45 per cent of music teachers can't read music

Almost half of primary school music teachers cannot read music.

A survey of 132 schools by the Institute of Education, University of London, revealed that 45 per cent of music teachers could not read music and most said they had received only one day's training in the subject.

Some schools spent as little as 20 minutes a week on music, while others spent more than an hour, the survey found. "There is a wide variability in the quality of the teaching and the standards attained by the pupils," said Professor Sue Hallam, the lead researcher for the study.