When a child is taught well by a music teacher, extraordinary things happen.
Good music teaching inspires and enables, unlocking children’s innate musicianship and developing their musical understanding, bringing music to life in the here and now through informed, live music-making. Truly excellent music teaching continues to bear fruit well beyond the end of formal lessons.
This is stating the obvious, but the single biggest factor in a child’s development as a musician is their music teacher. Where you find a good music teacher, you will see and hear good music education.
Recruiting and retaining good music teachers is also the single biggest issue for music education at present. It’s an issue that needs urgent attention and innovative solutions.
Music education: making time to play
Contrary to what we often see in the media, there’s been much positive movement with music in schools over the past few years. The laid out clear expectations for all pupils in key stages 1 to 3 to receive a minimum of one hour of curriculum music a week (no other subject has such a prescription), and this has led to many more meaningful music curricula being developed across schools.
was explicit about the importance of flexible staffing models in schools and acknowledged the world-class quality of music education in some schools, articulating beautifully the essential simplicity of what happens when school music is right: “A central purpose of good music education is for pupils to make more music, think more musically and consequently become more musical.”
The also provided, for the first time, a clear articulation of what every school should be expected to provide - essentially, a guide for headteachers to develop curricular and co-curricular music in their schools - together with case studies of schools that have built their music provision, often from scratch, through the general annual grant.
It encouraged schools to develop and publish their music development plans (this was important recognition that music takes time to build) as a way of raising the profile of music across the schools sector. The interim report of the government’s also hints at a more level playing field for arts subjects at key stage 4.
There’s an appetite for good music education, and there is more support for schools to develop their music provision. But we need the workforce to deliver this.
Over the past five years of the music teacher trainee recruitment target was met; last academic year, the figure was only 27.3 per cent. This is to a large degree the natural consequence of the decline in the numbers taking music at GCSE and A level over the past 15 years (and it doesn’t take a great statistician to see that, without intervention, this trend will continue).
We need to change the narrative around music education. Very few people want to be part of a culture of decline or failure, but the opportunity to change lives, to develop aspiration, to make an impact upon the musical life of the country - which is what good music teaching does - is something that is genuinely inviting and that many, many more people could embrace.
This is about shining a light on the art of the possible. There are many outstanding music teachers across the country and many outstanding music departments, all with different personalities and musical skillsets but all with a laser-like focus on developing musical opportunities for children.
A number of music departments and multi-academy trusts (including ours) are inviting professional musicians to work in schools as musicians-in-residence - a powerfully effective way of sharing professional expertise and creating more co-curricular opportunities for students.
And the quality of partnership working across schools, with partnerships brokered by the music hub (the core purpose of hubs), is not only bringing opportunities for large-scale projects and performances but also much valued musical CPD for teachers and practitioners.
In short, if we believe in enabling every child to experience the extraordinary power of music education, then we need to promote and celebrate the job of the music teacher. It’s a great job, one that I’ve been doing for the past 34 years. I would encourage others to join me.
Simon Toyne is executive director of music for the David Ross Education Trust and chair of the Northamptonshire and Rutland Music Hub
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