More than a third of secondary teachers have said their schools do not have weekly or fortnightly music lessons for Year 9 students, a new survey has revealed.
New Teacher Tapp data shows that 35 per cent of teachers responding to its questions said Year 9 students at their school do not receive lessons in the subject either every week or every other week.
The responses from 4,188 teachers revealed that 13 per cent said the subject is taught on a carousel over different terms and another 22 per cent said their school does not make the subject compulsory for 13- and 14-year-olds.
The poll also shows that 41 per cent of the 2,124 state school primary teachers surveyed said there wasn’t the opportunity for everyone to learn an instrument without charge at their school.
The questions follow the government’s long-awaited National Plan for Music Education, which was published on Saturday and sets out a range of expectations for schools, including that all pupils should have access to lessons in a range of instruments.
However, Teacher Tapp data shows that just 37 per cent of 2,141 primary teacher respondents said playing an instrument in an orchestra or band was generally available to pupils.
The figure was higher in private schools, with almost three-quarters (74 per cent) of teachers in independent settings saying their school offered this.
And just under six in 10 state-funded primary teachers said that singing in a choir was generally available in their school.
The government’s plan set ambitions for pupils to have access to lessons in a range of instruments, a school choir and/or vocal ensemble, a school ensemble/band/group, space for rehearsals and individual practice, a termly school performance and the opportunity to enjoy live performance at least once a year.
It also said that every school should have a designated music lead or head of department, and provide at least an hour of music each week for key stages 1-3.
Today’s survey shows that more than half (53 per cent) of primary teachers at state-funded schools said music lessons were taught by a teacher not qualified in music while just over a fifth (21 per cent) said pupils were taught by a music specialist employed by the school.
Yesterday, the primary sector reacted to the NPME, warning the ambitions set out would be “impossible” for schools to deliver amid “rising costs” and “poor funding”.
Teacher Tapp data also found that 12 per cent of state secondary school teachers responding work at schools that do not offer GCSE or A-level music as a subject.
The survey responses suggest schools with higher Ofsted inspection ratings were more likely to offer exam courses in the subject.
In a survey of 4,746 teachers, more than one in five (21 per cent) of teachers at schools rated either “inadequate” or “requires improvement” said their school did not offer either qualification. This drops to 16 per cent for schools judged to be “good” and to 10 per cent of teachers working in “outstanding” schools.
Last year, Ofsted warned schools that they should provide “regular, unbroken” music learning for key stage 3 students to ensure the subject is being taught as robustly as others on the curriculum.
