The Music Teachers’ Association is honoured to be able to continue its contribution to the National Plan for Music Education (NPME), as current President, Catherine Barker, and former President, Simon Toyne, are confirmed this week as members of the Monitoring Board for the NPME. In the summer of 2022 the Department for Education and Department for Culture, Media and Sport co-published the ‘refreshed’ English National Plan for Music Education (NPME), where they made a commitment to monitoring the progress of the refreshed NPME and to drive improvement through a newly-established National Plan for Music Education Board, where its work will be evidence and needs-led.
Commenting on her appointment Catherine Barker said:
‘I am really pleased to be able to represent music teachers, both from our membership and beyond, as part of the Monitoring Board. The NPME asks us all to work in partnership, and the MTA is committed to working in this way – through contributing to continued advocacy of the National Plan – which we hope will benefit the wider sector in the long run. It’s important that we are able to support and challenge policy makers, and leaders, ensuring that the full ambition of the refreshed National Plan can be met over the next ten years.’
The MTA is the largest and longest-established association of music teachers in the UK, supporting members in their wonderful work in education settings in the UK and beyond, as well as providing many freely accessible resources to the wider music education community. One of these is the Self Evaluation Tool for schools: in June 2022, the Music Teachers’ Association, Music Mark and the ISM, part of the #CanDoMusic partnership, developed a self-evaluation tool benchmarked to the NPME. It is designed to be used by primary and secondary teachers, and school leaders, as they review their own provision, identify areas for development and celebrate excellent work. As noted in the NPME, the role of a school music lead is not like other subject leads: a music lead is responsible for the wider culture of music in the school alongside the taught curriculum offer. The aim of the tool is to support these teachers in their valuable work, so that children and young people get the best possible music education, harnessing the power of music to change lives. You can find it here.
Catherine Barker
President
Head of Music and Performing Arts at United Learning Schools Group
Simon Toyne
Former President MTA
Executive Director of Music, David Ross Education Trust
