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The report made a number of recommendations on how to improve music education, and what teachers wanted to see within The power of music to change lives. The ISM has produced a comparison page to investigate whether the new national plan meets these recommendations or not.
Jun 25, 2022 · Titled The Power of Music to Change Lives, the refreshed National Plan for Music Education in England was released on 25 June 2022 by the Department for Education. Read the Plan here. Our CEO Bridget Whyte was honoured to be on the expert panel on behalf of our membership.
- Context
- Main findings
- Discussion of findings
- Recommendations
- Key terms used in this report
- Primary
- Secondary
- Methodological note
In June 2022, the government published ‘The power of music to change lives: a national plan for music education’.[footnote 1] This refreshed plan builds on the original national plan for music education, ‘The importance of music’, published in 2011.[footnote 2] The new plan sets out a vision for all children and young people to learn to sing, play an instrument and create music together, and to have the opportunity to develop their musical interests and talents. This plan sets an expectation that schools will have a music development plan in place by the academic year 2023/24 that sets out how they will teach a high-quality curriculum for at least one hour a week in key stages 1 to 3.
Since publishing the first plan in November 2011, the government has invested substantial amounts of funding in a range of music and arts education programmes. It has also established a network of music hubs. Despite this, the government’s call for evidence, conducted in February and March 2020, found that provision remained patchy.[footnote 3]
The trajectory of music education in recent years has been one in which schools have reduced key stage 3 provision, and trainee primary teachers have been offered shrinking amounts of music training.[footnote 4] The number of pupils taking a music qualification at key stages 4 has steadily increased in recent years.[footnote 5] However, uptake at key stage 5 has fallen over the last 10 years.
This report evaluates the common strengths and weaknesses of music education and considers the challenges that music faces. It builds on the research review that we published in 2021.[footnote 6] The evidence for this report was gathered by His Majesty’s Inspectors and by Ofsted Inspectors who specialise in music and have experience in the primary or secondary phase. This report draws on findings from research visits carried out between December 2022 and June 2023. His Majesty’s Inspectors also gathered evidence as part of routine inspections.
The report is split into findings in primary schools and those in secondary schools. It includes evidence from Reception classes and sixth forms. In each of these sections, we talk about:
•aspects of the curriculum
Leaders in almost all the primary schools visited made sure that pupils had adequate time to learn music. Music was taught weekly in key stages 1 and 2 in most primary schools. We found that in almost all primary schools, children had sufficiently frequent opportunities to learn music in the Reception Year of the early years foundation stage (EYFS).
In almost all schools, the curriculum in Reception prepared children well for music in key stage 1.
In a very small number of primary schools, pupils did not have enough opportunities to learn music in key stages 1 and 2. In these schools, leaders characteristically organised the curriculum so that pupils were taught music on several isolated days.
Inspectors found considerable variation in the amount of curriculum time allocated to music in key stage 3. In just under half the schools visited, leaders had not made sure that pupils had enough time to learn the curriculum as planned by the school. This meant that, in these schools, pupils were not adequately prepared for further musical study.
In most secondary schools, curriculum leaders organised the key stage 3 music curriculum into termly or half-termly blocks. These blocks typically focused on a different style or genre of music. In most cases, the blocks stood as isolated units. While leaders had considered pupils’ musical development in each unit, far fewer had considered their longer-term musical development across the key stage.
In many schools, when considering the curriculum, leaders’ thinking focused on giving pupils a range of musical opportunities. In these schools, leaders often associated curriculum ambition with the range of activities offered. Fewer schools had considered ambition in terms of, for example, incrementally developing pupils’ musical knowledge and skills.
Despite leaders’ efforts, the last few years have been a challenging time for music in schools. Leaders in the schools visited told us about the challenges they have faced in providing music education, including the COVID-19 pandemic. Our research and discussions with school leaders show that COVID-19 significantly disrupted music teaching in most schools.[footnote 8] Many pupils did not have access to the high-quality staff, resources and practical music making opportunities necessary for high-quality music education. Our inspectors also identified the ongoing challenges facing many music leaders in re-establishing the school’s extra-curricular music activities, which are essential for music to thrive in schools. Many music leaders reported that things are slowly ‘returning to normal’. However, there were still several schools where extra-curricular music had yet to return. Approximately half the primary schools visited did not provide any instrumental or vocal lessons.
This report highlights the significant variation in the quality of music education in the schools we visited. Nonetheless, since the time of our previous subject report in 2012, many school leaders, particularly in primary schools, have taken important steps to give music a more prominent place on the curriculum. Many pupils now have regular opportunities to learn music. However, despite this significant improvement, several of the concerns that we raised in 2012 remain. For example, a proportion of secondary schools still do not make sure that all pupils have enough time to learn a curriculum at key stage 3 that prepares them well enough, should they wish, for further musical study. Concerningly, in some schools, pupils are only well placed to continue their musical education and achieve well after key stage 3 if they have access to paid instrumental or vocal lessons. There is a clear divide between children and young people whose families can afford to pay for music tuition and those who come from lower socio-economic backgrounds. This inequality of opportunity, highlighted at the time of our last subject report, persists.
The schools we visited wanted pupils to develop a love and passion for the subject. Our evidence identifies that music was stronger, and pupils achieved more, in primary and secondary schools where leaders had gone beyond these broader curriculum aims. Leaders had identified specific end points and the building blocks of knowledge and skills that they wanted pupils to achieve at various points throughout the curriculum. When designing their curriculum, leaders in these schools had given serious consideration to the question: ‘What can pupils realistically learn, rather than just encounter, in the curriculum time available?’ They had, crucially, considered ambition in terms of pupils’ musical development rather than the range of musical opportunities on offer. The schools that were successful focused on deliberately teaching pupils to get better at music rather than assuming they would get better by simply ‘doing’ music. While these stronger examples were in a minority, our research has found that many school leaders are aware that their curriculum does not focus sharply enough on pupils’ musical development. In many schools, music leaders were starting to make good use of the non-statutory guidance available to schools, such as the model music curriculum and Ofsted research review, to rethink, redesign and improve their provision. [footnote 9]
The ability to manipulate sound is central to both performing and composing. It also has an impact on how we listen. In the schools where we found the most effective teaching, the curriculum developed pupils’ ability to control sounds, through singing, playing instruments, or learning music technology, gradually and iteratively. Leaders in these schools understood that it takes a lot of time to develop fine motor skills on any instrument. Consequently, they decided to narrow the range of instrument choices within the curriculum. By contrast, where the practice was weaker, pupils often had shallow encounters with too many instruments or insufficient time to rehearse and practise. Consequently, pupils’ musical responses were often mechanistic and showed limited expressive quality. In some cases, pupils’ lack of fine motor skills was a significant barrier to creating and generating musical ideas when composing.
Our research found considerable differences in how well teachers taught music. Many teachers in primary schools reported that they lacked the confidence and musical knowledge to teach aspects of the curriculum well. In some schools, the curriculum ‘on paper’ was designed to help pupils develop, incrementally, the procedural and declarative knowledge they need to become better performers, composers and listeners. However, teachers acknowledged that lack of musicianship limited its impact. It was not uncommon for teachers in primary schools to stick rigidly to curriculum plans without knowing (or hearing) whether pupils had secured the necessary knowledge to move on. Consequently, as pupils got older, they were increasingly asked to complete musical activities that were beyond their technical capabilities. Many headteachers in primary schools were aware of the weaknesses in teachers’ subject knowledge. Despite this, fewer leaders had a clear plan for addressing these weaknesses. Many did not know where to find support. Secondary school teachers were more likely to have access to ongoing subject-specific training than primary school teachers. However, in about a third of secondary schools, leaders had assumed that, because music teachers were ‘specialists’, they did not need further subject-specific training. In some schools, this meant that significant gaps in subject knowledge, such as how to teach singing, were not being addressed.
In order to flourish, music depends on strong and flexible leadership. We found that leaders in schools with a strong and vibrant musical culture made music part of the fabric of the school. They viewed music as a subject in its own right and valued its contribution to their school’s wider culture. Leaders actively sought the expertise of musicians, often from local music hubs, to support them in designing, implementing and evaluating the music curriculum. In these schools, leaders ensured that all pupils benefited from robust, direct and incremental teaching that provided knowledge of the technical and constructive aspects of music. Where this was not yet the case, leaders had recognised this and were taking steps to improve the music curriculum, for example by giving music leaders subject-specific training. Moreover, where music education was stronger, senior leaders understood the critical role that extra-curricular music and instrumental and vocal lessons played in complementing the taught curriculum and pupils’ musical development. Leaders in these schools reached out to music hubs. They made sure that all pupils had meaningful opportunities to develop their talents and interests and they routinely showcased and celebrated pupils’ musical achievements.
Curriculum
Schools should make sure that: pupils, particularly at key stage 3, have enough curriculum time to develop their musical knowledge and skills incrementally the curriculum identifies precise end points in performance, composition and listening work, and then sets out the knowledge and skills pupils need, step by step, to reach these end points the curriculum builds, incrementally, pupils’ knowledge of the technical and constructive aspects of music
Pedagogy and assessment
Schools should make sure that: teachers provide ongoing feedback to pupils that improves the quality of pupils’ music making both in terms of technique and expressive quality teachers routinely demonstrate to pupils what high-quality musical responses sound like, and the processes for achieving those outcomes
Systems at subject and school level
Schools should: actively seek the support of local music hubs or other sources of expertise when developing and improving the curriculum support subject leaders to develop a curriculum that deliberately and incrementally teaches all pupils to become more musical continuously develop teachers’ subject knowledge, including their musicianship skills and their understanding of what high-quality music making should sound like for pupils in the age group they teach; this approach should align with the choices set out in the school’s curriculum make sure that all pupils can develop their musical talents and interests, by offering extra-curricular activities and instrumental and vocal lessons
Knowledge in music
Procedural knowledge Procedural knowledge is the knowledge used in performing a task, such as playing an instrument or using multi-tracking software fluently. It is the foundation of performing and composing. Well-developed procedural knowledge depends on pupils acquiring an array of automated procedures in order to develop technical and expressive competence on an instrument. Declarative knowledge Declarative knowledge is a set of musical knowledge that can be stated verbally. It is content that can be discussed. In a musical context, examples of declarative knowledge might include notation, keys and chords, or the works and songs that comprise musical culture. Declarative knowledge underpins advanced thinking.[footnote 10] It is the presence of this knowledge in long-term memory that enables the conscious mind to process complex concepts.[footnote 11] It is better to give pupils regular, spaced-out re-encounters with this content than to teach it in blocks, to help them build knowledge in long-term memory.[footnote 12]
Pillars of progression in music
Technical The development of motor skills for music is an important aspect of controlling and understanding sound. Pupils’ ability to control sound, through singing, playing instruments, or using music technology, helps them to get better at performing, composing and listening to music. Constructive This refers to knowledge of how the building blocks of music come together, both analytically and in the creative process. It includes knowledge of the musical elements/interrelated dimensions of music and the building blocks of composition.[footnote 13] Expressive This focuses on the less definable aspects of music: quality, meaning and creativity. Our research review identified that musical expression in performance depends on the highly developed technical expertise of the performer. This is combined with what a performer knows and understands about the music they are playing, both specifically and in terms of the wider culture in which the music exists.
Curriculum intent: identifying what pupils need to know and do
Summary of the research review relevant to curriculum intent The amount of time pupils spend on learning music is typically short. Therefore, it is particularly important to construct the curriculum to make the best possible use of time. It is impossible to include every aspect of music without the curriculum being ‘a mile wide and an inch deep’. In other words, if school leaders do not consider what pupils can realistically learn, pupils are likely to simply ‘experience’ music rather than get better at it. High-quality music education is likely to: follow a curriculum that takes into account what pupils can realistically learn in the time available give pupils regular opportunities to return to and consolidate their short-term learning, while gradually introducing new ideas, methods and concepts have identified end points that set out the specific curriculum content to be learned, rather than articulating principles and assuming that any content will work to realise these principles 1. We found that in almost all primary schools visited, leaders were committed to ensuring that pupils learned music as part of the curriculum. Leaders were clear, in broad terms, about their vision for the music curriculum. They told inspectors that they wanted to support all pupils to enjoy music and to increase their self-confidence and sense of achievement. 2. Leaders in approximately half the schools had significantly changed their music curriculum recently or were in the process of changing it. Many leaders said that they had made these changes in response to Ofsted’s education inspection framework, which they interpreted as emphasising a broad and balanced curriculum. Others were making changes because of the non-statutory guidance available to schools, such as the model music curriculum. Typically, these changes were in how the music curriculum was organised. Leaders recognised the need for pupils to have regular opportunities to learn music rather than ad-hoc isolated events. Many headteachers, having established more regular time for music on the curriculum, were beginning to think about how to make best use of this time. 3. The primary music curriculum was based on commercially published schemes in most schools visited. In most cases, this approach ensured that children and pupils completed the types of activities set out in the national curriculum and the EYFS framework. In almost all schools, pupils learned a broad curriculum that included various activities, such as singing, playing instruments, and composing and listening to music drawn from different traditions, historical periods and styles. In the few schools where pupils were not covering the scope of the national curriculum, they tended to have few or no opportunities to compose and improvise. 4. In almost all schools, the Reception Year curriculum prepared children well for music in key stage 1. Children had regular opportunities to learn music. One headteacher described this approach as ‘little and often’. Children typically built the foundations of learning music through frequent opportunities to sing nursery rhymes and other simple songs. In some cases, the EYFS curriculum went beyond the scope of the EYFS framework. The curriculum began to introduce children to the building blocks of music, such as gaining a simple understanding of pitch in terms of high or low. 5. Inspectors found that, in most schools visited, when considering the curriculum leaders’ thinking focused on giving pupils a range of musical opportunities. Leaders often associated curriculum ambition with the range of musical activities on offer. Far fewer schools considered it in terms of pupils’ musical development.
How one school went about changing its approach to building an ambitious music curriculum
Leaders explained that, in the past, they had wanted all pupils to have the chance to learn many different instruments. They hoped that this would inspire pupils to learn an instrument in more depth. However, leaders identified that, in reality, only a handful of pupils chose to continue learning an instrument. Leaders decided to change their approach to pupils’ musical development. They decided to reduce the number of musical instruments pupils encountered and emphasise singing instead. They worked with a local music hub to redesign the curriculum so that all pupils had regular and ongoing opportunities to become better singers. Underpinning this work was a clear ambition that, by the end of their time at the school, all pupils would be able to sing a range of songs in 3 parts confidently, accurately and expressively. 6. In most schools, leaders were not clear about the precise content they wanted pupils to learn and why. These included schools that had adopted commercial schemes of learning. In schools where leaders were clear about what they wanted pupils to learn, this was most likely to relate to singing and playing instruments. It was least likely to relate to composition.
Planning the curriculum so that pupils become more ‘musical’
Summary of the research review for curriculum progression A good music education is underpinned by robust, direct and incremental teaching about the technical and constructive aspects of music. Pupils learn this knowledge in the context of music’s history and provenance. This allows them to make increasingly sophisticated and expressive responses. A high-quality music curriculum is likely to: deliberately build pupils’ procedural knowledge in how to control sound provide plentiful opportunities to consolidate procedural knowledge be built in a way that is gradual, iterative and coherent with regard to instrument choice include opportunities for pupils to develop and practise the components of compositions that are set out in the school’s curriculum include tasks at a technical level that is appropriate for pupils to be able to realise their expressive intentions give pupils opportunities to learn about musical culture and repertoire 7. Most primary schools visited were able to show inspectors the different activities and topics that pupils covered in each year and key stage. Fewer were able to articulate a clear rationale for the way these projects had been organised and ordered, to show how pupils should progress musically. Leaders in many of the schools visited had identified this weakness, and over a third were developing their curriculum to address it. Many had started by thinking about how the curriculum could support pupils to sing and play instruments more musically, by incrementally developing their control and fluency. 8. In a few schools, leaders paid serious attention to ensuring that the pupils not only experienced singing and playing instruments but were incrementally and deliberately taught to gain greater control, fluency and accuracy. Typically, in these schools, leaders had a clear view of the components their pupils needed to learn and remember as they moved from the early years to Year 6. 9. Teaching was most effective when the development of pupils’ technique went hand in hand with broadening their knowledge of the provenance of the music they were learning. For example, in one school, pupils were learning to sing a lullaby. As part of the work, pupils learned about lullabies and how the features of the music reflected the composer’s intentions. It was clear that this knowledge greatly enhanced the expressive quality of their singing. Pupils worked with great enthusiasm to develop a suitable tone and sing quietly and with control. 10. In the few schools where leaders paid serious attention to incrementally developing pupils’ ability to control sound, they understood that: getting better at any instrument takes time technical competence on one instrument does not necessarily transfer to other instruments 11. Leaders in these schools had often decided to reduce the number of instruments pupils were learning. By contrast, where teaching was less effective, and the curriculum less ambitious, pupils had several shallow encounters with many different instruments. Consequently, pupils’ musical responses were often mechanical and inexpressive. 12. In less than half the schools visited, pupils learned to play an instrument as part of a whole-class programme. This programme typically happened for up to one year in Years 4 and 5. About half these schools were supported by their local music hubs in delivering this work. In most cases, when these individual programmes were supported by the music hubs, they were sequenced logically. 13. About a quarter of headteachers reported that, in recent years, they had decided to end their links with their local music hub and teach whole-class instrumental programmes in-house. The most common reason given by leaders for this decision was that of competing priorities in school budgets. In several schools where this decision had been taken, we found that school leaders had not given enough thought to whether teachers had the subject knowledge to deliver these in-house instrumental programmes. 14. In many schools where pupils were learning an instrument as part of a whole-class instrumental programme, this learning was isolated from the rest of the music curriculum. It was often not sustained or built on. This was because, in many schools, curriculum planning for the following years took little or no account of any learning that had taken place during the whole-class instrumental programmes. Furthermore, only a few examples were seen of bespoke programmes being planned in consultation with individual schools to tie in with other music curriculum content. 15. The strongest aspect of the curriculum in primary schools was support for pupils’ singing. In some schools, leaders had set out how the curriculum would support pupils to become better singers. As part of this work, curriculum plans clearly specified the component knowledge pupils needed to learn to develop their singing technique from Reception to Year 6. The most effective schools supported this with carefully chosen songs that matched the pupils’ learning stage. In these schools, pupils’ strong progress in singing was underpinned by regular, ongoing vocal work in the classroom as well as in assemblies. In schools where the curriculum was less effective, leaders viewed singing as a participatory activity and did not consider the technical or expressive demands of the music pupils were singing. 16. In about half the schools that used commercial schemes, teachers were often not alert to the component knowledge pupils needed to secure before moving on to the next stage of learning. Sometimes this was because leaders and teachers had not fully understood the progression model set out in the schemes they had adopted. In the weakest examples, teachers followed curriculum plans rigidly and literally, but did not pay enough attention to whether pupils were securing the procedural and declarative knowledge they needed in order to make progress. For example, in one class, pupils were learning to play a walking bass on tuned percussion. The teacher had not spotted that several pupils were struggling to play the part accurately. They needed more practice time to secure the technical demands of the music. Despite this, pupils were moved on to even more complex musical parts. Consequently, they lost focus, and the quality of their musical responses deteriorated. 17. Where curriculum thinking was strong, pupils’ knowledge of the interrelated dimensions of music was deliberately and incrementally broadened and deepened as pupils moved through the curriculum. In these schools, leaders made sure that pupils had repeated opportunities to learn about the interrelated dimensions through performance and composition activities, as well as through specific listening opportunities. Where this worked well, the musical features pupils were expected to recognise aurally were not extensive, and, crucially, pupils were given regular, deliberate and repeated opportunities to hear these musical devices in a range of musical contexts.
Curriculum intent: identifying what pupils need to know and do
Summary of the research review relevant to curriculum intent The amount of time pupils spend learning music in key stage 3 is typically short. This means it is particularly important to construct the curriculum to make the best possible use of time. It is impossible to include every aspect of music without the curriculum being a mile wide and an inch deep. In other words, if school leaders do not consider what pupils can realistically learn, pupils are likely to simply ‘experience’ music rather than get better at it. High-quality music education is likely to: follow a curriculum that takes into account what pupils can realistically learn in the time available give pupils regular opportunities to return to and consolidate their short-term learning, while gradually introducing new ideas, methods and concepts have identified end points that set out the specific curriculum content to be learned, rather than articulating principles and assuming that any content will work to realise these principles 48. We found that, in most secondary schools visited, leaders were committed to making sure that pupils learned music in key stage 3. The range of activities set out in schools’ curriculums was largely dictated by the national curriculum in key stage 3 and then exam specifications in key stages 4 and 5. 49. In almost all schools, leaders were clear about their vision for the music curriculum in broad terms. They discussed with inspectors their desire to support all pupils to enjoy music, build their confidence and develop their appreciation of music. 50. In nearly all schools, leaders said that the scope of their key stage 3 curriculum was as broad as the national curriculum. However, this was not always the case. One of the biggest limiting factors to the scope and ambition of the music curriculum at key stage 3 was the time given to the subject and how this time was organised. There was significant variation in this. 51. In around half the schools, pupils learned music for around one hour a week in Years 7 to 9. Pupils typically participated in activities such as playing instruments and composing and listening to music drawn from different traditions, historical periods and styles. However, curriculum content that developed pupils’ singing and vocal work was far rarer. This was a significant part of the curriculum in only a few schools. 52. The curriculum was usually less ambitious and more limited in scope when leaders had decided to deliver key stage 3 in just 2 years. This was also the case in schools where leaders had decided to teach the music curriculum in blocks of time throughout the year. In these schools, only some aspects of the national curriculum were covered in appropriate depth. In general, these were areas such as learning to play instruments in a range of solo and ensemble contexts. However, some notable omissions often resulted in pupils having very limited music education. Pupils in these schools typically had very few, if any, opportunities to learn how to compose music. In addition, pupils in these schools were much less likely to listen to or learn about a wide range of music. 53. The school’s approach to exam specifications sometimes limited the scope and ambition of the music curriculum in key stage 4. In many schools, the exam specifications had become the curriculum. Few schools had considered the components pupils needed to learn in order to reach the high-level outcomes set out in the specifications. This was particularly the case in pupils’ ability to deconstruct and analyse set works. Typically, teachers alerted pupils to the key constructive features of the music they were studying and asked them to annotate musical scores with this information. However, they often gave little attention to the components pupils needed to know in order to identify these features for themselves. Leaders were often aware of these weaknesses but had concluded that pupils could achieve well in their exams despite not knowing this underpinning knowledge. 54. In most schools offering music at key stage 5, leaders recognised the need to break down aspects of the high-level outcomes in the specifications into smaller building blocks. Many leaders were aware that some pupils, despite achieving well at GCSE, had significant gaps in their learning and were not adequately prepared for A-level music. These gaps often related to declarative knowledge about how music works. They included knowledge about keys, chords, scales, how to read notation and other constructive features. Most of these schools were providing pupils with additional tuition to address these gaps. 55. Performing was the aspect of the curriculum where curriculum end points, and the components needed to reach those end points, were most likely to be clearly defined. In these schools, leaders often had a strong focus on preparing all pupils at key stage 3 for key stage 4 music. By contrast, some schools had identified broad end points, such as ‘develop basic keyboard skills’, without setting out clearly what that meant in practical terms.
How one school set out the specific content pupils should learn
Pupils were taught to play the steel pans. Leaders had set out the exact repertoire they expected all pupils to be able to play accurately, fluently and expressively at various points throughout key stage 3. They had considered the technical and expressive demands of the music, and how these demands would be increased over time. 56. Clarity about curriculum end points for performing often went hand in hand with clear identification of the knowledge about staff notation that pupils were expected to use. Leaders in these schools were ambitious for pupils to use some aspects of notation automatically. Therefore, they were realistic about what pupils could reasonably learn, rather than just encounter, in the time available. These leaders recognised that pupils needed a lot of practice in order to be able to read fluently at the level set out in the curriculum. By contrast, in some schools, even though pupils encountered notation, there was no expectation that they would learn to use it. 57. Few schools had clearly set out the end points for composition in their curriculum. Typically, leaders had high-level aims for pupils’ compositional work, such as ‘We want pupils to be creative’, or ‘Pupils need to compose a piece in the style of samba’. However, few had given sufficient thought to the detail that would allow pupils to achieve these aims. 58. Where the curriculum was more effective, leaders often had a clear and realistic view of the music that pupils would be able to compose as a result of learning the curriculum. Although inspectors found great variety in these curriculum end points in terms of styles and genres, all these schools clearly focused on teaching pupils the constructive knowledge they needed to reach the end points they had chosen. For example, in one school, leaders’ ambition was that, by the end of key stage 3, pupils would be able to write a melody and provide an appropriate musical accompaniment in a ‘classical style’. In this school, leaders had carefully considered and selected the building blocks that pupils would need to reach this specific end point. These included different types of scales and musical devices, such as perfect and imperfect cadences. 59. In most schools, leaders wanted pupils to develop an appreciation of music. Many leaders explained how they wanted pupils to be able to listen to music and then talk knowledgeably about it. However, inspectors found that very few schools had considered and sequenced the knowledge that pupils would need in order to achieve this. Furthermore, leaders sometimes assumed that pupils listening to a wide range of music in itself would develop their ability to listen with increasing discrimination.
Planning the curriculum so that pupils become more ‘musical’
Summary of the research review for curriculum progression A good music education is underpinned by robust, direct and incremental teaching about the technical and constructive aspects of music. Pupils learn this knowledge in the context of music’s history and provenance. This allows them to make increasingly sophisticated and expressive responses. A high-quality music curriculum is likely to: deliberately build pupils’ procedural knowledge of how to control sound provide plentiful opportunities to consolidate procedural knowledge, including using staff notation be built in way that is gradual, iterative and coherent with regard to instrument choice include opportunities for pupils to develop and practise the components of compositions that are set out in the school’s curriculum include tasks at a technical level that are appropriate for pupils to be able to realise their expressive intentions give pupils opportunities to learn about musical culture and repertoire 60. In most secondary schools in our sample, leaders had designed their own music curriculums. Typically, at key stage 3, the music curriculum was organised into termly or half-termly blocks. In most cases, each of these blocks was based on a musical style or genre. 61. We found that, in most schools, the exam specification had become the key stage 4 curriculum. In other words, pupils completed activities set out in the specification, such as composing to a given brief or listening to set works. Fewer schools had seriously considered the smaller chunks of knowledge that pupils needed to learn in order to prepare them well for the end points set out in the specifications. 62. In most schools, leaders had not considered, when designing the music curriculum, what pupils had learned at primary school. Few had discussed curriculum planning with their feeder primary schools or developed a strategy for the music curriculum across the key stages. Sometimes this was because leaders had assumed, in some cases mistakenly, that pupils had done little or no music at primary school. 63. Most schools were able to show inspectors the different activities or topics that pupils covered in each year and key stage. Fewer were able to articulate a clear rationale for the way these projects had been organised and ordered, to show how pupils should progress musically. In most schools, the priority was designing a curriculum that broadened pupils’ experience of different musical genres and styles. They did not sufficiently consider pupils’ musical progression. It was not uncommon, for instance, for leaders to see units of learning as isolated projects, without considering how to build pupils’ knowledge across units. 64. We found that in around a quarter of the schools visited, leaders paid serious attention to making sure that the curriculum supported pupils to become more musical. They deliberately and incrementally developed pupils’ knowledge of technical, constructive and expressive aspects of music. Leaders and teachers in these schools often understood how these aspects were interrelated.
This thematic report draws on findings from 25 primary and 25 secondary schools. This evidence was gathered by His Majesty’s Inspectors and by Ofsted Inspectors who specialise in music and have experience in either the primary or secondary phase. This report draws on findings from research visits. We carried out these visits between December 2022 and June 2023.
We identified a balanced sample of schools to visit in terms of:
•pupil numbers
•levels of deprivation
•school location (urban or rural)
•the school’s current overall effectiveness grade, although inadequate schools were not available for selection
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Mar 8, 2023 · Titled The Power of Music to Change Lives, the refreshed 2022 National Plan for Music Education in England was released on Saturday 25 th June 2022 by the Department for Education (DfE). The 85-page document contains three main chapters, each focusing on one of the three central aims of the plan.
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