Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many new musical instruments have been provided to schools under the National Plan for Music Education, published on 25 June 2022.

In June 2022, the Department for Education and Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport published the National Plan for Music Education and set out the expectation that from the 2023/24 academic year, state-funded schools should deliver high quality curriculum music for at least one hour a week in Key Stages 1 to 3, supported by co-curricular learning, and musical experiences.

The latest data for the 2022/23 academic year shows over 85,500 hours were spent teaching music in secondary schools in England to years 7 to 13 in a typical week, more than at any time since 2014/15. At Key Stage 3, the 2022/23 academic year saw over 59,000 hours of music being taught in a typical week. These are the highest levels since 2011/12.

The Department also surveyed head teachers in May 2022. The results showed that among schools providing timetabled music teaching, the average duration received by pupils was 47 minutes in a typical week. It was reported that secondary school pupils received more timetabled music teaching each week on average (58 minutes compared to 45 minutes for primary pupils). The Department plans to continue to monitor teaching time in music over the coming years.

As part of the refreshed Plan, the Government will continue to invest £79 million per year in Music Hubs, who have a key role in supporting schools to provide high quality music provision, as well as £25 million for musical instruments. This funding will increase the existing stock available to all pupils. The funding will be given to Music Hub Lead Organisations to distribute as appropriate from Autumn 2024.