ACE music education consultation ‘losing focus’, warns charity

Music education charity Music Mark has said it is concerned “a focus on provision of an equitable, diverse and inclusive music education is being lost” in a consultation into music education reforms being led by Arts Council England (ACE).

Last Wednesday (4 January), ACE launched a consultation into the Music Hub Investment Programme, a key part of the government’s refreshed National Plan for Music Education.

The consultation forms part of the funder’s dialogue with the music education sector around plans to reduce the number of Hub Lead Organisations (HLOs) in England, which lead music education hubs that facilitate music education across schools in their area.

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In a statement released on its website, Music Mark says many of its members are worried about the content and process of the consultation.

“The current conversation and consultation on the Investment Process has the potential to obscure the vision we are all keen to achieve,” Music Mark Chief Executive Bridget Whyte said.

The charity says reducing the number of HLOs will make them too remote to serve large areas and would introduce an additional tier of management and administration, leading to increased strategic costs “at the expense of delivery to children and young people”.

It added that it “remains unaware of any supporting evidence that suggests significantly fewer HLOs will support better musical outcomes for children and young people,” and that the rationale published on ACE’s website “does not provide that evidence”.

Music Mark’s members have also raised concerns over the timeline of the consultation – with respondents having 11 days in total to submit feedback before the closing date of 15 January.

“If we want to increase equitable, diverse, inclusive access to musical learning, we need to keep children and young people at the centre of our thinking about the future structure with which to do that,” Whyte added.

“The current network of music education hub partnerships know and understand what is needed to support schools and to overlay that provision with a broader offer. 

“I would therefore strongly urge the Department for Education to listen carefully to the feedback from the sector as it agrees the next step in the process. We cannot afford to lose the momentum from the past 10 years through a lack of recognition of the great work achieved to date by the existing hub partnerships.”

The charity has urged all organisations with an interest in music education in England to provide “an honest, professional response” to the consultation.