Curriculum & Assessment Review: Music Mark Summary
5th November 2025
It has been a year since the Call for Evidence for the Curriculum & Assessment Review opened, marking the start of evidence-gathering towards the independent review of the curriculum, assessment and qualifications system in England commissioned by the UK government. In March 2025, the interim report provided positive indications for creative subjects, along with the dialogue that continued with subject associations throughout the academic year. The final report titled: Curriculum and Assessment Review: Building a world-class curriculum for all was published today.
Music Mark is incredibly proud to have worked alongside other subject associations to inform the final curriculum and assessment review report and its recommendations for music (see Fig. 1 below). We were pleased to hear from the Department for Education that they ‘are clear that the arts are an entitlement within the national curriculum for every pupil, not an optional extra.’
We anticipated the arrival of the final report and were hopeful about the potential of the recommendations, as the interim report stated the aim was to achieve ‘a broader curriculum, with improved access to music, […and] an assessment system that captures: the strengths of every child and young person’ (2025, Department for Education).
As a membership organisation, our next steps are to give guidance on the implications of the final report and work with partners to see the recommendations realised in a way that delivers our intentions for a music education that is accessible to all and representative of the rich cultural diversity music has to offer.
Music Mark values the place of music in the Curriculum and Assessment Review final report. We would like to highlight the following specific recommendations for the interest of our membership:
Removal of the EBacc (Page 127)
Music Mark has supported fellow subject associations and the Arts & Minds campaign to advocate for the removal of the EBacc as a key measure for school performance. We are pleased to see this as a recommendation and are optimistic that the options for KS4 qualifications, including the combination available in the newly named ‘Academic breadth bucket’, will give scope for pupil choice and options for creative subjects and the humanities. Whilst it will take time to work out the logistics of how young people will be able to select their combination of subject qualifications, seeing the word ‘entitlement’ next to music is the strong message about the subject that we at Music Mark believe, and the CAR panel have reinforced this.
Diversifying programmes of study (Page 51)
The review panel recommends updating subject content and Programmes of Study to reflect a broader range of perspectives and experiences, while retaining foundational disciplinary knowledge. Music Mark welcomes and supports the recommendation and has been actively campaigning since our ‘Talk into Action’ campaign for greater emphasis on curriculum diversity, and agrees with the statement that ‘diverse contributions to subject disciplines enable a complete, broad and balanced curriculum’. An area for consideration is the emphasis given to the need for reading notation, which, whilst it is a useful tool for accessing many areas of music, is not a necessity for the mastery and development of music. Furthermore, the review calls for reducing GCSE exam volume (p.135), which could open up greater opportunities for making music GCSE assessment more accessible.
Enrichment at 16-19 (Page 166)
One recommendation for 16-19 study programmes recognises the wide-ranging benefits of extra-curricular offerings, and suggests that the ‘focus should be on applied knowledge and transferable skills that will enable learners to step confidently into adulthood’. Music Mark hopes that this enrichment offering both remains an addition to, and not at the expense of, the curriculum, and is provided with further funding to ensure that this does not result in further burden on the workload of teaching staff.
Non-qualification activity (Page 196)
Though not specifically intended in reference to music, we have observed the recommendation to consider whether ‘certain elements of non-qualification activity should be made mandatory so that learners’ access to opportunities is more consistent’. This highlights that the role of educators is not wholly reliant on what can be recorded as a grade or a qualification and that music should be part of school life for its own unique value. However, we are aware that if there is not an accountability measure, this is unlikely to be fully resourced and comes back to the concern of workload and teacher recruitment.
Climate change & sustainability (Page 40)
Music Mark is heartened to see the recommendation for both the educational and pedagogical consideration of Climate education and sustainability as a component of ‘Preparing learners for a changing world’. As discussed in our sustainability campaign, This Is Not a Rehearsal, and subsequent UCL research commissioned by Music Mark, we are committed to embedding climate awareness into the curriculum and strongly advocate for the need to consider the impact of teaching on sustainability.
Technical award for music (Page 100)
With reference to Key Stage 4, the report recommends that there is clearer differentiation between the GCSE and Technical Award to ensure that they are fit for purpose and support ‘pathways […] for different cohorts and facilitate progression to further study or careers in the music industry’. We hope that this has a resultant impact on the uptake of music at further and higher education. With such a promising championing of the arts and commitment to rebalancing the curriculum, Music Mark hopes that the Department of Education reconsiders the removal of the bursary for PGCE Secondary Music in order to facilitate the recruitment of a new, skilled and committed generation of teachers.
Music (access, inclusion and SEND) (Page 96)
The section dedicated to music begins by reiterating the decline in learners taking music past the compulsory stage and the substantial ‘evidence of inequitable access to and success in Music’, which has the ‘highest disadvantage attainment gap of any subject at GCSE’. The report points to responses to the Call for Evidence which suggest that ‘GCSE Music becomes inaccessible to most students unless they have external or extra-curricular tuition.’ Music Mark hopes that the recognition of these barriers in the report will result in clear measures to level out this inequality and a renewed curriculum that focuses on access for all, including SEND and those from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Music (access to services and support) (Page 98)
Music Mark was pleased to see the reference to the music hub partnerships on page 98, and we acknowledge the remarkable work carried out by music hubs and services across the country. We still await more news on the National Centre for Arts and Music and will pursue the positivity of the review to ensure that this connects with the network of music services working tirelessly to deliver music education in many forms. We would welcome further details regarding the review panel’s recommendation for ‘ways to better optimise the investment’ and ask to be a part of the discussion to ensure that any changes are working for the benefit of both schools and music services.
Commenting on the report and government response, Bridget Whyte, CEO of Music Mark said:
“This is a significant moment for education in England, and for music within it. But is it only the start of the process and over the coming months and years Music Mark looks forward to connecting government with the music education sector through its membership and in partnership with the other Subject Associations, to develop the right conditions to deliver the aspirations this review and government response have. We will start this by holding a Big Meet in partnership with the ISM and MTA on the 12th November directly after the Secretary of State provides a briefing and for Music Mark Members we look forward to further opportunities for discussion and debate on our next steps.”
Fig 1. Recommendations for Music, Curriculum and Assessment Review final report: Building a world-class curriculum for all (Page 100)
“We recommend that the Government:
- Revises the content of the Programmes of Study for Key Stages 1 to 3 to ensure a curriculum pathway which gives all pupils a rigorous foundation in musical understanding and enables broader access to further study at Key Stage 4. This could be achieved by:
- Revisiting the purpose and aims, ensuring that they better reflect intended outcomes.
- Adding some further specificity, without increasing volume, to clarify how pupils should progress in the three pillars of musical understanding (technical, constructive and expressive), and to ensure that a range of genres and repertoires can be covered.
- Reviews the Music GCSE and Technical Award concurrently to ensure their purposes are both clear and distinct and that qualification content and assessment meet these aims. As part of this, the Government should consider:
- GCSE assessment objectives, modes and requirements, and whether these are suited to the discipline.
- The extent to which the most recent reforms to Technical Awards have effectively changed the purpose and suitability of the Music Technical Award, and whether this qualification is still fit for purpose or requires further adjustments.
- Explores ways to better optimise its investment in Music education to support the teaching and learning of musical instruments and the reading of music to ensure equitable access to, and progression in, Music education.”
