The Department for Education has awarded the contract for the new National Centre for Arts Education to Etio, with the Centre expected to launch by the end of September and take on oversight of Music Hubs nationally from September 2027.

Etio, an education consultancy, will set up and run the centre for at least three years, backed by nearly £30m from government. 

It is a significant moment for arts education in England. The centre will play crucial role in delivering the government’s ambition to revitalise arts in schools, so every child can access a rich, high-quality arts education that nurtures creativity, confidence, cultural understanding and personal expression – exactly the challenge West of England Music and Arts (WEMA) is designed to solve. 

The Centre will gather a coalition of partners from arts, culture, education and philanthropy to create meaningful social impact, coordinating funding and targeting support where access to high-quality arts education is most unequal.  

Simon Lock, CEO of West of England Music and Arts, said: “WEMA’s own journey over the last three years has been led by the same principle now shaping national policy – that access to a creative life shouldn’t depend on a person’s background or household income. 

“As one organisation delivering through three complementary strands – Music Hub, Cultural Education Hub and Creative Health – WEMA creates one safeguarding framework and one set of school relationships. It’s a model built for exactly the kind of joined-up, evidence-led impact the new Centre is being asked to deliver.”

WEMA looks forward to learning more about the Centre’s plans as it launches, and to playing our part – both as an established Music Hub, and as a regional arts provider through our Cultural Education Hub. 

Research commissioned in May shows that the WEMA model of partnership working with schools, creative practitioners and local organisations, creates a proven model of arts and cultural education that should be of great interest to those determining how the Centre will work.

For more information on our Cultural Education Hub Research Reports, go to wema.org.uk/cultural-education-hub-research/