Schools: Music and Drama Access

Baroness Ramsey of Wall Heath Excerpts

Tuesday 17th December 2024 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Baroness Ramsey of Wall Heath]

To ask His Majesty’s Government what steps they intend to take to ensure that all pupils in state schools have access to music and drama.

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

I thank my noble friend for her Question, which seems particularly apt given that it is Christmas week and so many children are involved in pantos and choirs. One of the aims of the independent curriculum and assessment review is to deliver a broader curriculum, so that pupils do not miss out on subjects such as music and drama. The Government have committed to ensuring that all students can study a creative or vocational subject until they are 16, reflecting this in accountability measures, and to launching a new national music education network to help families, children and schools access music opportunities, as was in our manifesto.

[Baroness Ramsey of Wall Heath (Lab)]

My Lords, the latest OECD PISA assessment shows that UK 15 year- olds have among the lowest life satisfaction. Fewer than two-thirds feel that they belong at school, in contrast with an average of three-quarters in other countries. Many studies have shown how creativity can enhance young people’s welfare and well-being. Will my noble friend the Minister ensure that proper consideration is given in Professor Becky Francis’s curriculum review, which she referred to, to the provision of creative subjects such as music and drama for all secondary state school pupils, not just the relatively few who study them in preparation for external examinations?

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

It is essential that our education system enables children and young people to develop the knowledge, skills and attributes required to thrive and be ready for life and work. The independent curriculum review will ensure children enjoy a richer, broader, cutting-edge curriculum that gives them strong foundations in core subjects and the opportunity to enjoy creative subjects. This will build on our commitment to high standards, ensuring that no child or young person is left behind. It is our goal that the arts are accessible to all and not the preserve of a privileged few.