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What is music education for? Beyond the pursuit of a creative career, we visit providers across the UK who have recognized that music has a wider beneficial impact, and ask if it can be argued for as an end in itself. Feversham Primary Academy in Bradford has seen their pupils’ behaviour and academic achievements skyrocket since they brought a holistic focus on music into their curriculum, taking them in 10 years from a school in special measures to being rated Outstanding by Ofsted. At Supajam, a college in Kent, centring the learning experience around live music and production skills has helped young people who have fallen out of mainstream education to gain key qualifications and transform their wellbeing. And in North Wales, we hear about the rollout of the nation’s brand new Music Service, where every child is offered a free musical instrument. Soweto explores how creative skills are useful in all walks of life, and how we need to rethink the value of music beyond the surface.

In a 3-part series, Soweto Kinch looks at music education across the UK and assesses how policy changes over the years are playing out. What impact is decades of underfunding going to have on our economy, culture, and children's development? How are new National Plans for Music announced last year going to address the situation across the UK? Reflecting on his own route to music, Soweto asks what music education could look like, and how much it matters if we don't get it right. Contributors include Nicola Benedetti, Anna Meredith, Nubya Garcia, Kadiatu Kanneh-Mason, Jamie Njoku-Goodwin and a range of music professionals and providers across the UK.

Produced by Megan Jones and Amelia Parker