Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the article 'News & campaigns' in the Incorporated Society of Musicians July/August 2022 music journal; and what assessment they have made of the concerns expressed in that article that the Schools White Paper "suggests a possible narrowing of focus away from creative subjects such as music".

The department is grateful to the Incorporated Society of Musicians (ISM) for providing us with a copy of this issue of the Music Journal, which we understand is normally made available solely to its members.

Whilst the department acknowledges that there are challenges to delivering high quality music education in every school, schools the length and breadth of the country are doing just that. The White Paper is clear that ‘as part of a richer school week, all children should be entitled to take part in sport, music and cultural opportunities and that these opportunities are an essential part of a broad and ambitious curriculum’, a point that the ISM itself acknowledged in its response to the White Paper.

The department was pleased to note that the ISM has welcomed the refreshed National Plan for Music Education, which we published in June 2022 and in particular its restatement of the importance of music as an essential part of a broad and ambitious curriculum for all pupils.