Music Mark awarded the CfSA Kitemark

The CfSA (Council for Subject Associations) have awarded Music Mark their new kitemark to recognise formally that we are a subject association that has done excellent work in supporting schools and teachers with music education over a sustained period of time.

The CfSA is an umbrella organisation, independent of Government, which represents subject associations nationally (from all curriculum subjects, Art to English, Music to Maths) and allows them to speak with a single voice on key issues. The Subject Associations that make up the CfSA membership share expertise on their curriculum subject to serve teachers, headteachers, governors, leaders, academics, students and governments. The CfSA kitemark is awarded to those Subject Associations who have demonstrated excellent work over a period of at least three years.

To achieve this kitemark, we submitted evidence of the work we have done to support the music education sector, described below. This work aligns with our mission, as outlined in our 2023 – 2026 Strategy:

‘Supporting, connecting and influencing in pursuit of a high quality, equitable, diverse and inclusive music education for all children and young people.’

• Our Music Mark Schools programme reaches over 3,000 schools each year who benefit from access to research-informed advice and guidance, training, events, resources and newsletters.
• Our Training & Events programme includes webinars specifically targeted towards teachers and schools, ensuring that teachers are provided with the highest quality opportunities for professional development.
• Music Mark resources are valued in the sector, with policy summaries, toolkits and templates, alongside practical resources for teachers to support their practice. A highlight of these resources is the A Common Approach curriculum, which has been written (and continually updated) by experts in different instrument teaching over the 20 years since its original publication. This includes recent additions for the iPad, Tabla, and Digital Audio Workstations.
• We respond to the needs of educators; for example, in response to restrictions affecting music education throughout the COVID-19 pandemic we published well-researched advice (Music Unlocked) that proved invaluable to the continuance of music delivery in schools.
• Our advocacy work is key to our influence, we advocate on local, regional and national levels for the importance of music education, shaping policy by bringing insights from the sector to government and arms-length bodies across the UK. This includes our CEO, Bridget Whyte’s work on the Monitoring Board for the National Plan for Music Education and the Expert Advisory Panel.
• We keep our members and broader audience up to date with the latest government policy, sector news and research through our News site, social media pages, and regular newsletters including our termly Schools & Teachers newsletter.

Much of this is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of the work we do regularly to support schools and teachers in the music education sector, and the CfSA’s Kitemark demonstrates the excellence of our work as a Subject Association.

Find out more about becoming a Music Mark member and join us to access all of these benefits and more!