Music lessons

[knaffedoff]

Can anyone advise if schools receive funding for music lessons, if not is it just the for families that can afford them?

If you pay for the lessons, how much do you pay?

[spanieleyes]

schools do not receive money for music lessons, although some schools will use pupil premium money for those eligible. Otherwise, if you want lessons in school you will need to pay. Prices can vary considerably, depending on whether you have individual or group lessons, 20 minutes o r 30 minutes etc. AFAICR, our lessons are £8.00 for a 30 minute individual lesson and down to around £6 for group lessons ( 2/3 per group)

[BizzyFizzy]

We pay £21 for a 30 minute lesson.

[spanieleyes]

Crikey!

[FloellaDaVille]

I run the music departments at two primary schools. Our teaching is provided by the local music hub. Group lessons are three or four children for 20 mins, six children for 30 minutes. Parents pay £55 per term. School pays for pupil premium children who want lessons. The music hub charges us for the time we buy in and we just about cover our costs with this system (apart from pp funding).

[celtiethree]

I pay £85 a term for school lessons. £30 an hour for a private lesson.

[bojorojo]

No, schools do not receive funding but most children can access lessons via a peripatetic music service where instrument teachers visit the school. It is usually a group lesson and you do have to pay. What you pay varies from area to area. It is not compulsory education which is why it is not funded.

We found the teachers to be excellent and great value for money. The music service also ran numerous ensembles and orchestras at the local music centre and these were brilliant. There was a cost though. I just don't think anyone can expect music lessons for free and, like anything extra in life, you have to pay for it. You would pay for specialist sports training. Music is no different.

[knaffedoff]

Thank you, we had signed up for music lessons at £31 pcm but then a friend who works in a school advised that music lessons should be included within the curriculum and as a parent we wouldn't pay in her school.

Looks like I am paying the normal

[user789653241]

We pay £14 for 20 minutes one to one. Charged beginning of the term for exact number of lessons in that term, so fee varies every term.
They have group lesson as well, but I don't know the fee.

[se22mother]

2 instruments 1 £25 per half hour. The other £21 per half hour. Not cheap...

[llangennith]

£60 a term for guitar lessons.

[HandsomeDevil]

we pay £120 per term for a 30 min small group lesson

However neighbouring boroughs as a rule only charge half as much. Not sure why it's so expensive here - we've no unusual demographic factors.

Music centre membership is a further £35 per term, but we get 2 weekly ensembles for this.

[jamdonut]

We used to pay £12.50 a term at primary school, for flute lessons ( but this was 10 years ago now!) School subsidised them. In senior school we payed £50 a term...Again subsidised by school. At university , she has to pay £30 a lesson!!!! (Unfortunately no choice as taking a music degree!)

[EweAreHere]

Wow. I'm feeling lucky looking at some of these prices.

We pay £12.50 per half hour private piano lesson.
£7.50 per 20 minute private guitar lesson.
£3.00 each per small group recorder lessons.
Choir is free.

[MissWimpyDimple]

We pay about £100 a term for a 30 min weekly lesson with groups of 2-4.

However, if you get tax credits it's 20% less and then I think if you are on free school meals it's up to 80% off.

[celtiethree]

In total I pay approx 100 per week in term time. School lessons in that number are really good value. If you can get school lessons then I would really really suggest that you go for it!!

[Kerberos]

£60 a term for a 20 min group lesson with one other student.

£80 a term for a solo lesson. These are only offered where there's just one player of an instrument.

[Mandolinoparadiso]

£13 per half-hour individual lesson here, and free brass lessons are provided by County Music Service (to whole class).

[Spindelina]

DD's school teach one instrument as a whole class in two of the later years (3/4? 4/5? can't remember). Music as a curriculum subject is a thing and should be free, though won't necessarily include learning a particular instrument.

Additionally, we have the option of instrumental lessons individually / in small groups (which we have to pay for).

[Ilovewillow]

Our junior school is very much music focussed so we can access choir and recorder groups free of charge. Yr 3 all have recorder lessons for a term, Yr 4 is Melodean and Yr 5 Ukulele. They have dedicated music lessons each week for all and learning drumming etc with various workshops.

more in-depth teaching is conducted by our local music service and this is paid for at approx £110 per term for a group session (3 in my daughters group) for 20 mins per week.

[NotThrowAwayMyShot]

Music lessons are included within the curriculum. Class music in primary generally includes listening, singing, percussion & creating/responding to music & may be taken by either the class teacher or a specialist. The standard is variable depending on the expertise & inclination of the class teacher.

What you will be paying for is either individual or small group instrumental lessons or possibly even general musicianship tuition eg music theory, Kodaly/Dalcroze etc.

This is not part of the general school curriculum but is an optional extra in the same way as extra sports coaching is.

[BikeRunSki]

DS's class has violin lessons once a week. We paid a "voluntary" contribution on £30/year.

He also has ukulele lessons, which cost £6/hr. he is in a group of 4.

[bojorojo]

knaff- Often schools run choirs as part of extra curricular activities for free and obviously music is part of school life. There is no obligation on schools to teacher the guitar or the trumpet for free. Sometimes, if they have a musical teacher, they may run an orchestra or ensembles. I think your friend is not correct in her expectations.

Children who are musical really do benefit from lessons and if there is a musical teacher in school, they really add to the enjoyment of going to school.

[TheNorthRemembers]

We pay £5 per maybe 20-30 minutes guitar lessons in the school. I am not there, but there are 3-4 kids in the group. I appreciate that they do it. DS is not really a future Jimmy Hendrix, but he learns to appreciate music making and the hard work and brilliance that go into it.

[BackforGood]

Individual music lessons aren't part of the normal curriculum, which is why they are chargeable. They are just arranged through the school so they can be a lot more affordable than private lessons (and you also get the benefit of having the opportunities to be part of different ensembles once the dc reach a higher standard).

What pupils get charged in different LAs varies enormously though - it did even before the Gvmnt started breaking up all the LAs and reducing or completely cutting music departments.