Making sense of progression and musical development in the NPME

“Support children and young people to develop and progress with music, including into national or specialist opportunities, higher education and employment, so that the chance to be involved in high-quality music-making is shared more widely in our society. Support children and young people to access the wider world of music, including live performance and community music.” (The National Plan for Music Education, DfE 2022)

This third strategic function for Music Hubs from the National Plan for Music Education (England) provides a laudable aim. What I particularly like about this statement is that it places progression within the frame of inclusion; progression and musical development are presented as something that everyone can aspire to, not just the wealthy, or elite musicians destined for professional careers.

Often the idea of ‘inclusion’ can feel like one end of a scale with ‘progress’ firmly at the other. But of course making provision ‘inclusive’ doesn’t mean ‘dumbing down’ or ‘lowering expectations’ but providing adjustments so that everyone can participate and make progress at their own rate. The wording of this strategic function would seem to acknowledge this. However there is of course a separate strategic aim for inclusion, and as a result hubs are expected to create separate inclusion and progression strategies. Is the separation of these strategies a missed opportunity, I wonder, to create a truly equitable vision of musical progress?

I am reminded of many conversations with esteemed music education guru Professor Martin Fautley about the terminology ‘progress’ and ‘progression’ and the misunderstandings that can arise from different definitions of these words. In a music hub context under the old National Plan, we have mainly talked of ‘progression routes’; the activities and ensembles that a child can progress through to further their musical aspirations. In school contexts, particularly since Ofsted reworked their inspection framework, ‘progression’ is used to describe the development of individual pupils’ skills, knowledge and understanding through the curriculum. I wonder if this is the reason that the DfE has chosen to title this strategic function ‘progression and musical development’, making it clear that it is both about developing children and young people’s skills and providing them with pathways to ascend through? It is important to recognise that it is perfectly possible for children and young people to develop as musicians without ever moving on to a different activity or ensemble.

Whether developing your skills in a single activity, or making your way through a progression route, participating in music costs money. I don’t think anyone believes that there is enough money attached to this plan to provide universal access to all musical activities and progression routes for all children and young people who wish to engage with them. (Hence, probably, HLOs being tasked with finding an extraordinary amount of additional income by the end of their first year in post). It therefore unfortunately remains likely that, as is currently the case and has been the case for almost as long as most of us can remember, under this plan some children will have the opportunity to progress and develop musically to their full potential, and others will not.

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