In order to ensure all pupils are able to enjoy high quality lessons, schools are to receive a new model music curriculum created by an independent panel of experts, School Standards Minister Nick Gibb announced today (11 January).

This comes as a £1.33million funding boost is given to the Department for Education’s music education hubs, which helped hundreds of thousands of young people learn to play an instrument in whole classes in 2016/17.

The new curriculum will be developed by a group of teachers, education leaders and musicians and will be published in summer 2019. It will provide schools with a sequenced and structured template curriculum for Key Stages 1, 2 and 3.

As well as ensuring all pupils can benefit from knowledge rich and diverse lessons, it is hoped that the curriculum will make it for easier for teachers to plan lessons and help to reduce workload.

School Standards Minister Nick Gibb said:

Having the opportunity to study and explore music isn’t a privilege, it’s a vital part of a broad and balanced curriculum – and that’s why I’m determined that all pupils should have access to a world class music education.

All pupils at least up to the age of 14 should study music in school. We want to make sure their lessons are of the very highest quality and pupils leave school having experienced an excellent music education so those who wish to do so can take up opportunities to pursue musical careers.

This new model curriculum and the new money for our successful music hubs will make sure the next generation of Adeles, Nigel Kennedys and Alex Turners have all the support they need in school.

In 2012 the government set up a network of 120 music education hubs to support the teaching of music both in and out of school. These hubs are being supported by £300million between 2016 and 2020, which forms part of an overall investment of £500million in the arts during that period, making it the second highest funded element of the curriculum behind PE.

This new funding – which is on top of £300million allocated to the programme between 2016 and 2020 – will help ensure that the hubs can keep up their good work. According to a report by Arts Council England, this work has reached 89% of schools and seen over 700,000 pupils learning instruments together with their classmates in 2016/17.

The music hubs support the work of primary and secondary schools, with music compulsory in the National Curriculum for children up to age 14. The new model music curriculum will provide a framework for schools to base their own programmes of study on, safe in the knowledge that it is backed by some of the most influential and expert figures in music education.

The panel overseeing development of the model curriculum will be made up of:

• Veronica Wadley (chair), Former Chairman of Arts Council, London, Council Member of the Royal College of music, Governor of the Yehudi Menuhin School and co- Founder of the London Music Fund
• Carolyn Baxendale, Head of Bolton Music Service and lead for Greater Manchester Music Education Hub
• Karen Brock, Head of the Tower Hamlets Arts and Music Education Service
• Michael Elliott, Chief Executive, ABRSM (Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music)
• Peter Garden, Executive Director Performance & Learning, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic
• Naveed Idrees, Head Teacher, Feversham Primary Academy
• Julian Lloyd Webber, Cellist, Conductor and Principal, Royal Birmingham Conservatoire
• Professor Linda Merrick, Principal, Royal Northern College of Music
• Paul Roberts, National Council Member, Arts Council England
• Ian Rowe, Principal, Bromley Youth Music Trust
• James Thomas, Head of Hackney Music Service
• Simon Toyne, Executive Director of Music, David Ross Education Trust and President-Elect, MMA Music Teachers
• Ed Watkins, Director of Music, West London Free School
• Bridget Whyte, Chief Executive, UK Association for Music Education – Music Mark

Veronica Wadley said:

I am looking forward to working with the expert group on publishing a rigorous, knowledge based music curriculum that schools can use to help them provide a rich and sustained music education for all their pupils.

I am also delighted that there is additional funding announced today to support music education hubs.

Julian Lloyd Webber said:

Engaging children in music and ensuring they receive a rich and diverse music education is key to growing pupils’ creativity and continuing the UK’s pipeline of future musicians. I am delighted to be playing a part in shaping a model music curriculum which will support teachers in delivering an inspiring and high quality music education.

Linda Merrick said:

The development of this new model curriculum is an extremely important and timely intervention. It will support teachers to deliver a meaningful and consistent musical education for their pupils, instilling a life-long love of music for its own sake, enhancing attainment across the wider curriculum and helping to develop the transferable skills essential for the workplace.

As Principal of one of the world’s leading conservatoires that takes its responsibility for access and participation extremely seriously, I look forward to contributing to the work of the expert steering group to ensure this exciting initiative realises its potential.

The panel will start work immediately and aims to publish the model curriculum on GOV.UK by the summer.

In 2011 the Government published The Importance of Music: A National Plan for Music Education. The document set out a vision for how music education should look up to 2020 and introduced the plans for the music education hubs.

With 2020 approaching, the Government has committed to refreshing the plan to ensure music, which is the second highest funded element of the curriculum behind PE, remains at the forefront of school life.

Business Secretary Greg Clark said:

Jaguar Land Rover have today confirmed plans to offer voluntary redundancy packages to their UK workforce as they reduce their global headcount. This is a commercial decision for the company but nevertheless it will clearly be a worrying time for Jaguar Land Rover employees and their families.

Jaguar Land Rover is a much valued British company with a talented and dedicated workforce. The Government has, and will continue, to work closely with the business to ensure that it can succeed long into the future as it invests and transitions to autonomous, connected and electric vehicles. On Monday, Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands Combined Authority, and I will convene a Jaguar Land Rover Development Partnership meeting bringing together Jaguar Land Rover leadership, local MPs and representatives from the Midlands and the North West, supply chain, trade body and trades union representatives.

Jaguar Land Rover and its owners have made clear they remain firmly committed to the UK, continuing to invest billions and employing tens of thousands of people. This includes today’s announcement of investment in next generation electric drive units to be produced in Wolverhampton and a new battery assembly centre in Hams Hall. Building on last year’s investment in their key plants in Solihull and Halewood to build the next-generation of Land Rover models, including electric vehicles.

The UK is a world-leader in automotive manufacturing. Through our modern Industrial Strategy, we are building on those world beating strengths and investing in the future to put the UK at the forefront of the next generation of electric and autonomous vehicles.

Published 10 January 2019

Thank you, Mr President, and thank you, SRSG Chambas, for your briefing and for your team’s work in West Africa and the Sahel. Your efforts continue to be an invaluable bulwark against the forces of instability in the region.

Mr President, the United Kingdom welcomes the progress set out by the SRSG this morning, but remains concerned by the security and political situation in large parts of the region. Many of our concerns are reflected in the Secretary-General’s report, including the threats from terrorist groups such as Boko Haram in countries including Nigeria, and other groups operating in the Sahel that wreak havoc on vulnerable populations and systematically violate women’s rights.

As we have discussed many times before in this Council, both military and non-military action is required to address these threats. We must understand their root causes and the political, security, development and humanitarian needs of the population. And it is essential that we adopt a coherent “whole of UN” approach to tackle existing problems and prevent further deterioration in the region.

Mr President, I would like to begin by addressing the situation in the Lake Chad Basin. The magnitude of this crisis is profound. The combination of terrorism, extreme poverty and climate change has rendered some 10 million people dependent on humanitarian aid. Over 2.4 million people have been forced to abandon their homes. The cholera epidemic is the worst in nearly a decade.

A regional response to the crisis in the Lake Chad Basin has been critical. We therefore welcome collaboration between UNOWAS and UNOCA and the joint ECCAS and ECOWAS Summit held in July, which demonstrated the commitment of both organisations to strengthen their cooperation.

Leaders of the Member States of the Lake Chad Basin region also met in December to reinforce the region’s approach to tackling Boko Haram. Regional CT cooperation is vital to addressing a threat that does not respect borders. The Secretary-General’s report reminds us that cooperation between terrorist groups is growing in the Sahel region.

But the region cannot be left to manage this crisis alone. That is why the UK led the drafting of Security Council Resolution 2349 in 2017, and it is why at last September’s high-level conference in Berlin, the UK committed $186 million to support an integrated response to the crisis.

Mr President, it is vital that we follow up the success of the Berlin Conference and ensure that the international community strengthens its commitment to tackling the problems of the region, including through supporting implementation of the UN Support Plan for the Sahel.

In light of the importance of the Sahel, the UK is in the process of scaling up our diplomatic, defence and development assistance in the region. We are opening new embassies in Niger and Chad, and increasing our presence in Mali. We have deployed Chinook helicopters to provide logistical support to the G5 Joint Force through Operation Barkhane, and will be significantly increasing our development assistance to the region in the coming years.

Mr President, at last month’s Council briefing on the implementation if the UN Integrated Support Strategy for the Sahel, we called on international actors to ensure that organisational responsibilities were clearly delineated and strong lines of communication were set up between them. I am encouraged in this respect by the close cooperation between UNOWAS, the Office of the UN Special Adviser for the Sahel, ECOWAS and others.

We also recognise UNOWAS’s efforts elsewhere the region, and the close engagement of the Special Representative with national efforts to sustain peace, as in Liberia and Cote d’Ivoire. UNOWAS has a crucial role supporting states in the subregion to hold timely, transparent and inclusive elections and in supporting efforts of ECOWAS and others to lay the groundwork for structural prevention of election-related violence. With elections scheduled in several countries of the region in 2019, this will be an important theme of the year to come.

Mr President, one of UNOWAS’s strengths has been to act as a bridge between national players and regional and international actors. We would encourage this to continue. In Burkina Faso, for example, regional cooperation and international support will be vital to tackle instability and the risks to the wider region, and UNOWAS has the credentials to leverage and facilitate such cooperation.

The UK also welcomes the role that the Peacebuilding Fund and its implementing partners are playing in supporting reconciliation in Burkina Faso and hope that the UN will maintain its commitment to using PBF resources to support reconciliation activities across the region.

Mr President, UNOWAS has demonstrated that it can be a valuable partner for regional governments and organisations. We look forward to engaging with the strategic review process later this year to ensure that UNOWAS is best equipped to fulfil its mandate.

Thank you, Mr President.

Pupils with additional and often complex needs are set to benefit from more than 120 new school places, as two special free schools have been given the green light to open.

Children and Families Minister Nadhim Zahawi has announced (9 January) that the two new specialist schools will be built in Essex and Hounslow, helping to meet the local need for school places for children with some of the most complex social, emotional and mental health needs.

It follows the publication of a significant package of support for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in December, when the Education Secretary Damian Hinds announced an extra £350 million funding to provide them with specialist support and tailored facilities, and boosting the school choice available for parents.

Children and Families Minister Nadhim Zahawi said:

I know how important it is for parents to feel their child is getting the support and education they deserve. My ambition for children with special educational needs is the same as for any other child – to achieve well in their education, find employment and live a happy, fulfilled life.

Every school is a school for children with special education needs – but parents rightly want choice in their child’s education, which is why our reforms to the system put families at the heart of the process so their views are heard.

The two new special free schools in Essex and Hounslow will help support children with these additional needs to get the skills they need to fulfil their potential.

The two special free schools due to open in September 2020 include:

• one in Hounslow, providing 64 specialist places for pupils with social, emotional and mental health needs, aged between 11 and 19-years-old. It will be run by Orchard Hill College Academy Trust; and
• one in Chelmsford, Essex, on the site of the former St Peter’s College, to offer 64 places to pupils aged seven to 16 who have severe and complex social, emotional and mental health needs. It will be run by the Beckmead Trust, which is in the process of becoming a Multi-Academy Trust with the Beckmead Family of Schools, a special school in Croydon rated outstanding by Ofsted.

Today’s announcement is part of a government drive to ensure more families have access to a good school place, which will see the creation of one million places between 2010 and 2020 – the fastest increase for two generations.

It also builds on confirmation from the Education Secretary that he will approve all high quality bids in the current round of special and alternative provision free schools applications. Alongside this, he also confirmed that councils will receive an additional £250 million in their high needs budgets over the next two years – on top of the £6 billion already provided – and an extra £100 million investment to create more specialist places in mainstream schools, colleges and special schools. This could include more state-of-the-art facilities, such as sensory rooms and specialist equipment.

Together, the funding will provide parents with increased choice for their child’s education, and give more children and young people access to a good school or college place that meets their individual needs.

Councillor Tom Bruce, Cabinet Member for Education, Children Services and Youth Services, Hounslow Council, said:

We’re delighted to be given the opportunity to open a new special school in Hounslow. The number of children diagnosed with having special educational needs and disabilities has been rising in recent years.

This new school will help meet the increased demand for school places and will support many children in our borough, ensuring that they receive the high quality education that they deserve.

Councillor Ray Gooding, Essex County Council’s Cabinet Member for Education, said:

We are delighted that the Beckmead Trust has been appointed by the Department for Education to open a new special school in Chelmsford and pleased to have been able to work in partnership with both organisations to make the site available.

The new school will ensure pupils with a range of complex needs are fully supported within an appropriate environment and help to ensure that every child in the county is given the best chance to thrive. This is fantastic news for Essex and I look forward to the official opening of the new school.

The Queen has been pleased to approve that the First Minister of Wales (Mark Drakeford AM) be sworn of Her Majesty’s most Honourable Privy Council.

This follows the recent appointment of Mark Drakeford AM as First Minister of Wales.

Published 10 January 2019