The Curriculum Interim Review & Music

This article comes as a result of posting the visual (below) on a facebook forum. I was inundated with requests to share this work and heard stories of how Music is being squeezed out of the curriculum across the nation. This is a tragic tale but the curriculum interim review provides a small glimmer of hope for what the future of Music education may look like.

I’ve been watching the national Curriculum and Assessment Review unfold with a mix of curiosity, scepticism and, perhaps surprisingly, cautious optimism. Led

by Professor Becky Francis, the review was set in motion in 2023 to ask some big questions: is our curriculum truly serving young people today? Does it reflect the society we live in? And crucially for us, where does music sit in all of this?

Reading through the interim report released in March 2025, I couldn’t help but reflect on how music education in schools has often felt like it’s clinging to the edges. This is highlighted expertly by the work of Ally Daubney, Gary Spruce and Martin Fautley. So, to see music named clearly as a statutory subject at Key Stages 1 to 3 felt like a small win. It’s still optional at Key Stage 4, of course, and the numbers don’t lie, GCSE entries are down again, slipping from 7% in 2016 to just 5% in 2024. But something else caught my attention: Technical Awards have crept up from 1% to 2%. It’s a small shift, but it hints at something bigger. Maybe, just maybe, we’re finally seeing the cracks in the idea that there are more qualifications that count and hold value in the Music world.

There’s a chance now, a real one, that vocational qualifications in music might be treated with the respect they deserve. If league tables and accountability measures start to recognise these routes properly, we’ll have more tools to keep students engaged and valued. And it’s about time. Some of the most musically talented and creative students I’ve taught wouldn’t go near a traditional GCSE. But give them a chance to produce, perform, or compose in a context that reflects their world? They thrive.

Visual To Support The Mentions Of Music In The CIR

Of course, we’re still grappling with the EBacc shadow. It’s clear from the review that EBacc measures have squeezed arts subjects, and music is feeling the pressure. The review suggests changes are coming, but not immediately. As ever, it falls on us to keep shouting about what music brings, not just in qualifications, but in confidence, identity, and connection. However, Music as a subject absolutely stands up on its own.

One part of the review did feel like it spoke directly to us: the value placed on enrichment. Performances, clubs, choirs, that magical buzz of a concert evening, all of it matters. And now it’s being recognised as part of what gives a curriculum breadth. For a lot of schools, this is where music lives, breathes, and becomes visible. That visibility can be the lifeline our subject needs.

There’s also talk of a move towards mastery, inclusion, and cultural relevance. That phrase “cultural relevance” jumped out at me. It speaks to the need for a curriculum that reflects students’ lived experiences, not just historical canon. If subject-specific reviews go ahead, music could see a rethink that brings creativity and diversity to the forefront. 

We’re not there yet. But the direction of travel gives me hope. While the path ahead will require patience, collaboration, and strategic planning, the interim review suggests a slow but meaningful shift toward a more inclusive, creative, and student-centred curriculum where music is no longer the subject that must fight for its place, but one that is understood as essential. Maybe we won’t just be fighting for our subject anymore. Maybe we will be shaping it following the curriculum review.