The report from the Joint Standing Committee on Music and Arts Education and Training is over 200 pages long. This is an initial response to the report from AMA Executive Officer, Alex Masso.
Core Issues
The core issues that absolutely must be addressed include teacher training, minimum hours and ensuring that music really is taught properly through the primary school years, increasing access to quality music education across all parts of NSW, supporting teachers in NSW public primary schools in particular, and collecting and reporting more data.
The AMA’s submission said action is needed to:
- Improve the equity of access, participation and engagement in school music for all students;
- Improve teacher pre-service and in-service education;
- Improve curriculum support services (advisory, instrumental music, vocal music and music
technology; - Support productive partnerships and networking with music organisations, musicians, the
music industry and the Australian community; - Improve music education in schools through supportive principals and school leadership,
adequately educated specialist teachers, increased time in the timetable, adequate facilities
and equipment; - Improve levels of accountability; and
- Improve the overall status of music in schools.
Each of these are covered in some way through the recommendations. Since submissions closed, the draft HSC Music syllabus has become a major issue. This is addressed in the recommendations, but was not part of the focus of the AMA’s (or any) submission because it was not an issue at the time. The AMA backed ASME’s suggestion to incorporate elements of the Entertainment VET course into HSC Music.
The AMA proposed that the NSW government provide funding that will improve opportunities for participation in music education, including Funding for music education programs in public schools and Targeted bursaries / fee relief for participation in music education programs, primarily in public schools. These are not addressed in the recommendations of the committee.
The Central Pillar of the Report
The primary recommendation of a number of music education advocates including the AMA was that a Music Education Action Plan be developed, with adequate resourcing (both funding and policy development), to deliver quality music education to all children in NSW.
Recommendation 12:
That the NSW Government consider developing a Music Education Plan for New South Wales to support the delivery of quality, sequential and ongoing music education in New South Wales primary schools, but is not limited to:
- setting an explicit standard as to what constitutes quality, sequential and ongoing
music education - mandating a minimum amount of music education per week up to Stage 4 with a
teacher (generalist or specialist) confident and capable of delivering quality music
learning - setting ambitious targets for statewide access to primary music education
- mandatory reporting and data collection of the delivery of music education
- mandatory biennial reporting on progress in implementing the quality music
education plan
Selected Recommendations
This is an initial response to some of the recommendations relevant to music education.
Recommendation 1: That the NSW Government explore opportunities to build further partnerships between artists and musicians and external arts organisations and schools.
The AMA’s submission made the point that music education enriches children’s lives and assists students across major transition points (primary to secondary, secondary to post-secondary) and can encompass the school and the wider community. The interaction between students, schools, and a range of third parties including external organisations, music tutors, programs run by AMA members (including music stores) and other music professionals, and community music groups, is akin to the role of sporting clubs in young people’s lives. The recommendation is not specific about what partnerships might involve but we see and value those interactions and the important role they play in the musical life of young people.
Recommendation 2: That the NSW Government require initial teacher education to include at least two units of mandatory study in Visual Arts, Music, Drama and Dance education.
This could address the decline in the number of hours of music training (by almost half) in Initial Teacher Education courses during the past 15 years and respond to the Fading Notes report into ITE.
Recommendation 3: That the NSW Government explore introducing arts and music as areas of primary specialisation in initial teacher education courses to allow primary teachers to specialise in individual creative arts subjects and strengthen employment pathways for specialist music teachers.
This would both signal and recognise the reality that there are music and other creative arts specialist teachers in primary schools, and help support the development of that workforce.
Recommendation 4: That the NSW Government consider introducing a teaching area code for primary music teachers to assist with the long term employment of music teachers in primary schools.
This is both necessary to assist specialist music teachers with their employment pathways and careers, and an essential part of collecting the data that is called for in other recommendations (and proposed by the AMA).
Recommendation 5. That the NSW Government increase incentives and support including teacher release provisions for relevant professional development in the creative arts.
It appears that release time may be an impediment to ongoing professional development for creative arts specialists, where there are several overlapping issues including the teacher shortage the demands on school resourcing, the employment status of specialist music teachers (often on rolling temporary contracts, without some of the benefits that permanent teachers have). This would contribute to a solution for that issue.
Recommendation 6: That the NSW Government fund and expand arts and music professional development programs to enhance teachers’ confidence to teach music in primary schools
This could help assist the ongoing professional development of music teachers and the skill development and confidence to teach for generalist primary school teachers. It is important to note that there is a wide range of professional development programs already available through the NSW Teachers Federation, the Department of Education, Musica Viva, Music In Me, professional associations, and others. A useful first step before expanding funding would be an audit of available programs and identification of gaps.
Recommendation 7: That the NSW Government consider opportunities to increase dedicated funding for organisations that deliver arts and music education and training, with additional consideration of those providing specialist programs to vulnerable cohorts of young people including youth-at-risk, young people from low-socio-economic backgrounds, young people with disability, those living in regional and rural areas and First Nations young people.
This could assist in filling some gaps in provision and enriching the work of schools, but it is important to note that organisations that deliver arts and music education and training includes public schools. The AMA’s submission proposed dedicated funding for schools, to support music and arts programs. Public schools are also dealing with providing specialist programs to vulnerable cohorts of young people including youth-at-risk, young people from low-socio-economic backgrounds, young people with disability, those living in regional and rural areas and First Nations young people every single day.
Recommendation 8: That the NSW Government develop an engagement framework for organisations delivering arts and music educational programs that streamlines processes and includes evaluation measures.
This could assist in both developing the quality of music education programs, and increasing the status of music education programs, delivered by organisations outside schools. If fully realised prior to 2020, for example, this recommendation might have asserted the place of music programs as part of ‘core’ school operations rather than as ‘external providers’.
Recommendation 9: That the NSW Government conduct a state-wide audit or assessment to identify areas where arts and music programs are not being delivered.
This would be highly valuable and would contribute to the implementation of many other recommendations.
Recommendation 10: That the NSW Government seek to work with the Music Teachers’ Association of NSW to consider opportunities to provide adequate regulation of the industry, including that the standards of regulation should take into consideration the ability of non-accredited tutors to deliver basic music tuition where appropriate.
The AMA proposed in its submission “Skills and career development for instrumental music tutors, conductors and other professionals” including a training and/or mentoring initiative for three (often overlapping) cohorts: conductors, tutors, and program directors; providing career pathways for these professionals, and “creating incentives for using the kind of ‘points based’ system of accredited professional development already in place for classroom teachers.” This would be a far more wholistic approach than simply regulating private music tutors, particularly given the existing model provided by the MTA which is already available.
Schools systems can offer incentives provide support to the professionals supporting their music programs every day, in a way that might set a minimum standard (such as that in place for the Regional Conservatoriums) but would focus on the skills & career development of these professionals.
Recommendation 11: That the NSW Government fast track the development of training and guidance materials for primary school teachers to facilitate the effective delivery of the new K-6 Creative Arts Syllabus.
Recommendation 12 is addressed above, we see it as the central pillar of a major effort to develop music education in NSW. This recommendation includes:
setting an explicit standard as to what constitutes quality, sequential and ongoing
music education
This is an important point and would not be a major leap from the Music Education: A Sound Investment report to developing a standard for quality, sequential and ongoing music education. If this could be defined and measured, it would vastly improve the data collection recommended in this report and assist in measuring real progress over time.
mandating a minimum amount of music education per week up to Stage 4 with a
teacher (generalist or specialist) confident and capable of delivering quality music
learning
The AMA and many others made this point in submissions, there simply needs to be a baseline expectation to ensure that schools prioritise this area of the curriculum.
setting ambitious targets for statewide access to primary music education
Specific targets were proposed in the Music Education Right From The Start submission. This will be possible and meaningful if data is collected (see below)
mandatory reporting and data collection of the delivery of music education
This is very important and was raised in the AMA’s submission. Right now in NSW, we have access to annual published data showing enrolments in year 10 (board endorsed courses), year 11 & 12 music courses. This is actually more than some Australian states provide, but nowhere near sufficient to assess gaps and measure progress. The area where data is particularly lacking is primary schools, where the employment of skilled teachers, teaching hours and resources, co-curricular programs, and other measures of music education activity are seen as ‘school decisions’, not measured by the Department.
When asked in 2022 about the number of specialist music teachers in NSW, they were not able to provide an answer.
mandatory biennial reporting on progress in implementing the quality music
education plan
Public reporting of the data that would be collecting (following the previous point) would be essential to monitoring progress, assessing issues and having transparency and accountability built into the Music Education Plan.
Recommendation 16: That the NSW Government explore opportunities to incorporate the VET Music Industry course, particularly its music creation and sound production components, into the Stage 6 Music 1 and Music 2 courses.
This is an interesting proposal from ASME which the AMA included in its submission.
Recommendation 20: That the NSW Government fund industry-based placements and traineeships including for school experience placements to help performing arts organisations address current skills shortages and build their future workforce.
The music products industry faces skills shortages, some of them more acute than other parts of the music sector, including technicians, instrument makers and repairers. This requires more work than simply creating traineeships but the AMA would be a willing partner in developing workforce capability solutions as suggested in this recommendation.
Recommendation 29: That the NSW Government explore opening a Music Hub in Western Sydney, based on the conservatorium model, to provide culturally diverse music education in the region.
This raises several questions including why the proposed institution could not simply be a ‘regional conservatorium’. The working model of regional conservatoriums is actually based on using the strengths of local music educators to develop programs that meet the needs of their community. Although many are focused on similar genres and models of teaching music, those things are not essential or inherent in the regional conservatorium model. If some limitations are found in the funding requirements and KPIs of regional conservatoriums, addressed in recommendations 26 & 27, changes could be made that allow flexibility for a new Western Sydney organisation and all regional conservatoriums.
