The Musicians’ Union has been an active voice in the Review. We have represented members’ strongly held views that music education should be accessible to all children. Photo: ©The MU.
The independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, commissioned by the Government when it took office over a year ago, has published its final report. In response, the Government has published its own statement, broadly endorsing the Review’s recommendations and setting out next steps and timeframes.
The Musicians’ Union has been an active voice in the Review. We have represented members’ strongly held views that music education should be accessible to all children, and that arts subjects have been marginalised in schools due to the last Government’s policies. Members can read our formal written response to the Review here.
Additionally, as a founding partner of the National Education Union’s Arts and Minds Campaign, we have sought to work with as many partners in music and arts education as possible to influence Government policy with a unified and collective voice.
Headline recommendations from the report
Headline recommendations from the Curriculum and Assessment Review’s final report are as follows:
- The EBacc performance measure should be removed. This was widely trailed ahead of the report’s publication and should place fewer restrictions on GCSE choices, encouraging greater uptake of arts subjects.
- There should be more emphasis on music and other enrichment activities as part of education – emphasising that schools should be doing more than just teaching the National Curriculum.
- Programmes of study should be diversified – which for music would mean a broadening of what is taught and a greater awareness of different genres and traditions.
- Qualifications should be reviewed to ensure that GCSE and non-GCSE options are sufficiently distinct, and that qualifications at Key Stage 5 (A level and equivalent) are fit for purpose.
Although the MU welcomes many of the recommendations, we remain concerned that music education as a whole is under-supported
Chris Walters, MU National Organiser for Education, Health and Wellbeing, said:
“We welcome many of the Review’s recommendations, especially the report’s supportive remarks about the importance of music and the removal of the unpopular EBacc. If adopted, these recommendations should lead to improvements in access to arts and music education.
“We now await the Government’s implementation of the Review’s various recommendations, and we will be feeding into the next phase of consultations regarding qualifications, performance measures and any other relevant issues.
“From the Review’s early stages, the MU has pointed out that its narrow scope has meant that several vital issues – including funding, workforce considerations and access to instrumental learning – have been excluded from consideration. Although some of these are addressed as part of different policy initiatives, we remain concerned that music education as a whole is under-supported, especially in terms of funding and support for the workforce.
“Additionally, we still await details of the National Centre for Arts and Music Education. This will encompass Music Hubs from September 2026 and is likely to be particularly significant for MU members.”