Future of the National Plan: a Music Mark consultation

This year, Music Mark travelled up and down the country to consult its membership on the National Plan for Music Education (NPME) and its future.  From heads of Music Services/Hubs, their partners to peripatetic and classroom teaching staff, Music Mark has collated their insight and suggestions to inform its conversations with the Department of Education regarding a continued NPME beyond March 2020. Established in 2011, the policy is England’s first National Plan for Music Education. However its future is now in doubt as government funding for the policy comes to an end in less than two years time.

As part of this nationwide consultation, Music Mark has also worked with the wider sector. Its Summer Summit earlier this year saw nearly 200 delegates discuss key areas such as governance, progression pathways and equity of access, following a keynote speech from Arts Council England CEO Darren Henley, who first reviewed the NPME in 2011. Representatives of Ofsted and the Department of Education were also present at the Summit, bodies with which Music Mark meets regularly to consult and lobby on behalf of its members.

Below, Music Mark shares its October 2018 report on the consultation of Music Mark Members, pulled together by Music Mark Trustee Maureen Hanke. The consultation is ongoing and Music Mark’s Annual Conference this November invites young people to add their voices to the debate. With 95% of Music Hubs, over 100 Hub and Corporate Partners,  students, teachers and professionals from the sector, as well as nearly 5000 School Members now all part of the organisation’s growing membership, Music Mark believes it can offer a fair representation of the music education sector from the Music Service/Hub perspective.