Music compulsory in all UK state schools from 2028
Key Points
- Reformed curriculum makes music compulsory from September 2028
- EBacc performance measures removed from the 2025/26 academic year
- Revised music GCSEs phased in from September 2029
- National Centre for Arts and Music Education launches September 2026 with £13 million
- Free lessons pilot supports 1,000 disadvantaged and SEND pupils
Music will be taught as a compulsory National Curriculum entitlement in all state-funded schools in England from September 2028 under a reformed curriculum confirmed in the government’s Music Plan.
The reformed curriculum, set out in the government’s response to the 2025 Curriculum and Assessment Review, will give every child what the Department for Culture, Media and Sport calls “a strong foundation in musical understanding”, covering more diverse genres and performance styles.
The change applies to all state-funded schools, including academies, which are not currently bound by the National Curriculum.
The government has also removed the EBacc school performance measures from the current 2025/26 academic year, saying they unnecessarily constrained pupils’ qualification choices, including in music.
Music GCSE has the highest disadvantage attainment gap of any subject, according to the plan. Revised music GCSEs will be phased in from September 2029, following a review of Key Stage 4 qualifications to distinguish more clearly between GCSEs and technical awards.
For parents, the changes mean music becomes a guaranteed part of the timetable rather than an optional extra dependent on the school
. A new National Centre for Arts and Music Education, backed by up to £13 million over three years, launches in September 2026 to support schools in delivering the revised curriculum, and will take over oversight of the Music Hubs network from August 2027.
The Music Hubs – 43 partnerships across England backed by £76 million annually to academic year 2026/27 – provide whole-class instrumental teaching, small-group tuition and access to choirs, orchestras and bands.
A further £25 million is funding over 130,000 instruments and pieces of equipment by the end of the 2026/27 academic year.
A £2 million Music Opportunities Pilot, matched by £3.85 million from Arts Council England and Youth Music, is providing free instrument and singing lessons for up to 1,000 disadvantaged pupils and those with special educational needs and disabilities across 12 areas of England, including support to take music exams.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said the government has “wasted no time putting music back at the heart of the curriculum”.
