Government increases recruitment target for trainee secondary music teachers

The Department for Education has announced a 3.8% increase in its secondary music teacher recruitment target for 2024/25.

The uplift in the government’s postgraduate initial teacher training target comes amid a 9.1% decrease across all subjects.

Updated annually, the DfE’s targets estimate the number of qualified teachers required for each secondary subject as well as general primary teaching.

To meet supply for secondary music, the government aims to recruit 820 trainee teachers for 2024/25, up from 790 for 2023/24, and 470 for 2022/23.

However, the 3.8% increase for next academic year follows the government meeting just 27% of its recruitment target for 2023/24.

The 2024/25 target also comes after the reintroduction of the teacher training bursary for music, offering £10,000 to trainees starting courses between September 2024 and July 2025.

Chris Walters, national organiser for education at the Musicians’ Union (which works in partnership with the National Education Union), said: ‘The government is right to identify that more secondary music teachers are needed, but after recruiting 216 teachers against a target of 790 last year, it will need a drastically new approach if it hopes to hit a target of 820 this year.

‘The reinstatement of the £10,000 training bursary is a good start, but the systematic marginalisation of music in schools under the Conservative government means that many prospective music teachers no longer see the role as a viable or appealing career path. Until the government’s messaging about arts subjects changes, and music teachers start to feel supported and valued, there is little hope that the recent appalling recruitment figures will improve.’

Music is one of eight subjects to see an increase in its recruitment target for 2024/25, with 10 subjects seeing their targets reduced.

The DfE said: ‘Targets reflect changes in both supply and demand; different drivers may act upon targets for different subjects. For example, more favourable physics teacher retention forecasts this year have acted to reduce the physics target [down by 20.2%]. By contrast, less favourable drama ITT recruitment has acted to increase this year’s drama target [up by 50%].”

However, Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and Colleges Leaders union, said: ‘The decision to reduce the 2024/25 target for secondary postgraduate trainees – whatever the technical explanation – will be regarded with suspicion as it obviously looks like an attempt to make the recruitment figures look better’.

The 2024/25 target for primary postgraduate ITT trainees, meanwhile, increased by 2.4%, despite falling pupil numbers, which the DfE said is ‘principally the result of less favourable retention forecasts this year’.