Neither the DfE nor ACE have provided an evidence-based rationale for the Hub investment programme for reducing the number of Hub Lead Organisations so drastically. Despite a consultation process where the majority of knowledgeable respondents requested the smallest reduction in the numbers of Hubs, the DfE and ACE ignored these responses and pressed ahead with their clearly preferred option of slashing the numbers to almost a third.
Mr Gibb's response to my letter [dated 8 November] seemed to suggest that the reason was that a new Hub structure was needed to reflect the increase in the number of multi-academy trusts. He asserted that ‘Better strategic collaboration across larger areas will be beneficial for schools, families, and children and young people as it will improve the quality, breadth, and consistency of music education’ but to my knowledge there has been no research carried out to support this assertion and no evidence provided to justify it, in spite of the fact that ACE has been collecting increasingly voluminous data every year from all Hubs for the last 10 years.
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