An open letter to Darren Henley, Michael Gove and Ed Vaizey

9 February 2011

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Following our submission to Darren Henley’s Review of the funding and delivery of music education in England, ABRSM is pleased to acknowledge the significance of the Review as being unprecedented in its holistic perspective on music education in this country.

As a provider of graded music exams for over 120 years and a proponent of their capacity to motivate musical achievement, we particularly welcome the recommendation that the value and place of these assessments in school performance tables should be better communicated to all concerned.

We identify with the view that a clear progression route should be made available to those children who demonstrate musical aptitude, and support the concept of the music education ‘pyramid’ outlined in the Review. Our summative assessments, through examination at all levels of this pyramid, provide one way to motivate children to continue the musical journey appropriate to their abilities and interests.

Among the other strong and important recommendations with which we concur, the call for a new qualification to be developed for music educators is one that we very much hope will come to fruition. ABRSM has a long-standing commitment to support and encourage music educators through our delivery of in-post training and continuing professional development courses. We also agree that this country has a number of world-class conservatoires, whose important role in the development of music educators must be recognised. We look forward to working with them and a range of other parties, such as TDA and Teach First, on how best to deliver the recommendations concerning the professionalisation of music educators.

We welcome the recommendation that a national register of music teachers should be established, with an accompanying kite mark. Given ABRSM’s unique position in music education, we are well-placed to support the development of such an initiative, in partnership with others.

We agree that there is a shortfall in training and professional support for leaders in music education, and in response to this developed the course ‘Managing and Leading Music Services in the 21st Century’ in partnership with the Federation of Music Services in 2009. We would welcome the opportunity to provide further leadership programmes for music educators.

Music Services fulfil an essential role and we believe it is vital that Government funds for music education delivered via Local Authorities are ring-fenced. Without this protection, the progress made in the last few years will be eroded. If we have a concern, it is that the Review has been delivered against a background of several LA Music Services being cut already – a distinct threat to the aspirations expressed in the Review.

We wholeheartedly support the call for partnership and co-ordination across the music education sector, and are committed to continue and expand upon the existing level of co-operation with which we are already engaged. We look forward to working with Government and others in the sector to take forward these recommendations.

Yours sincerely,

Guy Perricone
Chief Executive

Arts Council England

Arts Council England warmly welcomes Darren Henley’s review of music education. We are pleased music education is recognised as an important aspect of children and young people’s lives and see the review as a catalyst to increasing the opportunities and quality of music education in and out of school. We are particularly delighted to see the recommendations around music’s role in the curriculum, the ring-fencing of central government funds for music education and the emphasis placed on progression and talent development.

We continue to prioritise children and young people, as set out in Achieving great art for everyone, our 10-year strategic framework for the arts which was developed in consultation with a wide range of people. One of our goals is that ‘Every child and young person has the opportunity to experience the richness of the arts’. We recognise the key role that artists and arts organisations play in delivering high-quality arts opportunities to children and young people, and will use our influence and investment to support this goal. We also work with the government and others to ensure that public investment is put to best use.

We look forward to playing a leading role in developing a music plan and we are encouraged that our published priorities for children and young people align closely with the recommendations in the review, particularly around improving local delivery and raising quality. We also very much welcome the recommendation for a wider review of Cultural Education, and look forward to working with the Department for Education and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport in taking these plans forward.

Incorporated Society of Musicians (ISM)

The professional body for musicians and music teachers, the Incorporated Society of Musicians (ISM), has welcomed the Government’s response to the Henley Review of Music Education, which acknowledges music as 'an enriching and valuable academic subject' and commits to funding music services in the coming year.

Michael Gove is a passionate advocate of music education and has demonstrated this commitment saying '…it is simply unfair that the joy of musical discovery should be the preserve of those whose parents can afford it.'

Deborah Annetts, Chief Executive of the Incorporated Society of Musicians said:

'Darren Henley’s Review is an important and authoritative document which makes a strong case for the importance of music education to our children. Music education in the UK sets the standard for the rest of the world and has been shown to improve attainment in key areas such as literacy, numeracy and social skills.

'The Review makes the key finding that 'the provision of Music Education should remain a statutory requirement as part of the National Curriculum' which we heartily endorse. We also call on the government to act on the Review’s recommendation that music should be included in the English Baccalaureate, something the government has so far failed to do, thereby threatening the place of music in Secondary schools.'

The ISM welcomes the government’s continued funding of £82.5 million for Music Services in 2011-12 to tackle the 'musical divide' which Michael Gove has identified.

Deborah Annetts added:

'We're impressed by government's commitment to music education and the news that the Music Grant will not be cut at all in the next year. Michael Gove has issued a challenge to Local Authorities to match the Government’s commitment and continue to fund music education.'

Music Education Council (MEC)

We welcome the Henley Review and would like to acknowledge the care and attention of Darren Henley when undertaking the review and considering such an important issue as the future of our children’s music education.

As the government acknowledges in its response to the Review, 'it is vital that a quality music education is available to all children and young people across the country'.

Michael Gove is a passionate advocate of music education and has demonstrated this commitment saying '…it is simply unfair that the joy of musical discovery should be the preserve of those whose parents can afford it.'
We are delighted that the government has pledged to tackle the musical divide and that the Department for Education’s funding for music education for 2011 – 2012 will be £82.5m. The funding will be distributed to Local Authorities to spend specifically on Music Services. The funding of music education beyond 2012 will also need to be tackled to address any inequalities in provision.

Both the Review and the government’s response explore a range of other ideas and proposals which MEC will be considering in more detail. We, like the government, are committed to ensuring that opportunity, progression and achievement remain at the core of an excellent music education.

Musicians' Union (MU)

We are pleased with the recommendations made this week by the Henley Review of Music Education and heartened to see that most of our suggestions have been taken on board.

We are, however, concerned that these proposals may have come too late. More than a third of Music Services have already issued redundancy notices due to cuts in Local Authority funding and many music teachers have lost their jobs.

The MU strongly believes that every child should have the opportunity from Pre-school through Primary and Secondary to have quality music education and opportunities and we urge the Government to act quickly to safeguard jobs and music education provision.

Music Industries Association (MIA) 

Following the publication today of the Henley Review, the long awaited report into the provision of music education across the country, the Education Secretary, Michael Gove, has pledged £82.5m for music education. The Review has made a wide-ranging number of recommendations to government about the future provision of music in education.
 
Following the publication, Michael Gove commented that ‘access to the best musical education is not universal and the opportunity to benefit from great instrumental tuition is not shared equally. Many disadvantaged children are denied the music education they deserve. And that's why we need to bridge this musical divide.’
 
Mr. Gove said further that ‘all young people should have the chance to benefit from the opportunities that music can bring – not simply those pupils from wealthy backgrounds whose parents can afford to pay for lessons.’
 
Paul McManus, CEO of the Music Industries Association commented:
 
'It is extremely encouraging to read the continuing supportive comments being made by Michael Gove concerning the importance of music education for a child and the wide-ranging benefits it brings to a child’s development. The Review itself is very positive and highlights a large number of areas that the MIA would whole-heartedly endorse, including the specific recommendation to maintain music in the National Curriculum and the additional requirement to maintain the Statutory Entitlement for a child to learn a musical instrument.

The MIA naturally looks forward to the government response to the Review and will offer all support to both government and the educational sector to realise the aspirations of the report. In particular, the MIA notes the specific recommendation concerning the future purchase of instruments and we stand ready to assist in ensuring that children have access to appropriate, quality musical instruments.'
 
The UK economy, through its creative industries, benefits significantly from music, with over 130,000 people employed actively in the making, performing, recording and distributing of music contributing nearly £5bn to the economy annually. And just as importantly, music develops creativity and contributes uniquely to raising attainment in literacy and numeracy and is therefore a key part of a broad and balanced school curriculum.