The Sydney Morning Herald highlights our critical new research on music education in NSW primary schools
Homebush West Public School students perform at the launch of our ACER Primary Teachers’ Survey on music education on 15 May 2025. (Photo: Liz Keene Photography).
The Sydney Morning Herald shines light on the state of music education in NSW public schools – drawing on findings from our new ACER Primary Teachers' Survey on Music Education in NSW – and highlights the inspiring work of Homebush West Public School, one of the schools bucking the trend.
In her article titled, ‘Teachers know music education is crucial. In NSW they are too afraid to teach it’, Emily Kowal captures the widespread challenges teachers face in delivering music learning as required in the curriculum, with more than 70% relying on pre-recorded videos rather than teaching music live, and 82% reporting they were not adequately prepared by their university degrees to teach music.
As music learning expert and senior advisor to this initiative Dr Anita Collins told the SMH, “There was such a high number of respondents saying that would rather [use videos] than actually teach music… It really showed that teachers don’t feel confident, and they are relying on recorded music lessons, which are nowhere near as good as someone delivering music in a live fashion.”
NSW Minister for the Arts, Music and the Night-time Economy, The Hon. John Graham, MLC, helped launch our latest research to much musical fanfare on 15 May 2025. (Photo: Liz Keene Photography).
But it doesn’t have to be this way. Sydney’s Homebush West Public School is an example of what’s possible when music learning is prioritised – and when teachers are provided with the training and support they need to teach it well.
Principal Estelle Southall has created a culture where music is valued equally alongside other core subjects and teachers feel empowered to prioritise it — demonstrating that even within the same constraints faced by many public primary schools, quality, sequential and ongoing music education is possible.
The school shares resources with a local network of schools, as well as offering weekly music sessions, specialised programs, and music camps — creating what Southall describes as “joyous” learning days filled with the sounds of instruments and student engagement. Southall reflects on the unexpected delights music education brings: “The recorder can actually sound beautiful… I’ve come to learn it can actually be quite exceptional when it’s done incredibly well.”
“Music is the only endeavour that lights up every area of the brain,” Homebush West Public School principal Estelle Southall told the Sydney Morning Herald. “We are really committed to doing everything we can to make sure students can experience joy in their learning.”
Our new ACER Primary Teachers’ Survey for NSW report, supported by the NSW Department of Education and the NSW Teachers Federation, and proudly funded by NSW Government through Sound NSW and Alberts | The Tony Foundation, highlights the urgent need to better equip teachers with training and resources so more schools can follow Homebush West’s inspiring example – and help ensure all students have access to quality music learning.
