"All young people should be able to access and explore ways of making music which resonate with them both as individuals and collectively." Image credit: Musicians' Union.
The refreshed National Plan for Music Education, subtitled The Power of Music to Change Lives, set out expectations for state-funded schools and music hubs in England to deliver high quality, inclusive music education.
In February last year, Music Mark published a report which concluded that music hubs face an annual funding gap of £32.3 million if they are to deliver the ambitions set out in the National Plan.
In the context of overall education spending, this is a relatively modest amount, but can make a transformative difference to young people's access to instrumental and vocal music making across the country.
We must demand better for our educators and our children
All young people should be able to access and explore ways of making music which resonate with them both as individuals and collectively.
Austerity measures and cuts instigated by the coalition government in 2010, overseen and signed off by Michael Gove, marked the beginning of a rapid and relentless erosion of music and the creative arts from education at primary and secondary levels. These are also subjects which encourage critical thinking, reflection and help with development of interpersonal skills. They offer alternative qualification pathways which are really valuable.
Music hubs are increasingly struggling to recruit the teachers they so desperately need. The situation is made worse due to the lack of music training, which was routinely made available to trainee teachers in the past. Newly qualified primary teachers are telling us that now they are receiving either no music input at all in their training, or maybe a couple of hours if they're lucky. The cuts to training bursaries, together with prohibitive costs incurred in becoming qualified, have intensified the current crisis in music education.
An inequality we cannot accept
Music is not a luxury. Yet in many cases, sustained instrumental and vocal tuition is effectively restricted to those who can afford it.
Too often, funding pressures exclude these activities altogether. Despite it still being part of a broad and balanced curriculum on paper, classroom music has disappeared altogether from some schools, along with singing assemblies, school bands, orchestras, lunchtime and after school clubs. All of these groups offer young people the opportunity to experience social interaction through making music at a time when we know young people are experiencing isolation and feeling increasingly vulnerable and are more susceptible to social anxiety. This is an inequality that we cannot accept.
It is becoming increasingly common for young people to go through their entire school life without ever experiencing singing together, without ever having a go at playing any instrument at all, making music of any kind. Without experiencing the sense of connection and belonging these opportunities can bring.
Working together to make positive change
In the East of England, our local music hub is part of a partnership called the Little Beats Project, which brings together the National Literacy Trust, local arts organisations, freelance musicians, primary schools and libraries. Together with the YMCA Family Hubs, the Little Beats Project reaches out to the youngest children in our communities, with their families, at places where they can meet and access the activities. Unity works.
Let's make sure the government acts on the vision outlined in the National Plan for Music Education.
Music education for the many, not the few
The Musicians' Union motion at Congress 2026, which passed unanimously, calls on the TUC to:
- Write to the Secretary of State for Education to request a review of the funding and operation of Music Hubs to ensure that all children can access sustained instrumental tuition, regardless of ability to pay.
- Urge the Government to undertake a review of the music education workforce — including both visiting music teachers and classroom teachers — covering pay, employment terms, recruitment, retention and professional development.
- Request a review of the criteria by which teacher training bursaries are awarded to particular subjects, in order to ensure that all shortage subjects are covered by bursaries.
We'll also be taking these asks to decision-makers directly at Labour Party Conference at the end of September. If you're attending Labour Party Conference, come and meet the Musicians' Union team at stand F8 to discuss how we can secure a stronger future for music education.