New Ofsted music lead takes over from Mark Phillips

Christopher Stevens HMI has been announced as the new subject lead for music at schools watchdog Ofsted. He takes over from Mark Phillips who will return to his role as senior HMI in London full-time. 

A qualified teacher and an advanced skills teacher, Stevens has taught music across Key Stages 1-5 and has held senior management roles in schools, including the chief executive role at a multi-academy trust. 

Aside from music, his areas of expertise include mathematics and school improvement.

On his appointment, Stevens told MT: 'It is an honour to be appointed as Ofsted’s subject lead for music. I am excited about building on the findings of our recent research review. This review starts from the assumption that "a central purpose of good music education is for pupils to make more music, think more musically and consequently become more musical".

'I am looking forward to working with music educators to champion the place a high-quality music education plays for all pupils in the curriculum.'

Advocating for good music education

In a Twitter thread wishing music teachers a happy new year, former music lead Phillips announced the news, writing: ‘In news from Ofsted, I’m pleased to introduce Christopher Stevens HMI as our new subject lead for music. 

‘I know that you’ll make Christopher very welcome and will continue to work together to champion the role that high quality music education plays in every pupil’s curriculum.’

In a reply to Bridget Whyte, chief executive of subject association Music Mark, Phillips added that he will ‘continue to advocate for good music education’. 

When approached by MT for further comment, Phillips added: 'I know that, as a former music teacher, school leader and an HMI, [Stevens] is aware of the many challenges but also the huge benefits of a good music education.

'The messages from Ofsted over the years have been consistent, both in terms of the need for time given to the music curriculum and for that curriculum to be robust and of high quality. I'm delighted that Christopher will be continuing this work and taking our music inspection work to the next stage, including our next subject report.'

Mark Phillips at Ofsted

Joining Ofsted in 2006, Phillips worked in the music team under Tony Knight HMI that produced the Ofsted report 'Making More of Music', before being appointed national advisor for music in September 2009. 

He held this post until 2013, during which time he was the author of the triennial report, videos and guidance, 'Wider Still, and Wider'. In his role as senior HMI in London, Phillips was also asked to take on the music subject lead role from September 2020 until December 2021.

Phillips regularly spoke publicly about best practice in music education in schools, particularly following the publication of Ofsted’s music research review, which he worked on. He also took part in a number of conferences and panel discussions, including the Music & Drama Education Expo and the Westminster Education Forum music policy conference.

During his time as Ofsted’s national lead for music, Phillips’ key and repeated message has been that ‘just doing music isn’t enough’. He has pushed for well-sequenced, ‘high quality’ music education which facilitates musical understanding through the ‘three pillars’: technical, constructive, expressive.

Echoing a sentiment he expressed in his presentation at the Expo, Phillips tweeted, directed towards music teachers: 'We don't underestimate the challenges that you face. We also know that, taught well, music education changes lives. So, thank you, and thank you for your support during 2021.'