Access to Musical Education in School

Lord German Excerpts

Wednesday 18th October 2023 Lords Chamber

[Lord German (LD)]

My Lords, to echo the words of the noble Baroness, Lady McIntosh, this has been a passionate debate of people who are all in one team—the music team—who seek to find ways to deal with the inequalities that exist. Summing up what I have taken from each contribution, I think the Minister has to answer three key questions. First is the need for great teachers—that has been obvious from the debate. Second is the need for increased resources and capacity, in particular to deal with the inequality of provision. Some of that inequality is directed towards those with disabilities, as outlined by the noble Baroness, Lady Garden, and the noble Lord, Lord Berkeley. Third is the need to value music education, not least in our curriculum.

I would like to turn back a page. The national plan outlines on page 7 the purpose of music education— I believe these words were written by the noble Baroness, Lady Fleet, but even if they were not, they are very good words:

“For some, music will be the foundation of a career in one of the country’s most important and globally-recognised industries. For others, it will provide experiences and skills which develop their creativity. For many, music will simply be a source of joy, comfort and companionship throughout their lives”.


I will take that further. As the noble Lord, Lord Knight, indicated, some fundamental skills are not mentioned in that report which are crucial to understanding why music education is so important. Music education contains a huge range of important and transferable life skills. For example, music provides an essential understanding of the key skill of being on time and in time. It involves working collaboratively; as we have heard, ensemble work, at whatever level, requires discipline and develops an ability to work closely with others on a shared outcome. It also involves confidence—the ability to speak out and express yourself. Listening skills are fundamental to music; the ability to hear others while performing yourself, to listen to your own performance and to appreciate changes in dynamics and timbre, all lead to better listening skills, which are transferable to much that we do in life. If the ability to use time well, work collaboratively with others and have good listening skills is important for the personal, social and economic well-being of our country, we must ensure that this subject area is recognised as a primary way of delivering the benefit.

However, to deliver real inclusion and game-changing music provision for all pupils, we need a fresh approach and increased investment. We need to raise the quality of music education, extend its reach and build the confidence of non-specialist teachers, particularly in primary schools, who have not had much of a mention tonight. Our music educators have the potential to improve lives and give young people the opportunity to develop and believe in themselves as individuals and contributing members of society. If all young people received high-quality curriculum music at school, supported by a properly trained workforce who could identify and encourage those who wished to go further, we would be in a much better position to allocate resources wisely. Without proper funding, equality of access will never be achieved.