Tom Watson: We should reverse the decline of music schooling

Tom Watson, Baron Watson of Wyre Forest, served as Deputy Chief of the Labour Get together from 2015 to 2019 and Shadow Secretary of State for Digital, Tradition, Media and Sport from 2016 to 2019.

The Ezra Collective have simply made historical past by turning into the primary jazz act to win the Mercury Prize. The quintet’s drummer Femi Koleoso, seized the second to elucidate:

”This second that we’re celebrating proper right here is testomony to good, particular folks placing effort and time into younger folks to play music”.

He’s right, however that is greater than a milestone for the UK jazz scene; it’s a testomony to the untapped potential mendacity inside our nation’s colleges.

At a time when the Authorities is trying to drive British exports and provides our economic system a lift, now we have a attainable gold mine sitting in our school rooms.

The UK’s music superstars helped enhance exports of British music to a document £2.5 billion in 2021 in a market the place competitors from nations like South Korea is more and more ferocious.  That determine is about to soar even greater.

Hundreds of younger folks in our state colleges may go on to assist enhance that export market, revive our economic system and enrich our cultural panorama by fulfilling their desires of following within the footsteps of a few of our world icons like Adele, Stormzy and Ed Sheeran.

Nevertheless, they face a significant barrier which we have to take away if they’re to get an opportunity to capitalise on their musical abilities.

The precipitous decline in music schooling is quick reaching the purpose the place studying a musical instrument or learn how to sing professionally may quickly grow to be the protect of the wealthy and the privileged.

There are some success tales, reminiscent of that of Sheku Kanneh-Mason, the excellent younger cellist who performed on the wedding ceremony of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.  He studied A-level music at a Nottingham complete in a deprived a part of town and defied the chances to grow to be a BBC Younger Musician of the Yr and a worldwide star.

The fact may be very completely different for younger folks at most state colleges. The uptake of A-level music has fallen by a catastrophic 45% within the UK since 2020, when the English Baccalaureate was launched. It’s a equally worrying image for these finding out music for GCSE.

An enormous a part of the issue is the numerous fall within the variety of music lecturers and funding cuts which have left many colleges struggling to afford even essentially the most fundamental of musical devices.

There at the moment are elements of the nation the place it’s virtually not possible for a budding musician to check A-level music.

In keeping with a examine by Birmingham Metropolis College, the speed of entry decline is so extreme that nobody could be taking A-level music in simply ten years.

That may be a tragedy for all of the tens of 1000’s of youngsters who will miss out on the enjoyment music brings with all its advantages to well being and wellbeing and the possibility of a satisfying profession.

It might be a catastrophe for our cultural panorama if we’re disadvantaged of future stars who would by no means grace the stage at Glastonbury or be part of the orchestra on the Royal Opera Home.

There’s additionally the harm it can trigger to the expertise pipeline of the UK music trade, which has a status for producing performers, musicians and music professionals who contribute billions annually to our economic system.

So many younger folks dream of singing or taking part in music for a profession.  They’ve the ambition, drive and expertise. They lack the chance.

As a primary step, it’s crucial we reverse the decline in music instructing in our state colleges. Put merely, we should prepare and recruit lots of extra music lecturers with the fervour and dedication to make music classes the very best a part of any little one’s week.

Between 2010 and this yr, the variety of folks beginning preliminary trainer coaching for music has greater than halved.  Eradicating the music trainer coaching bursary in 2020 means fewer folks can afford to coach for the job.

Because the Chair of UK Music, the collective voice of the UK music trade, we’re placing the necessity to prepare and rent extra music lecturers on the coronary heart of UK Music’s “Music Manifesto,” which we are going to ship to the Authorities this week. (Sept 12).

In keeping with the Kids’s Commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza, multiple in 5 youngsters in England at the moment are often lacking faculty – double pre-Covid ranges. During the last educational yr, Division for Training figures present 22.3% of pupils in England had been persistently absent.

That’s deeply worrying.  But, now we have an opportunity by way of the ability of music to play an element in serving to get youngsters again within the classroom.

The UK has efficiently transformed the creativity of its music makers into a worldwide trade for over half a century. To proceed to take action, our expertise pipeline wants fixing.

So many younger folks dream of singing or taking part in music for a profession. As Femi Koleoso of the Mercury Prize-winning Ezra Collective rightly identified, that is “a particular second for each single organisation throughout the nation, ploughing efforts and time into younger folks taking part in music.”

One ultimate thought. When the robots are doing all of the handbook work and half the cognitive work, what’s left? The roles that require emotional intelligence and inventive collective problem-solving. How do you convey up a technology of future employees to be prepared for that? Give them a inventive curriculum that’s second to none on this planet. The time to behave is now.

The publish Tom Watson: We must reverse the decline of music education appeared first on Left Foot Forward: Leading the UK's progressive debate.