Dear supporters, I can’t thank you enough for your help, spreading the word on our open letter to Government which was published recently in the Sunday Telegraph. I lost count of the number of you who posted a link to the letter on the Department for Education Facebook page, and also the numbers who tweeted about it. And I don't know how many of you also shared the article with your friends and family, along with a link to this petition. But I do know that it must have been a lot - as the result was a tremendous boost in signature numbers, about 500 people signed up to this petition in just one week. This is fantastic – and gives me so much hope that, if we keep pushing, we will get to our target 100,000 signatures. I write today about a final push on another front – Ofsted. Many of you already responded to my email in October, asking that you reply to a consultation from Ofsted on the way it inspects schools. Tomorrow is the closing date for the consultation, and it’s so important that as many of us respond as possible. We need to make sure Ofsted knows how important music education is, and how it deserves more attention in Ofsted inspections. So this is a plea to anyone who hasn’t yet responded to the consultation – please, please, please submit a comment by tomorrow. In case you missed my other email about it, the issue is that music isn't mentioned in Ofsted’s framework for school inspections, or the handbook inspectors use. With so much focus on core subjects ( – maths, English and science) and on school ratings, other subjects like music can slip well down the priority list. Teachers have told me of school inspections which barely looked at music, and also of schools getting an ‘outstanding’ rating, even if they offer inadequate music education. However, a chance to change this has come along. Ofsted is looking at altering the way it inspects schools, and have opened a consultation to gather opinions from anyone interested. Ofsted says that the new inspection framework must place a greater emphasis on the breadth of the curriculum in schools. This is a vital opportunity to tell Ofsted that it needs to pay specific attention to music. If Ofsted put music in the inspection framework and handbook, or specified that music must be evaluated properly during regular school inspections, it will get closer scrutiny by inspectors, and head teachers will be more empowered to ensure a good quality music education is part of every child's life. The closing date for the consultation is tomorrow, Friday 5 December - so this is our last chance to make our feelings known directly to Ofsted. This is an opportunity to bring about real change in the system, so please take three minutes to respond to the Ofsted consultation. Please don't be put off by the length of the consultation questionnaire. After filling out initial details, you can just skip through without answering the other questions (just keep pressing ‘Next’ at the bottom of the pages) – until you get to Q.12, where you can add your comments in the box. Access it here: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/futureofinspection Write your own thoughts, or here are some things you might want to say: - Ofsted MUST include music inspection as part of their inspection regime, and produce evidence of that in their school reports. - No school should be able to be classed as good or outstanding if it is not at least good or outstanding in music. - Music is a vital part of the curriculum, and must be properly examined during Ofsted inspections. It would also be so helpful if you could let us know you’ve responded – post to our Facebook page: http://on.fb.me/1rp9H5s or tweet us @JamesRhodesDSTM. The more noise we make about it, the more we spread the word. Ofsted has to take into account all the responses to this consultation. So please do take a moment to have your say: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/futureofinspection The full consultation document can be found at: http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/sites/default/files/documents/consultations/b/Better%20inspection%20for%20all.pdf Once again, thank you all so much. James Rhodes www.dontstopthemusic.co.uk