NPME response: ‘A much more holistic approach to the music education ecosystem’

In common with any document coming out of government, there are always opportunities to criticise and poke fun at the National Plan for Music Education (NPME), but unlike the Model Music Curriculum (MMC), there seems to be nothing in it that is particularly disagreeable or offensive.

The National Plan for Music Education seems more coherent in its second iteration than in the original. Its tighter focus around three interlinked goals creates a much more holistic vision for music across England, which is easier to understand. There is rightly a focus on inclusion and accessibility for all, and the plan does now cover early years to higher education (HE), although admittedly the extremities are not as well served within the plan as the primary and secondary years. Early years campaigners will doubtless be pleased to have been included, but less pleased to get one page devoted to them against the 23 pages accorded to primary and secondary schools.