Music Plan Extended to Early Years

Music Plan Extended to Early Years

In 2011, the government published “The Importance of Music”, a national plan that set out a vision for music’s role in the education sector. The government has now refreshed this plan as “The Power of Music To Change Lives” and for the first time has included early years settings. The plan sets out three goals:

1. All children and young people receive a high-quality music education in the early years and in schools
2. All music educators work in partnership, with children and young people’s needs and interests at their heart
3. All children and young people with musical interests and talents have the opportunity to progress, including professionally

In the main, the plan still focusses very much on school-age education, setting out a model curriculum and related structures for schools to adopt. However it also makes special mention of the need for early years settings to provide children with a strong grounding in music. It argues that providers should start from the premise that all children are musicians.

The report acknowledges that early years settings may not have professional musicians on their staff, but it urges them to form partnerships with their local music hubs. These have already been successful in some areas, and have enabled providers to enhance their approach to music in early years.

The National Plan for Music Education can be found here.