APPG for Music Education
3 November 2025
All-Party Parliamentary Group for Music Education, Briefing Minutes
Monday, 3 November 2025
Monday, 3 November 2025
Opening Proceedings
Parliamentarians present: Bambos Charalambous MP (Chair), Baroness Keeley (Co-Chair), Anna Sabine MP (Vice Chair), Wera Hobhouse MP, Baroness Fleet, Lord Berkeley, Lord Freyburg, Fleur Anderson MP, Simon Opher MP
Apologies: Lord Black of Brentford, the Earl of Clancarty, Desmond Swayne MP, Johanna Baxter MP, Baroness Nicholson of Winterbourne, Baroness Bonham-Carter
Welcome from the Chair
Bambos Charalambous welcomed parliamentarians to the AGM. On behalf of the officers he thanked the ISM for providing the Secretariat support for the APPG and providing briefings for the APPG officers and members over the past year.
Parliamentarians present: Bambos Charalambous MP (Chair), Baroness Keeley (Co-Chair), Anna Sabine MP (Vice Chair), Wera Hobhouse MP, Baroness Fleet, Lord Berkeley, Lord Freyburg, Fleur Anderson MP, Simon Opher MP
Apologies: Lord Black of Brentford, the Earl of Clancarty, Desmond Swayne MP, Johanna Baxter MP, Baroness Nicholson of Winterbourne, Baroness Bonham-Carter
Welcome from the Chair
Bambos Charalambous welcomed parliamentarians to the AGM. On behalf of the officers he thanked the ISM for providing the Secretariat support for the APPG and providing briefings for the APPG officers and members over the past year.
AGM business
Official Annual General Meeting business of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Music Education was carried out. The group re-selected Bambos Charalambous MP as its chair, elected officers and approved an expenditure statement. The Co-chairs re-selected were Anna Sabine MP, Baroness Keeley, Baron Black of Brentwood.
Presentations
Deborah Annetts, CEO, Independent Society of Musicians
Deborah thanked the APPG members for their work. She said the music education world was currently in a strange place, with the National Plan for Music Education dropped, the decision to axe the bursary for music teacher trainees and many questions over the role of the proposed new National Centre for Arts and Music Education. At present, things are getting worse, as we await the publication of the Curriculum and Assessment Review (CAR).
Bambos Charalambous commented that now would be good time to request a meeting with the DfE ministers. Agreed by those present. Bambos also confirmed the CAR final report publication would happen on 5 November.
Dr Adam Whittaker, Associate Professor in Music and Head of Pedagogy, Royal Birmingham Conservatoire
Adam shared some thoughts on the forthcoming CAR report. He spoke about the diversity of different music qualifications available at Level 3 (over 30 compared with just 3 for maths).
However, there’s often only one music option open to a child in school and this is why A-level music is still important in terms of accessibility. Only 45% of all maintained schools offer any Level 3 music qualification, compared with 60% of independent schools. This is a major issue as sustained progression in music education is vital. Government wants to make the music qualification landscape less confusing, and the CAR might allow for a reorganization of the multiplicity of interests and qualifications in music. There could be a role for music hubs here.
Music is in a good place to respond to the CAR final report, as we do have a broad landscape of music qualifications.
Dr Robert Gardiner, Programme Lead Music Education, Royal Northern College of Music
Robert spoke about the fall in specialist music teachers and the government’s failure to reach its own recruitment targets in the past decade.
Although music is among the very worst subjects for the fall in trainee teachers, there is no strategy for retention of music teachers, unlike subjects such as physics. Vacancy rates are higher in areas of deprivation leading to regional inequality.
Robert provided a set of targeted recommendations for government.
Questions/comments
Bambos Charalambous: These are stark messages but the recommendations are helpful. Good music education is founded on the workforce so we must focus on recruitment and retention rates.
RG: There is no A-level music in Salford, which is one of several areas where it is not possible for students to progress beyond GCSE in music.
AW: The issue of minimum requirements for class sizes affects music.
Anna Sabine: The sector needs to let MPs know how bad it is in some areas. Many are unaware.
AW: We are working on a map that will show the areas where there is no music provision.
Lord Berkeley: Keir Starmer knew he would be questioned on music education in the recent Private Passions interview so he was presumably briefed on this area in advance.
Wera Hobhouse: 20% of young people now diagnosed as neurodiverse; they often engage better with creative subjects. Increasing maths and English hasn’t helped these students so we need a different approach rather than doing more of the same.
DA: Can MPs hold the DfE to account on the data it provides on music teacher numbers?
Bambos Charalambous: Offered to raise PQs about the stats.
Wera Hobhouse: is music worse than other subjects for teacher vacancies or have they all fallen this badly?
RG: It’s one of the three worst subjects for teacher vacancies. Currently 103 music teacher vacancies across the country.
Baroness Fleet: Has there been any research on the impact of whole class ensemble tuition?
RG: Music teachers are not trained to deliver whole class tuition. The new framework means you can’t train them to do this. There is a paper on A-level status and progression rates in music. Access levels to music are going up but progression is going down. This suggests the whole class model is not working.
Official Annual General Meeting business of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Music Education was carried out. The group re-selected Bambos Charalambous MP as its chair, elected officers and approved an expenditure statement. The Co-chairs re-selected were Anna Sabine MP, Baroness Keeley, Baron Black of Brentwood.
Presentations
Deborah Annetts, CEO, Independent Society of Musicians
Deborah thanked the APPG members for their work. She said the music education world was currently in a strange place, with the National Plan for Music Education dropped, the decision to axe the bursary for music teacher trainees and many questions over the role of the proposed new National Centre for Arts and Music Education. At present, things are getting worse, as we await the publication of the Curriculum and Assessment Review (CAR).
Bambos Charalambous commented that now would be good time to request a meeting with the DfE ministers. Agreed by those present. Bambos also confirmed the CAR final report publication would happen on 5 November.
Dr Adam Whittaker, Associate Professor in Music and Head of Pedagogy, Royal Birmingham Conservatoire
Adam shared some thoughts on the forthcoming CAR report. He spoke about the diversity of different music qualifications available at Level 3 (over 30 compared with just 3 for maths).
However, there’s often only one music option open to a child in school and this is why A-level music is still important in terms of accessibility. Only 45% of all maintained schools offer any Level 3 music qualification, compared with 60% of independent schools. This is a major issue as sustained progression in music education is vital. Government wants to make the music qualification landscape less confusing, and the CAR might allow for a reorganization of the multiplicity of interests and qualifications in music. There could be a role for music hubs here.
Music is in a good place to respond to the CAR final report, as we do have a broad landscape of music qualifications.
Dr Robert Gardiner, Programme Lead Music Education, Royal Northern College of Music
Robert spoke about the fall in specialist music teachers and the government’s failure to reach its own recruitment targets in the past decade.
Although music is among the very worst subjects for the fall in trainee teachers, there is no strategy for retention of music teachers, unlike subjects such as physics. Vacancy rates are higher in areas of deprivation leading to regional inequality.
Robert provided a set of targeted recommendations for government.
Questions/comments
Bambos Charalambous: These are stark messages but the recommendations are helpful. Good music education is founded on the workforce so we must focus on recruitment and retention rates.
RG: There is no A-level music in Salford, which is one of several areas where it is not possible for students to progress beyond GCSE in music.
AW: The issue of minimum requirements for class sizes affects music.
Anna Sabine: The sector needs to let MPs know how bad it is in some areas. Many are unaware.
AW: We are working on a map that will show the areas where there is no music provision.
Lord Berkeley: Keir Starmer knew he would be questioned on music education in the recent Private Passions interview so he was presumably briefed on this area in advance.
Wera Hobhouse: 20% of young people now diagnosed as neurodiverse; they often engage better with creative subjects. Increasing maths and English hasn’t helped these students so we need a different approach rather than doing more of the same.
DA: Can MPs hold the DfE to account on the data it provides on music teacher numbers?
Bambos Charalambous: Offered to raise PQs about the stats.
Wera Hobhouse: is music worse than other subjects for teacher vacancies or have they all fallen this badly?
RG: It’s one of the three worst subjects for teacher vacancies. Currently 103 music teacher vacancies across the country.
Baroness Fleet: Has there been any research on the impact of whole class ensemble tuition?
RG: Music teachers are not trained to deliver whole class tuition. The new framework means you can’t train them to do this. There is a paper on A-level status and progression rates in music. Access levels to music are going up but progression is going down. This suggests the whole class model is not working.
Actions agreed
Closing proceedings
The Chair thanked all speakers and attendees and asked for the data provided by the speakers to be circulated after the meeting
- Chair to request meeting of the officers with the Schools Minister, Georgia Gould MP.
- Secretariat to circulate data provided by the speakers with the meeting minutes.
Closing proceedings
The Chair thanked all speakers and attendees and asked for the data provided by the speakers to be circulated after the meeting
Your browser does not support viewing this document. Click here to download the document.
