Equitable Access to Music Education: A Letter to the Department for Education

We wrote a letter to the Department for Education about the standstill national funding announced for the Music Hub programme in England, and to share the challenges this poses for some local areas in which this has caused a decrease in funding. The lack of funding means that music education is not available to all children and young people across the country. Read the letter below, and the response we received on 22nd August 2025:

Dear Bridget Phillipson, MP and Catherine McKinnell, MP

 

Equitable access to Music Education                      

We were delighted to hear your speech, Ms McKinnell, at the Westminster Hall Debate on Music Education earlier this month and your statement that the Government are clear that music education must not be the preserve of the privileged few. This commitment reflects long-standing Labour ambitions for a rich, inclusive, and high-quality education for all – regardless of postcode or background. However, we must respectfully draw your attention to the growing disconnect between these laudable ambitions and the funding made available to realise them on the ground. The reality remains that music education is not available to all children and young people across the country.

 

You will be aware that Music Mark, the UK Association for Music Education commissioned an independent review of the Music Hub programme and identified an increasingly widening shortfall in funding against the ambitions of government. The announcement therefore, following the comprehensive spending review, that the Music Hub Revenue grant funding would remain at £76.1m for the next academic year was disappointing.  Following this, what has subsequently been difficult for many Music Hub partnerships is that standstill funding nationally has not resulted in stand-still allocations at a local level, further undermining the ambition of equitable provision across the country.

 

The funding formula used by your department to calculate the Revenue Grant funding is significantly more appropriate than past models (pre 2012), but remains challenging and does not account for complex local realities.   Pupil migration has a significant impact on budgets which cannot be reconciled against increased need of the pupils who continue to live in a local authority area, or the ongoing costs to deliver which are not based on class size or even the number of schools in that area.

 

We have been monitoring funding allocations across the country since 1999 and whilst there are some Music Hub partnerships that have seen increases in their allocations, we are particularly worried about those where funding has steadily decreased over the past 5 years.  For instance, Greater London has seen the withdrawal of over £434,000 since 2019/20.  This could be seen as the music education ecology in the capital losing over 170 instrumental and vocal teachers on a full-time salary of c.£35,000.  In the North East, the population is of course smaller, but a reduction of almost £69,000 across this region still has a significant impact on provision.  How can we ensure that music education is not the reserve of the privileged few if the funding available to support delivery is being cut?

 

Music Mark has been clear and vocal in our engagement with government for many years on this issue, but despite positive rhetoric from this Labour government, the challenges faced by music educators across the country are only going to worsen. This is not a call for extravagant spending, but rather a call for sustainability and fairness. This government has made education and equity of opportunity within education one of its missions, but without a change in approach, this ambition for music education will not be realised for the millions of children and young people currently learning in England.  We would like to formally request that the Government considers how it will address the gap between its ambition and the funding made available to support that ambition. Music Mark and its members would welcome the opportunity to work constructively with you and your officials on this. No one working in the music education ecosystem expects the public purse to cover the full costs of music education provision, but the other two key funders of that provision are schools and parents, both of whom have had to make difficult decisions which are affecting equitable access.

 

We look forward to hearing from you regarding this matter at your earliest convenience.

 

Yours sincerely

 

Bridget Whyte
Music Mark CEO

 

Peter Smalley
Music Mark Chair

On 22nd August we received a response from Catherine McKinnell:

Dear Mr Smalley and Ms Whyte,

 

Thank you for your correspondence of 18 July, also addressed to the Secretary of State, regarding equitable access to music education.

 

As I stated in my speech at the Westminster Hall Debate in July, we are committed to making music education more equitable. I also recognise that there remain challenges about the persistent inequity of access in and beyond schools.

 

We believe equitable access to music education starts with the national curriculum. We want every child, regardless of background, to have a rich and broad, inclusive and innovative curriculum, including in music. That is why one of our first actions in government was to launch an independent review of curriculum and assessment, chaired by Professor Becky Francis CBE. The review is an important step in our mission to break down barriers to opportunity, with a new curriculum that will set up all our children to achieve and thrive at school.

 

As you will know, the review is considering all subjects, including music, and will seek to deliver a curriculum that readies young people for life and work, including in creative subjects and skills. The final report with recommendations will be published this autumn, along with our response. We will consider associated implications for accountability measures, such as the EBacc, alongside these changes.

 

We are also legislating so that, following the review and the implementation of reforms, academies will be required to teach the reformed national curriculum, alongside maintained schools. This will ensure that music education is reinstated as an entitlement for every child in state-funded schools, and will give parents certainty over their children’s education, while not preventing both academies and maintained schools from adapting the curriculum to meet the needs of their pupils.

 

I recognise, however, that curriculum reform alone will not be enough to ensure all children have access to high-quality arts education, including in music. We know that we also need to support our schools and teachers.

 

In March, we announced our intention to launch a new National Centre for Arts and Music Education. This new centre will help us to meet our ambitions for improved and more equitable arts education, in the teaching of music, as well as art and design, drama and dance.

 

Music will be an important aspect of the centre’s work, as it will also be the national delivery partner for the music hubs network, with the 43 hub partnerships central to supporting schools. Music Hubs will remain crucial in supporting high quality and equitable music education in schools, and we are committed to ensuring they continue to do so effectively.

 

I understand the concerns you have raised around how this is delivered on the ground within the grant funding available. As you are aware, we had to make difficult choices during the recent Spending Review to meet significant cost pressures. This has meant that national funding for Music Hubs has been protected at the same level in academic year 2025 to 2026 but it was not feasible to increase the main grant. Music Hub organisations are also due to benefit from the forthcoming additional grant to take account of the recent changes in the National Insurance contributions (NICs). Information on this matter for centrally employed staff has now been published by the department on GOV.UK at: tinyurl.com/5DKN2KFF. Details on NICs funding for non-local authority music hub organisations will follow shortly from Arts Council England and Music Mark will be updated on this matter at the same time.

 

Music Hubs funding allocations for each partnership are based on 5 to16-year-old pupils on roll and pupils eligible for free school meals (FSM) as a proportion of national figures and not based purely on pupil numbers. As you acknowledge, this formula is a significant improvement on the approach prior to 2012. A Music Hub partnership may, however, see an increase in their pupil numbers but a decrease as a proportion of overall grant if the proportional increase in national pupil figures has been higher. If an area had a slight decrease in their number of pupils on roll and an increase in pupils eligible for FSM, but most importantly their proportion of the number of pupils on roll has slightly decreased, they will see a decrease in their funding for the academic year.

 

This will inevitably mean that some partnerships will see an increase in grant funding and others will see a decrease if there are proportionate changes in the population across England. Although disappointing for those Music Hub partners that have seen a decrease, the changes in funding over time reflects the demographic changes.

 

In addition, the revenue grant funding makes up around 40% of partnership income, including through fundraising, and all hubs are expected to increase the level of income through other routes over the coming years. More generally, there are no plans to change the approach to how funding is allocated. The department does, however, keep such matters under regular review and I have asked departmental officials to discuss this matter further with you.

 

I value the continued engagement from Music Mark, its members and your offer to work with us to provide equitable access to music education. We know that delivering real opportunity for all children requires a joined-up effort and is critical to breaking down the barriers to opportunity and ensuring every child, no matter their background or circumstances, achieves and thrives.

 

Thank you for writing to us. I hope that this response is useful.

 

Yours

 

Catherine McKinnall

Minister for Schools Standards