Westminster Education Forum

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Next steps for the Music Curriculum in England and implementation of the new National Plan

October 2022


Price: £95 PLUS VAT
Format: DOWNLOADABLE PDF


This conference examined the next steps for the music curriculum in England.


Stakeholders and policymakers discussed priorities for the National Plan for Music Education, including learning from best practice and addressing regional inequalities affecting music in schools.


Delegates assessed the implementation of the National Plan, its impact on curriculum design, and schools’ adaption to the model curriculum, as well as areas for improvement following Ofsted’s review of factors that can affect the quality of music education. 


Sessions also looked at the position of music within the school timetable, methods to boost uptake at GCSE and A-Level, the ongoing catch-up following the pandemic, and establishing a skilled workforce with sufficient resources.


Delegates were also able to hear from:


  • Phil Castang, Chair, Music Education Council; and CEO, Music for Youth - on improving accessibility and diversity, and creating inclusive opportunities for young people in music
  • Yogesh Dattani, EDI Lead, Music Mark; Head of Ealing Music Service, Ealing Council - on best practice for local authorities in music education
  • Tom Redmond, Director of Music & Joint Principal, Chetham’s School of Music - on best practice for music and academic education for students
  • Ben Stevens, Director of Music, Hertfordshire Music Service - on addressing regional inequalities affecting music in schools and increasing uptake

We are pleased to have been able to include keynote sessions with Bridget Whyte, Chief Executive Officer, Music Mark; and Member, Expert Advisory Panel for the Model Music Curriculum; David Stanley, Disability and Access Ambassador for Arts and Culture; Founder and Director, The Music Man Project; and Member, Expert Advisory Panel for the Model Music Curriculum; and Ian Burton, CEO, Nottingham Music Hub.


The conference was an opportunity for stakeholders to consider the issues alongside key policy officials who attended from DfE; DCMS; ETI, NI; and Creative Wales.



This pack includes

  • Dropbox video recording of the conference
  • PDF transcript of the discussion, including all speaker remarks and Q&A
  • PDFs of speakers' slide material (subject to permission)
  • PDFs of the delegate pack, including speaker biographies and attendee list
  • PDFs of delegate articles