F EDITORIAL
EDITORIAL Phone 020 7738 5454 Email music.teacher@markallengroup.com Editor Phil Croydon Assistant Editor Maggie Hamilton Resources Editor David Kettle Design Daniela Di Padova ADVERTISING Head of Sales Amy Driscoll 020 7333 1719 amy.driscoll@markallengroup.com Production Controller Daniela Di Padova daniela.dipadova@markallengroup.com SUBSCRIPTIONS AND BACK ISSUES Phone UK 0800 137 201 Overseas +44(0)1722 716997 Email subscriptions@markallengroup.com Subscriptions Manager Bethany Foy UK Subscription Rate £70 PUBLISHING Phone +44(0)20 7738 5454 Managing Director Ravi Chandiramani Publisher Amy Driscoll Marketing & Events Director Tony Hill Head of Marketing John Barnett Marketing Executive Max Crowland Marketing Graduate Yzanne Pepper Group Institutional Sales Manager Jas Atwal Production Director Richard Hamshere Circulation Director Sally Boettcher Chief Operating Officer Jon Benson Chief Executive Officer Ben Allen Executive Chairman Mark Allen
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Music Teacher, ISSN 0027-4461, is published monthly by MA Education & Music Ltd, St Jude’s Church, Dulwich Road, London SE24 0PB, UK Subscription records are maintained at MA Education & Music Ltd, Unit A, Buildings 1-5 Dinton Business Park, Catherine Ford Road, Dinton, Salisbury, Wiltshire SP3 5HZ © MA Education & Music Ltd 2025. All rights reserved. No part of Music Teacher may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without prior written permission of the publishing director. The views expressed do not necessarily represent those of the editor. The presence of advertisements in Music Teacher implies no endorsement of the products or services offered. Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of statements in this magazine but we cannot accept responsibility for errors or omissions, or for matters arising from clerical or printers’ errors, or an advertiser not completing their contract. We have made every effort to secure permission to use copyright material. Where material has been used inadvertently or we have been unable to trace the copyright owner, acknowledgment will be made in a future issue. Music Teacher is interested in articles on all aspects of music education; if you wish to submit one, please contact the editor. We reserve the right to edit material for publication. Please read our privacy policy by visiting http://privacypolicy.markallengroup.com This will explain how we process, use and safeguard your data. Printed in the UK by Pensord, Pontllanfraith, Blackwood NP12 2YA
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Being joined up Circle time, inclusion, pipelines
With this special issue of MT, I’m delighted to welcome delegates of Expo 2025, the largest annual event for those involved in music and drama education. On pages 14–17 you will find an exciting programme for the two-day event in London, from interviews and CPD sessions to performances and keynote speeches. We hope you enjoy these, and find time to catch up with colleagues – an Expo bonus for many.
This month’s Music Teacher magazine shines a light on early childhood music education in particular. We welcome specialist practitioners who have worked for Spitalfields Music, Wigmore Hall and Creative Futures, and researchers from the RCM and Bath Spa University. As a group, they cover the importance of free play, musical play, classroom environment, and choosing songs and activities for a rich curriculum and inclusive practice. Topics range from Speech & Language Therapy (p. 35) to punk pedagogy (p. 24), to how to embed music in the curriculum (p. 12). Speaker and trainer Dr Shaddai Tembo, I’m pleased to say, joins us for the first time as contributor (p. 32).
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Another highlight of this month’s issue is Simon Toyne’s in-depth discussion of the workforce in secondary schools and how high-quality curricular and co-curricular music could be delivered (p. 38). Resourcing the NPME while realising its aims and delivering musical value and progression (as well as participation) has been a concern of many leading figures for some time. I refer MT readers to previous ‘pipeline’ articles by Martin Fautley, Adam Whittaker, Liz Stafford, Jonathan Vaughan and Gary Spruce, in addition to sector surveys from the ISM. How we match the scale of ambition with resources requires a short- and long-term plan, as Simon Toyne says, to stop the ‘vicious circle playing itself out’. But, as he also notes, the present mood music is encouraging, with a curriculum review and other measures due by the new government during 2025. There are grounds for optimism.
Elsewhere in February’s MT, you’ll find thoughts on representation and inclusive practice from Tolu McCarthy (p. 26), who gave a popular talk on this at last year’s MT curriculum conference. We have a candid account of life as an ECT (p. 21), notes from an examiner on a recent visit to South Africa (p. 29), and the first column by our new partner for Health and Wellbeing, Creative United, who describe an instrument grant scheme that is helping with the cost-of-living crisis.
Finally, though not least, we have a full-length interview with Ryan Wang (p. 64), the worthy winner of BBC Young Musician 2024 and, by the sounds of things, a pianist with a firm grasp (at the tender age of 17…) of what it takes to be a top-flight performer.
Phil Croydon, editor
Music Teacher is the UK’s only magazine aimed at music educators from across the sector. It is a place where music is valued in and of itself, embracing all genres. We offer up new approaches to pedagogy through in-depth features, engaging opinions, lesson plans and schemes of work. We cast a critical eye over the latest research and products to help inform the conversations that shape musical teaching. This is a platform for raising awareness of the key issues affecting music teachers, and for championing existing efforts to ensure music education is accessible to all. @musicteachermag fb.com/musicteachermag @musicteachermag
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