Bridget’s Blog: A Service, a Network, and now a Centre – but what is it?
4th April 2025
It seems like ages ago, but it is only a year since the Labour Party, as part of ramping up their profile ahead of an expected general election at some point in 2024, published their vision for the ‘Arts, Culture and the Creative Industries’.
Creating Growth provided a clear indication of their plans if they were given the opportunity to govern and within it were some really positive statements about arts education and in particular the importance of music education – ‘Labour believes that every child should have access to a high-quality music education’. Great! And I was also really pleased that they went further, stating, ‘Across England, Music Education Hubs provide brilliant opportunities for young people’. Also great! Of course, the document recognised there were challenges – that there was ‘inequitable’ provision. The value of music, the work of hubs and the challenge of inequitable access were all things the sector could agree on, but I think everyone was perhaps a little surprised that their ‘big idea’ was to create a National Music Education Network.
We all scratched our heads and wondered what this might actually look like, and wondered if it was linked to a Fabian Society proposal which talked about a National Music Service. But we all knew it was a promise made in opposition when an election still seemed quite a way off.
Imagine our surprise then that the idea of a National Music Education Network made the cut within the Labour Party Manifesto. Within their plan to ‘Break down barriers to opportunity’, they again made a specific promise to set up this Network – now confirming that they saw this as a ‘one-stop shop with information on courses and classes for parents, teachers and children’.
Taking power in the summer last year, we awaited the next steps. It soon became clear that there were many challenges the government needed to focus on. Music education was not likely to be a priority as they started ticking off things they had promised – the Curriculum and Assessment Review being the key one in Education.
However, the Network was a manifesto promise, so a number of us thought it might be useful to help the government think through this idea. In the autumn, Music Mark brought together colleagues working at a national level. It was a useful discussion, and two more took place in January. Whilst not providing any insight into government thinking, representatives from both the Department for Education (DfE) and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) were in the room for these discussions, and a summary was sent through to them.
But as I was pulling together the summary of the most recent meeting to share, what should land but a statement from the Department for Education that there would be a National Centre for Arts and Music Education. We know that, although not stated explicitly, this Centre will replace the idea of a National Music Education Network, delivering the manifesto promise and broadening the focus from music to include other art forms – Drama, Dance and Art and Design.
We have a little information so far about what this centre might do:
The appointment of a new National Centre for Arts and Music Education to support the delivery of high-quality arts education through a new online training offer for teachers, promoting opportunities for children and young people to pursue their artistic and creative interests in school – including through the government’s network of Music Hubs – and boost partnerships between schools and cultural providers.
We know that the Centre is due to be in place from September 2026 and that there will be an open procurement process to appoint an organisation or consortium to act as the centre. Part of its role will also be to act as the fundholder for the Music Hub grant (and possibly other Department for Education funding for arts and music education?). But how will it sit alongside existing arts and music education work? What will it mean for the Music Hub Network? How will it engage with/support/be influenced by the arts Subject Associations (one each for Dance, Drama and Art and Design plus the three for Music)? Will its remit be just school-age Arts and Music Education or broader? How much autonomy will it have?
I am very aware that these and many other questions will be going through everyone’s minds, and this is likely to already be a discussion topic in staff rooms, team meetings, and even at the dinner table (I’ve certainly bent my husband’s ear about it!). With that in mind, Music Mark will be running an online Big Meet for its membership on the 30th April. It is likely that our questions won’t be answered for some time, but can we at least identify the key things we need to know and that the Department for Education needs to consider as they develop their thinking?
Do join us on the 30th, but as a starter for ten, what I do know is that whatever it is called and whatever art forms it covers, music education appears to be on the Department for Education’s agenda, and Music Hubs are going to be part of the future. This has to be a good thing. We just have to collectively support, connect and influence the government to ensure this new Centre is what it needs to be, enhancing the great work that is already being done in music and wider arts education.
