The Music National Curriculum: Overcoming a Compromise

Abstract

The 1995 Music National Curriculum orders represent a significant change from the Interim Report of 1990 in which the Music Working Group presented its findings and made recommendations to the Secretary of State for Education for a new curriculum. This article explores developments which have led from the original recommendations to the 1995 Curriculum. As it now stands, the curriculum does not develop children's musical skills and understanding in a systematic way. This is not helpful, even to the music specialist, but also it gives rise to another problem. At Key Stages 1 and 2, where there is possibly no music specialist to interpret it, and where generalist class teachers have traditionally felt ill-equipped to teach music, the 1995 curriculum – because it does not prescribe the work to be done in a systematic and developmental way – fails to make clear the achievements expected at the various levels. Therefore, it does nothing to persuade primary teachers that they can contribute usefully to the skill- and knowledge-development which is essential if children are to move systematically through their musical education. Indeed, the Programmes of Study are so lacking in any sense of development or skill-building that they are exactly the same for each of the first three Key Stages. This study looks at the causes of these difficulties and proposes an original scheme of work to address the problem of teacher confidence at Key Stage 1.

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