NSW Primary Teachers’ Music Education Survey: Reliving the Launch (video)
In May, the Hon. John Graham MLC, NSW Minister for the Arts, Music and the Night-time Economy, joined educators, policymakers, and industry leaders at Homebush West Public School to launch Music Education: Right from the Start’s landmark ACER Primary Teachers’ Survey on Music Education in NSW.
Earlier, we reported insights from the event; now, experience the highlights—student performances, the buzz, and the collective push to improve music education in NSW.
Reflecting on his personal commitment to advancing music education as the state’s first Minister for Music, Minister Graham welcomed the survey report and the insights shared by teachers, situating it within the NSW Government’s broader policy response to the recent Parliamentary Inquiry into Arts and Music Education and Training, which he initiated through NSW’s Creative Communities policy.
“That inquiry found that it’s essential for all students in NSW primary schools to receive quality, sequential and ongoing music learning,” said Minister Graham, noting that economic, geographical, and cultural barriers continue to create inequities in its delivery.
“In response, we’re developing a 10-year Music Education Plan to build on the high-quality offerings of the public education system, and to make sure that all public-school students can access quality music education.”
Deb Summerhayes, NSW Deputy Secretary - Public Schools, echoed the importance of equitable access to quality music learning for all students: “Whether you got to school in Boggabilla, or Ballina, or Balmain, or Homebush West, you deserve a quality education,” she said. “ I know the transformation that can happen through a good education… And that’s more than maths and English, it includes music – it includes education that makes you a whole person.”
NSW Minister for Arts and Music John Graham (centre), with (from left): Emily Albert; Mr Jason Li MP; Homebush West Public School Principal, Estelle Southall; NSW Deputy Secretary - Public Schools, Deb Summerhayes, and NSW Executive Director of Student Support and Specialist Programs, Sylvia Corish.
The first of its kind, the ACER Primary Teachers’ Survey on Music Education in NSW captured the experiences of 706 teachers across 95 government schools, providing the most comprehensive baseline data on how music education has been delivered, assessed and experienced by both teachers and students. Conducted by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER), funded by the NSW Government through Sound NSW and Alberts | The Tony Foundation, and supported by the NSW Department of Education and the NSW Teachers Federation, the survey provided contemporary evidence to the NSW Inquiry, in what Emily Albert called “a genuinely joint endeavour.”
Four months on from the launch event, the NSW Government is now actively turning its mind to the development of the 10-year Music Education Plan, in close collaboration with the sector.
Emily Albert’s words from the launch still resonate: “With the NSW Government’s new 10-year Music Education Plan, the door is open for real change – one that’s shaped by the sector and focused on quality access for all students,” she said, noting Music Education: Right from the Start is committed to supporting the Government in any way we can.
“The New South Wales Government, and most importantly, the Education Minister [The Hon Pru Carr, MP], now has just about everything needed to develop a comprehensive Music Education Plan and roll it out across the state, and we will remain actively engaged for as long as this takes.”
