Schools: Music and Drama Access

Lord Wigley Excerpts

Tuesday 17th December 2024 Lords Chamber

[Lord Wigley (PC)]

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?

[Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Lab)]

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.