Following on from the Music Subject Research Review (2021), Ofsted has now published its promised companion piece, the Music Subject Report. This latest report draws on findings from 50 schools visited by Ofsted inspectors across a six-month period up to June 2023, 25 of which were primary schools. In this blog, we summarise the key takeaways from this document that are relevant to primary Music subject leaders. We will cover: 

• What are the main findings of the Music Subject Report?
• Time spent on Music
• Senior leadership
• What are Ofsted’s recommendations for Music?
• Curriculum
• Pedagogy and assessment
• Systems

What are the main findings of the Music Subject Report?

The report paints a relatively positive picture of Music at primary level. This is very welcome, as there is often a lot of unfair negative commentary about Music in primary schools. It is encouraging to see Ofsted acknowledging good practice in primary Music!

Time spent on Music

Ofsted found that almost all of the primary schools the inspectors visited were giving adequate time to Music, mainly on a weekly basis. Since this is something that both the DfE and Ofsted have been asking for in successive reports and non-statutory guidance, this should come as no surprise! Inspectors did find cause for concern, however, when schools had isolated ‘Music days’ rather than regular Music lessons, which again underlines the messaging about Music needing to be taught regularly. 

Ofsted found that singing was the strongest aspect of the curriculum in primary schools and that composing was the weakest aspect across both primary and secondary. It expressed some concern about the number of musical activities covered in some schools’ curriculums, which again is no surprise since its previous research review highlighted the ‘less is more’ approach. 

Inspectors also worried about the depth to which Music was being taught but noted that in the most effective schools, children were given practice time and feedback to improve their work before moving on to the next lesson or activity. They stated, however, that in less effective examples, ‘the focus was on covering the activities rather than making sure that content was learned to a high standard’. This echoes their messaging in the 2021 research review regarding the importance of ‘incremental learning’ for Music, building up skills and competence through repetition over time. 

• Ofsted’s 2021 Music Research Review – Key findings

Senior leadership

This report also highlights the crucial role that senior leaders have to play in the success of the Music curriculum. Ofsted noted that the strongest provision involved leadership who understood what the outcomes of their Music curriculum should ‘sound like’, enabling them to evaluate its success more accurately. Ofsted also commented on the correlation between good extra-curricular provision and leadership teams who understood the value of these activities to pupils’ wider musical development. On the negative side, though, the inspectors found that while most leadership teams were realistic about their teachers’ level of subject knowledge, it was rare for them to have a clear plan to address any weaknesses. 

Ofsted had conversations with school leaders about the effect of budgetary pressures on Music and noted that half of the primary schools in their sample (12–13 schools) were not able to offer any instrumental or vocal lessons, though it did acknowledge that some schools were still in the process of trying to re-establish provision that was halted during the Covid-19 pandemic. These factors doubtless fed into Ofsted’s finding that ‘there remains a divide between the opportunities for children and young people whose families can afford to pay for music tuition and for those who come from lower socio-economic backgrounds’. 

What are Ofsted’s recommendations for Music? 

The report ends with a set of recommendations around ‘curriculum’, ‘pedagogy and assessment’, and ‘systems’ at subject and school level’. 

Curriculum

Ofsted recommends that schools ensure pupils ‘have enough curriculum time to develop their musical knowledge and skills incrementally’, again reiterating the point made in so many successive Ofsted and DfE documents about devoting enough time to Music on a regular basis (an hour a week being the recommendation from the Model Music Curriculum and National Plan for Music Education). 

• Meeting the requirements of the Model Music Curriculum

It also recommends that the curriculum is worked out backwards from ‘precise end points in performance, composition and listening work’ to ensure pupils can progress step-by-step through it, and that it ‘builds, incrementally, pupils’ knowledge of the technical and constructive aspects of Music’. Fortunately, for those of you using Kapow Primary’s Music curriculum, this process has already been done for you, so you can continue to use the lesson plans and resources safe in the knowledge that the progression route is secure. 

Pedagogy and assessment

In terms of pedagogy and assessment, Ofsted recommends the use of ongoing feedback and teacher demonstration to improve the quality of pupils’ musical responses both technically and expressively. This is a tricky area for non-specialists to master, but if you’re using Kapow Primary for Music then the inbuilt teacher CPD videos will help you with this process, showing you what to look out for, how to support pupils who are struggling, and how to extend the learning to add challenge. 

Systems

Under systems, the recommendations include that schools should seek expert support when developing and improving their curriculum and should support their subject leaders to ensure the curriculum ‘deliberately and incrementally teaches all pupils to become more musical’. The Kapow Primary Music curriculum is created by experts and designed as a spiral to promote incremental skills and knowledge development, so if you’re already using our resources, you’ve got these points covered! 

The systems section also includes a recommendation to ‘continuously develop teachers’ subject knowledge’, specifically in the area of their own musical skills and in understanding what musical success ‘sounds like’ in their classroom, and that this approach to CPD ‘should align with the choices set out in the school’s curriculum. It almost sounds like Ofsted is describing Kapow Primary’s approach here! With our inbuilt teacher videos for each lesson, and our bank of key skills videos for improving your own musicianship, our curriculum and CPD offers go hand in hand. 

• What are the benefits of integrated CPD?

The final recommendation for schools is to ‘make sure that all pupils can develop their musical talents and interests, by offering extra-curricular activities and instrumental and vocal lessons’. At a time when school budgets are squeezed tighter than ever, and the future of individual Music Hubs is uncertain until April 2024, achieving this goal might seem a tall order to many schools. Overall, though, the recommendations represent reasonable responses to the findings of this report, and will be helpful to schools as they plan and deliver development for their Music provision. 

You can read Ofsted’s full report by clicking here.

This blog was written by Music specialist, Dr Liz Stafford.