Charity Music Programs Fill Gap in School Music Education

Music education in local schools has become a vibrant and engaging experience for students, thanks to the efforts of outside charities and organizations. At Taree Public School, students are thriving in their weekly music sessions, run by the not-for-profit Australian Children's Music Foundation (ACMF).

Year 6 student Cooper Hamilton-Riley is one of the students reaping the benefits of the program. He has learned to play the drums and read music, and thoroughly enjoys the challenge of creating a beat with both hands and feet. "[It] just feels fun to hit the drums hard and makes me really focus on one thing," Cooper said.

Music Education in NSW Public Schools

In New South Wales, public schools do not have a dedicated music teacher before year 7. Matt Zarb, from the ACMF, believes this is a significant gap in the education system. "That's like saying I'm going to teach you to read when you're 13," Mr Zarb said. "All these little children who've got so much music in them with no opportunity."

The ACMF supplies instruments for music classes targeted at students in regional, remote, and disadvantaged primary schools. The project is funded by a mixture of philanthropy and fundraising. Mr Zarb worked with Cooper's class to harness their musical talent to write a song and film clip that showcased Biripi culture.

Cooper said the project has made him feel stronger about his culture and happy to be Biripi and Aboriginal. "It makes me feel stronger about my culture and happy to be Biripi and Aboriginal," he said.

Impact of the Music Program

The school's Aboriginal Education Officer, Toni Baxter, who worked on the cultural dance, language, and traditional dress, said the project has brought confidence and pride to the students. "I've just seen the difference when they first started they were very shy and as we kept coming together they felt comfortable and their confidence just grew."

The ACMF's music program at Kempsey South Public School saw a 13.6 per cent increase in student attendance between 2022 to 2024. The organization made a submission to a NSW parliamentary inquiry in 2024 that examined inequity of music education in primary schools, the benefits of quality music education, the resourcing challenges, and potential solutions.

Government Response and Future Plans

The state government response made 30 recommendations to deliver over 10 years between 2025 and 2035. Some of the recommendations include introducing arts and music specialization in initial primary school teacher education, and funding development to upskill teachers to have the confidence to deliver music in the syllabus.

In a statement, Deputy Premier and Minister for Education and Early Learning Prue Carr said the 10-year plan for music education in public primary schools would be released in the coming weeks.

The Importance of Music Education

Anita Collins, a neuro-musical educator and consultant and adjunct associate professor at the University of Canberra, said research showed learning music improved the brain's ability to learn. "As soon as you do music you're actually improving the pathway for language," Dr Collins said. "It also improves many parts we then apply to numeracy — it's an area called the abstract thinking network — and mathematics is one of those."

She said the education system nationally needs to ensure all students have access to quality music education. "There are so many not-for-profits and they're doing an excellent job and they're bringing their expertise to schools and to generalist teachers who've never learnt a musical instrument."

Matt Zarb said if a child was happy, they would learn well. "If the kids are getting a chance to experience, read and play music, sing … their whole existence is better at school."

Taree Public School principal Di Murray said the ACMF was vital to ensuring her students got a comprehensive music education. She said their generalist teachers could deliver the required music curriculum, but it made a difference having a professional musician come in.