The package includes:

• £2m to fund professional development for music teachers
• First details of the ‘State of Play Festival’ bringing together big names from the music industry, arts, education and health to explore music education today
• Launch of the ‘State of Play Season’ of activity for music educators (Sept-Jan)
• Music Manifesto in action showcasing innovative music education
• Launch of the new interactive Music Manifesto website and resources

1.  £2m to fund professional development for music teachers. The Department for Education and Skills has committed £2m to the Open University and Trinity College London to create a training programme to support the development of staff involved in teaching music in primary schools. Over 2000 teachers are expected to benefit from this new package and training will start in the spring 2007.

At the Sage Gateshead Andrew Adonis said:
“We know that one of the things that pupils enjoy most about learning music is the opportunity to play an instrument. Already, the number of primary school children learning an instrument has doubled since 2002.  Ofsted tell us that there is a tremendous enthusiasm for music education in our classrooms. Findings from visits to primary schools this summer show that almost one in five lessons were judged outstanding – and the quality of lessons had improved at every level for 7-11 year olds at Key Stage 2. But we want to do even more and give teachers the resources they need to inspire even more children people into picking up their instruments. This is an exciting initiative which will help us to do just that.

2.  Announcing the first details of the State of Play Festival (16-17 Jan 07) to be held at the legendary Roundhouse, home of some of Britain’s most exciting live musical and theatrical events, and a Music Manifesto Pathfinder partner.
 
State Of Play will be a celebration of music education in the UK, an exploration of young people's involvement in music and a call to action for further improvement over the next five years.  The Festival will give music educators an opportunity to engage in debate and hear from practitioners, performers and opinion-formers from the wider world of education, the arts and creative industries. Contributors include:

• Professor Lord Winston
• Legendary South African musician Hugh Masekela
• Sir Ken Robinson – world leading authority on creativity and education
• Eric Nicoli Chair of EMI Group
• Alan Johnson Secretary of State for Education & Skills
• Cellist Julian Lloyd-Webber
• Composer and broadcaster Howard Goodall
• Television news journalists Jon Snow, Krishnan Guru-Murthy and Kirsty Wark will drive interrogation of the issues in Question Time style debates and thought-provoking discussions. 

This innovative festival will also include performances and participation, workshops and advice sessions including The Creator’s Bedroom – a recreation of a teenager’s musical world that is sometimes hard for the over 30s to understand.

3.  Launch of the ‘State of Play’ Season of activity including National Music Week (16-20 October) featuring a Schools Singles Chart showcasing 10 upcoming UK artists; the launch of Music Manifesto Report No.2 recommending the future pathway for music education; and the Roundhouse Under18s programme as part of the BBC Electric Proms.

4.  Today’s State of Play Season launch also provides the opportunity to see the Music Manifesto in action. As a Music Manifesto Pathfinder The Sage Gateshead is reaching 15,000 children and 300 practitioners drawn from 1083 Northeast schools across 29 Local Authorities with it’s ‘Access to Excellence’ programme. This event will see examples of that work in action – from group singing, to drumming to a session for early years toddlers, and will showcase the work of children, school staff and teachers.  

5.  Re-launch of the Music Manifesto website to support the Music Manifesto campaign; bringing together the 600+ signatories; and showcasing the best of music education from across the country with interviews, podcasts and reviews. This newly interactive Music Manifesto website will also share the activities from the State of Play Festival with thousands online.

Culture Minister David Lammy said,
 “To truly work towards meeting the aims of the Music Manifesto it is essential that we learn what is working well and build on that, ensuring that  effective practice in music education is shared. The State of Play Season, culminating in the Festival, brings an opportunity to do so in an inspiring way with the coming together of leading performers, practitioners and thinkers from music, education, government and the creative industries.

“The Sage Gateshead is a fitting venue for today’s State of Play launch – as a beacon of musical excellence and a strong example of the Music Manifesto in action. 

Schools Minister Andrew Adonis said,
"Since its launch in July 2004, the Music Manifesto has been instrumental in giving children opportunities to nurture their musical interests and to develop a world class workforce in music education. The Manifesto website which also goes live today shows that over 600 organisations and individuals have signed up to the campaign – organisations from EMI to MTV. These signatures come with pledges of resources and evidence of their own distinctive contributions"

Music Manifesto Champion Marc Jaffrey said,
“Our campaign for improvement needs a fully supported and inspired workforce - the State of Play programme seeks to do just this.  I very much welcome the Government’s announcement of a rigorous programme of Continuing Professional Development for those in the primary sector.  We all have leadership challenges in bringing more music to more young people. Next month we will be announcing recommendations of how this can be better achieved.”

State of Play Festival tickets will go on sale today at 10am from www.roundhouse.org.uk 0870 389 1846 
 
Notes to Editors
Contact: Fiona Cameron 020 7211 6266/078877 54944 fiona.cameron@culture.gsi.gov.uk

For details of DfES £2m funding contact Ruma Multani 020 7925 5105 ruma.multani@dfes.gsi.gov.uk

1. The Music Manifesto was launched in July 2004 bringing together an historic 60-strong coalition aimed at putting music at the heart of every school. The manifesto commits the signatories to five key priorities to drive improvement:

• To provide every young person with first access to a range of music experiences
• To provide more opportunities for young people to deepen and broaden their musical interests and skills
• To identify and nurture our most talented young musicians
• To develop a world class workforce in music education
• To improve the support structures for young people’s music making
  

These are backed up by pledges of action from the partners to make these priorities a reality. These can be found on the Music Manifesto website.

2. Music Manifesto Pathfinders: The Hallé Orchestra Manchester, Roundhouse London and The Sage Gateshead share in £2 million to develop a range of innovative projects designed to inspire more young people to access high quality music provision. In addition each pathfinder is creating models for providing access to music teaching and learning that can be replicated across the country.

3. The State of Play Season will showcase not just effective but future practice in music education:  1)  To promote the strategic roadmap being delivered by the Music Manifesto around workforce development, structural coordination within the sector and a national strategy for singing; 2) To recognise what has been achieved so far and showcase examples of effective practice; 3) To stimulate thinking around significant and innovative future practice; 4) To bring together a breadth of stakeholders and key figures to evaluate the progress of the Music Manifesto; 5) To ensure the participants in the Festival take away practical tools which inspire them and help to raise the standard of music teaching; 6) To involve headteachers and governors and to clearly set out the benefits of music to the whole school culture; 7) To give parents a clearer understanding of their vital role in their childrens’ education.

4. The Sage Gateshead is a home for music and musical discovery housed in Norman Foster’s first building for the performing arts on a spectacular landmark site. Teenage music leaders in Redcar, Cleveland; child-minders in Stanley, Co Durham; under 5s in Peterlee; instrumental teachers in Darlington, Year 6 students in Newcastle, and community musicians in Gateshead are just some of the people involved in debating, exploring and learning through The Sage Gateshead’s Access to Excellence programme, one of three national Pathfinders funded through the Music Manifesto.     

5. The State of Play Festival is produced by Serious. 

6. The online State of Play Season is produced by Somethin’ Else .

7. DfES’s flagship pledge to the Music Manifesto is a commitment, over time, to allow every primary school child who wants it, the opportunity to learn a musical instrument. In addition to £60 million made available through the Standards Fund to access Local Authority Music Services, an additional £30 million over two years has been committed to support music at Key Stage 2 between 2006 and 2008.

8. Early information about the Continuing Professional Development programme will be available at www.KS2music.org.uk from 18 September 2006.