence Lipsey closed the conference by emphasising a commitment by representatives of parliament towards music education.
It was the worst of times
Trinity Laban’s data may appear encouraging, but this still means 20% of students don’t come from the state sector, significantly above the national average of 7% for higher education. The event saw increasing frustration over accessibility and progression. Morris, now chairman of governors at the Yehudi Menuhin School, criticised the outcomes of first access schemes in some schools which, despite allowing for mass early provision of instrumental tuition, fail to sustain participation as subsidy wanes and costs for parents rise. Hammerton qualified Ofsted’s position by affirming that, despite progress, performance of music hubs countrywide was still considered patchy, while also sounding sceptical tones over the provision of music for pupils with special needs. Lloyd Webber pointed out anomalies in Ofsted’s own agenda, asking: “How should it be possible for a school to be regarded as ‘good’ when it fails to provide for music?”
There was tension, too, over the role of music teachers, especially in primary schools. Several speakers pressed for greater collaboration between professional musicians, musical institutions and local schools in order to fill what Richard Hallam, chair of the Music Education Council, called a “skills gap” in teaching. Yet there was increasing concern, particularly from the floor, about the de-skilling of professional teachers – at one point, the panel appeared stunned by claims from a representative of York University that, on many PGCE courses, prospective teachers receive only three hours of music training.
Hammerton was also condemnatory in places, citing the quality of music provision in some schools as still poor. In reaction, several concerns about incentivising top music graduates into the profession were sustained, as complaints were made about squeezed music services increasingly negotiating staff into zero-hours contracts.
The event was a mixed bag. At one point, a fellow delegate grumbled: “It’s just the same old faces” – but they weren’t right. Just like in A Tale of Two Cities, we had a heroine: singer-songwriter Rumer, one of the country’s most exciting contemporary artists, who provided a keynote speech. She delivered a measured personal story of patchy music education but one ending in success off the back of high expectations and access to performance and venues. Hers was a message to both policymakers and stakeholders alike, and she garnered unanimous support for her declaration that music is beautiful and access to it should ultimately be “every child’s basic right”.
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