DfE announces National Centre for Arts and Music Education

A National Centre for Arts and Music Education will be established to promote opportunities for children and young people to pursue their artistic and creative interests in school, the Department for Education (DfE) has announced.

Under plans set out by Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson, the centre will be established by September 2026, with a delivery lead appointed through an open procurement process.

Phillipson said that alongside a renewed focus on giving young people the AI and technical skills they need, the centre represents a “significant step” towards making sure every child leaves school ready for life and work.

The centre will be tasked with promoting arts education – including signposting to industry-backed careers guidance, and to opportunities to support children and young people to pursue their artistic and creative interests in school, including through the national network of music hubs.

It will also have a remit of supporting arts teaching through a new online CPD (Continuing Professional Development) offer for primary and secondary school teachers, and will aim to bolster collaboration between schools and arts and cultural organisations to maximise opportunities for children.

Enrichment framework

Meanwhile, to support schools to offer pupils high-quality creative and other extra-curricular activities, a new Enrichment Framework will be developed in collaboration with a panel of experts.

The framework, which is due to be published by the end of the year, is expected to cover a wide range of activities including creative pursuits.

It will highlight effective practice on enrichment by identifying and reflecting practice in the best schools to set out what a high-quality enrichment offer looks like.

It will also provide advice for schools on how to plan a high-quality enrichment offers more strategically and how to make use of specific programmes to increase access to sport and arts.

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said the National Centre for Arts and Music Education will “ensure more children and young people’s untapped potential can be unleashed”.

“Arts and music bring people together and are enjoyed by communities across the country,” she said.

“We want every child and young person to have equal opportunities to access a high quality arts and music education, to ensure creativity can be explored by all and not just the privileged few.”

‘Clear focus on arts’

Kate Varah, executive director and co-CEO of the National Theatre, said her organisation is looking forward to consulting with the DfE on the remit of the new centre and its relationship to the arts sector.

“It’s brilliant to see the government’s clear focus on the value of the arts in schools and the need to ensure equity of access for all young people,” she added.

The Musicians’ Union (MU) has also welcomed the proposals.

“As with any initial policy announcement, there is now a huge amount of detail to be worked through, and we look forward to discussing with government how the National Centre will be funded, how and what it will deliver, and how MU members in music hubs will be supported to continue their vital work as part of the National Centre,” Chris Walters, the union’s national organiser for education, said.

“Funding for music hubs is currently only confirmed until August 2025, so we also look forward to confirmation that hubs will receive a funding bridge until the launch of the national centre in September 2026.”