‘An advisory panel is not sufficient’, says ISM on music national plan

Following the announcement of an advisory panel to help produce the overdue National Plan for Music Education (NPME), the Incorporated Society of Musicians (ISM) has urged for wider and further consultation. 

The Department for Education (DfE) has said that the plan, refreshed from the 2011 version, will be published ‘early next year’. No specific date has been given, and the update was initially due to be released in 2020.

Although the government's now-published consultation report summarises 5,191 responses to a consultation open between 9 February 2020 and 15 March 2020, the ISM points out that 'the situation has become even worse' during the pandemic, and suggests that any new plan should be 'fully consulted on'. 

In a blog post responding to the consultation report, which will be used by the panel to shape the new plan, the ISM wrote: ‘An advisory panel is not sufficient when so much is at stake, especially when none of the teaching members are obliged to teach the national curriculum.’

This reflects the concerns that have been raised about the make-up of the panel, which includes hub leaders, industry representatives, chief executives, and teachers from academies and free schools. Academies and free schools are not required to follow the national curriculum. 

When approached for further comment, a spokesperson from the ISM added: ‘We are concerned that there has been no clear commitment to a full consultation on the revised National Plan for Music Education. We strongly believe that any revised offer on music education must take into account views from across the sector, rather than being imposed on them.’ 

Responding to MT’s request for comment on its range of panellists, a DfE spokesperson said: ‘We want all schools to have a broad and ambitious music curriculum and the new panel of music industry experts will play a key part in achieving that. 

‘Their wealth of experience across a range of areas, including teaching, will be hugely valuable to the future of music education, helping to inspire a new generation of musicians in this country.’

This echoes Nick Gibb’s comments in the original government press release. 

Issues of wider consultation on a draft version were also raised on the publication of the non-statutory Model Music Curriculum (MMC). The expert panel who worked on the widely-criticised document features many of the same names as the NPME panel, although there have been several new additions. 

Writing about the MMC for MT, Dr Ally Daubney said: ‘Despite the promise, no draft of the MMC was widely shared, which is a serious error because clearly “the sector” cannot and should not get behind something with so many fundamental problems that could have been identified and worked through together.’

The government has not stated whether or not a draft of the new national plan will be shared or consulted upon beyond the panel. 

View the full list of panellists and the music education consultation report here.