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Ofsted warns schools over ‘unbroken’ KS3 music teaching
17 November 2021
Inspectorate’s expert says subject should not be put on a carousel in secondary schools
Schools should provide “regular, unbroken” music learning for key stage 3 pupils to ensure it is being taught as robustly as other subjects on the curriculum, Ofsted has said.
The inspectorate’s subject lead, Mark Phillips, warned that if schools provide music as part of a “carousel” for pupils aged 11-14 – where it is only being taught for one term or half a term in every three – then they are putting the “brakes” on students’ music learning.
Speaking at the Westminster Education Forum policy conference, he also said that pupils should be provided with a music education in the same way they are taught literacy and numeracy skills.
He said: “If as music educators we want to see music as an equal on the curriculum with other subjects, we need to ensure that the curriculum in music is planned, sequenced and taught as rigorously and robustly as any other curriculum subject.”
