Disadvantaged Pupils: Music Attainment Gap

Question

Asked by

To ask His Majesty’s Government what actions they intend to take to reduce the attainment gap in music for disadvantaged pupils in state schools.

My Lords, the Government are committed to tackling inequity in music education. In response to the curriculum and assessment review, we will reform the music curriculum in all state-funded schools from September 2028, with a focus on improving equity and quality. We will also establish the new national centre for music and arts education later this year to support teacher development, backed by continued investment in the music hubs network.

My Lords, more than six out of 10 schools with the highest level of disadvantage entered no pupils for GCSE music in 2024-25, compared to just one in 10 of the least disadvantaged. The Primary Winds Programme at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire helps to address this gap at primary level by offering free instrument loans, bursaries for beginners from low-income families and sustained musical training on Saturdays. What targeted action of that sort will the Government take to ensure that many more children from disadvantaged areas have the benefit of musical tuition in their school?

My noble friend highlights a key area. The department funds the music opportunities pilot in 10 areas to assess the impact of targeted support for pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds and for SEND and offers primary and secondary pupils free lessons to progress, including taking music exams. All music hubs must have inclusion strategies to support disadvantaged children, and an evaluation report is due next year. Finally, the new national centre for music and arts education will focus on addressing inequity in arts education, including a key role in promoting to schools the benefits of studying performing arts to age 16, such as GCSE music.

The Minister mentioned music hubs. The key thing in getting an opportunity for disadvantaged students from schools that do not have good musical education is to put them in touch with music hubs. I declare an interest as I used to be chair of the VOCES8 Foundation. What shocked us when we started taking singing into schools was how many primary schools did not have a teacher with any music education, and some secondary schools had almost no expertise in music. Enthusiastic and expert music teachers are the way to get disadvantaged children into music hubs and give them the opportunities they need. What are the Government going to do to make sure that every school has a teacher with at least some training and skills in music?

The noble Lord raises a critical point, which I think was the basis of the initial Question. Too many children and young people in this country have no access to the arts in any form before they go to school, and that is something we are going to address. Family hubs are part of this picture, opening up access and opportunities, as is making sure that music hubs work with all local partners—obviously, they have to bring in private money to support them. Through that, we can move on to making sure that we have the right teacher training and the right opportunities in every school, as he suggests.

My Lord, the inequalities that the noble Baroness identified in her Question go on to be clearly manifest in the creative industries, where we know from the excellent work of the Sutton Trust that top-selling musicians are six times more likely to have attended a private school and that more than half the music students at prestigious conservatoires are privately educated, so it is not just the inequalities within education but what they lead to. What are the Government doing to expand career pathways and pathways into further education for students who show talent?

Of course, the noble Baroness is right. I think there is still a lack of recognition of just how important our creative industries are to the economy of this country and to those who engage in them, and of the wider benefit that flows from them. We have to make sure that we get the pathways quite right, as she suggests. That is why the curriculum review is making sure that the opportunities are there so that every child at key stage 4 will study an arts subject, but we need to do far more to promote the opportunities in the sector and make sure that it is established across all schools. This is about all young people and, frankly, too many have been left behind and do not have the opportunity that she has outlined.

My Lords, while welcoming the positive things that my noble friend has said, is she confident that the messaging going to schools is clear about the value of music education and that attention is being drawn to the considerable body of evidence about the benefits of music education and the wider academic benefits that come with it? I think there is still a degree of autonomy in schools that allows some to decide that it is not going to be a priority for them.

I think the emphasis that this Government are putting on quality teacher training and expanding all the areas is going to be critical in taking this agenda forward. As I have said before, it is still unknown just what the benefits are. I bring forward from my personal experience the increase in attainment as a result of studying music, particularly in maths, and the impact on mental health, well-being and all those broader matters that enable young people to learn and thrive.

I welcome the Question from the noble Baroness, Lady Keeley. May I suggest to the Minister that she looks more closely at music hubs? It is extremely difficult for disabled children to get to music hubs because it has to be a parent who drives them there. I am sure the investment in music hubs is very welcome, but it will not help disabled children. One of the many benefits of music is singing, which allows deaf children to learn how to speak properly.

I suspect that, if we look across all 43 of the music hubs, some will be brilliant at doing exactly what the noble Baroness says. We need to make sure that there is consistency and an expectation that all young people will be able to benefit from their provision. It is obviously a key point, and I take it on board.

My Lords, partnerships between independent and state schools are making a tangible difference in closing the music attainment gap. Programmes such as MusicShare in the West Midlands have reached over 30,000 pupils across 500 schools, and community initiatives such as Wells Cathedral School’s free Saturday orchestra have opened opportunities to children who might otherwise miss out. Will the Government recognise and support the expansion of these proven school partnerships to reach more disadvantaged pupils?

The experience of partnerships is very positive, as the noble Baroness suggests. The difficulty is that, if we are not careful, it leaves great holes among many young people who do not have access to that provision. Not all private schools open their doors to people in the local community. We want to make sure that we have an inclusive approach through every school so that every young person can get the quality education that they deserve.

Like everyone on these Benches, I welcome the fact that the Government are intending to give more prominence to creative subjects, music included, with their proposed reforms to the Progress 8 model. However, there is a real risk that the proposals end up sacrificing depth for breadth without significantly affecting the attainment gap or subject-specific uptake. Can the Minister update the House on the recent consultation on Progress 8 and whether, in light of it, there is new evidence supporting these reforms?

I was expecting a question on Progress 8 and on attainment generally. We are still moving forward, and in discussions. I am sure that the noble Baroness will make a contribution to those discussions to make sure that what she has outlined is not a result. We are confident that, in the whole programme of looking at the curriculum, we will increase the quality, the breadth and, therefore, the attainment and enjoyment of young people going to school.