Disadvantaged Pupils: Music Attainment Gap
Debate between Baroness Blake of Leeds and Lord Wallace of Saltaire
Baroness Blake of Leeds (Lab)
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.
Lord Wallace of Saltaire (LD)
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?
Baroness Blake of Leeds (Lab)
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.