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.
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.
The Lord Bishop of Guildford
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.