Calls for a cultural shift in schools
14th March 2025
I was delighted to be invited to attend and speak at the Cumbria Music Hub’s Music Education Conference in late February. Of course, it’s always lovely to be in the Lake District on a sunny spring day but the rays of sunshine were not only outside the amazing Sunbeams Music Centre where we were meeting, but also inside their main hall that morning!
The first session aimed to discuss whether there needed to be a cultural shift to enable schools to empower young people to access, take part in, and enjoy Music and Creative Arts in school. Using an interesting facilitation technique called ‘fishbowl’, Music Mark Trustee and Director of Programmes at the Royal Northern College of Music Professor Jennie Henley opened the discussion with provocations from Conductive Music, a secondary school head of music, a music leader working with children excluded from school, a 6th form student studying at Ullswater Community College and me.
The provocations started a discussion which saw others in the room – mostly classroom music leaders from both primary and secondary schools – contribute thanks to the ‘fishbowl’ methodology, where speakers could take and vacate chairs in the centre of the room to speak and then pass the opportunity to others. Of course, there were clouds on the horizon as the discussion talked about the challenges teachers and leaders face, but there were many rays of light demonstrated by passionate people who truly understood the value and importance of music.
My provocation was directed at the importance of advocating music to parents and carers – for them to understand its value and use their voice to facilitate a cultural shift in the school or schools their children attend.
Parents and carers are a key part of the education ecosystem which we often forget. Parental understanding of the value of Music and the Creative Arts seems to be limited. The emphasis for more than a decade on numeracy and literacy hour, SATS, Progress 8, EBacc, even university and government rhetoric (think back to the ‘Fatima’s next job could be in cyber’ ad) all steer parents away from thinking that the arts and creativity are important. They therefore may not question why their children are not getting access to it, they won’t necessarily see value in paying for it (ie after school clubs, instrumental, dance or drama lessons, ensembles, etc). Consequently, they would not challenge schools when creative subjects are sidelined – whether that’s to focus on assessment such as SATS in Year 6, running them on a carousel in KS3, or not offering subjects at KS4 and/or 5.
There is a need for a cultural shift. We need to do more to help parents understand why creative subjects are important – not just as part of a broad and balanced curriculum but also for the wider benefits – learning, social, health, employability etc. Teaching a year 3 class curriculum music and whole class instrumental lessons, for instance, isn’t necessarily going to result in 30 performers, but it will teach skills which can and do contribute to society. I often hear stories of a pupil who is attending school regularly only because of a creative subject they’re learning, or a student who a teacher had written off suddenly becoming more engaged in education as a whole because of a particular creative subject. We all know this, and school leaders and classroom teachers are hearing this too (or at least I am hoping they are hearing it more), but how do we get the message through to parents?
My views were welcomed, and together with the other provocations which started the discussion, provided real food for thought. Teachers clearly felt valued, supported and inspired by talking with colleagues, although a few pointed out that it wasn’t the delegates there who needed to hear this discussion but national, local and school leaders! I would agree, and by far the most powerful statement we heard that they need to hear came from someone who sadly couldn’t join the event due to illness, but did share their thoughts in an email Jennie read out.
I have been given permission to share it here and will give Tamsin (the 6th-form student from Ullswater Community College) the final word:
My name is Tamsin, and I’m a 17-year-old composer and trumpet player from Cumbria. Music has shaped my life in ways I could never have imagined—from composing for national ensembles to playing the trumpet in groups like the Hallé Youth Orchestra, National Youth Orchestra, National Youth Concert Band, and Penrith Town Band.
Some of my most valuable musical moments haven’t come from exams or structured lessons, but from experiencing music—playing alongside incredible musicians, hearing my compositions performed, or simply feeling the energy of an ensemble working together. Every student should have access to these moments. But in many schools, music is reduced to the bare minimum—a few lessons squeezed into a packed timetable, with little time for real exploration. If we want young people to truly engage with music, we need to give them the space to experience it fully.
The question today is whether we need a cultural shift to enable schools to empower young people in music and the creative arts. I believe we do. We need to stop seeing music as just another subject and start seeing it as a living, breathing experience—something that shapes individuals, strengthens communities, and stays with people for life.
I am incredibly lucky to have had so many musical experiences both inside and outside school. But music education shouldn’t be a privilege—it should be a right. Every student deserves the chance to feel the joy of making music, to experience its power, and to carry that with them, whatever path they choose.
