The new initiative will promote arts education by signposting careers guidance and opportunities, as well as supporting teaching through a new online CPD offer. Image credit: Shutterstock.
The Government has announced plans to develop a National Centre for Arts and Music Education, for launch in September 2026.
This initiative will play an important role in delivering Labour’s manifesto commitments relating to music and arts education.
Supporting children and young people to pursue their creative interests
While it is not yet clear what form the National Centre will take, the Government says it will “promote arts education – including signposting to industry-backed careers guidance, and to opportunities to support children and young people to pursue their artistic and creative interests in school, including through our national network of Music Hubs.”
It will also “support excellent arts teaching – through a new online CPD offer for primary and secondary school teachers, and support to access the brilliant teacher development provision available from cultural providers.”
Additionally, it will “support partnerships – bolstering collaboration between schools and the many arts and cultural organisations with fantastic offers for children and young people, to maximise those opportunities for the most children, no matter where they live.”
The MU welcomes this proposal
Chris Walters, MU National Organiser for Education, said:
“The Musicians’ Union welcomes the proposal for a National Centre for Arts and Music Education, especially its confirmation that Music Hubs will continue to play a role.
“As with any initial policy announcement, there is now a huge amount of detail to be worked through, and we look forward to forward to discussing with Government how the National Centre will be funded, how and what it will deliver, and how MU members in Music Hubs will be supported to continue their vital work as part of the National Centre.
“Funding for Music Hubs is currently only confirmed until August 2025, so we also look forward to confirmation that Hubs will receive a funding bridge until the launch of the National Centre in September 2026.”
Making the case for increased support for music education
The MU is affiliated to Labour, and in recent years we have worked hard to make the case to Labour for increased support for music education.
In 2022 we worked with the Fabian Society, a Labour-affiliated think tank, on a report entitled “A National Music Service”. This proposed that Labour should launch a national music education service and invest more in music in schools.
In the run up to the last General Election, we were able to secure a range of relevant manifesto commitments from Labour, including that the new Government would develop a National Music Education Network, an idea that traced back to the Fabian Society report’s recommendations.
We will now work with the Government to do all we can to ensure the success of the National Centre for Arts and Music Education, while continuing our campaigning work to ensure that every child has meaningful access to music and arts subjects in school.