ISM’s Deborah Annetts calls for policy change in keynote speech

Chief executive of the Incorporated Society of Musicians (ISM) Deborah Annetts has called for policy change in music education in her address at the Delivering Excellence in Teaching Arts in Schools conference. 

In the ISM’s first major policy contribution since new education secretary Nadhim Zahawi was appointed, Annetts brought attention to the exclusion of arts subjects in the English Baccalaureate (EBacc), as well as in Progress 8 accountability measures. 

Arts in decline

Speaking on behalf of the subject association for music, Annetts said that the EBacc and Progress 8 ‘disincentivise’ schools from offering arts subjects. 

Addressing an audience of teachers and senior leaders, Annetts made several suggestions for policy change and highlighted the value of music education for young people, pointing out that in his speech at the Conservative Conference on 4 October, Zahawi promised to be led by evidence in his decision making.

Annetts said: ‘We need to reform accountability measures such as Progress 8 so that Arts education can be supported not restricted and to allow for parity of subject status,’ adding that a Progress 5 would ‘help maintain the broad and balanced curriculum’ and allow more flexibility in subject choices.

'Golden opportunity'

According to the ISM chief executive, 'it is clear that the appetite for change is growing and now is a golden opportunity for the DfE to reverse the damaging policies of the last decade'. She added that 'we need a more diverse approach than the ideological knowledge-rich curriculum of Nick Gibb’, who was replaced as schools minister by Robin Walker last month.

It was also acknowledged that declines in arts subjects can be attributed to factors outside of the classroom: Annetts quoted Anita Datta’s MT opinion piece, which highlights that ‘the obstacles facing our students from working-class and impoverished backgrounds are quite different from those of their middle-class counterparts’. 

Additionally, Annetts drew on Ofsted’s Mark Phillips’ presentation at the Music & Drama Education Expo in September in her discussion of the value of a ‘musical music teacher’. Phillips’ session can be watched in full here. 

The conference comes following a summer exam results season which showed that GCSE and A Level Music entries are continuing to fall, and ahead of the refreshed National Plan for Music Education coming next year. 

The suggestions made in the speech are set to be expanded upon in the ISM Trust's online conference in November.