Data from the Department for Education has revealed the government met only 27% of its recruitment target for trainee secondary music teachers for 2023/24.
Just 219 students have begun postgraduate initial teacher training courses against a target of 790, according to the Initial Teacher Training Census.
The latest figures form part of a downward trend of missed recruitment targets for music, falling from 64% for 2022/23 and 71% for 2021/22.
Chris Walters, national organiser for education at the Musicians’ Union, said: ‘The Department for Education’s recruitment of just 27% of its target for new classroom music teachers sadly shows how unappealing a career in music teaching has become – understandably so, given music’s precarious status in schools.
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