to want to improve the extra curricular music provision at our local primary school?

[thedolly]

At the moment it is virtually non existent. They don't even have peripatetic music teachers.

Is there anything I can do as a parent with 3 children about to enter the school (2 now and 1 later)?

funtimewinces - interesting bugbear, I'd never thought of it quite like that

The county that we are in is Suffolk where they are phasing out the middle school system. Presumably this will put pressure on the 'primary' schools to offer more music to replace what the middle schools were offering.

I spoke to someone today who moved their DD to a private school solely because of music provision or the lack of it in the state sector.

Not everywhere in the state system TheDolly. We have peris who come into our school to teach violin, cello, keyboard, drums, guitar, brass and wind. There is no reason for any school not to be able do the same that I can see. We pay the teachers directly (I pay £70 a term for DD2 to do 2 to 1 cello lesson and £105 a term for DD1 to have a private violin lesson).

There was very little music provision at my DC primary.

All the children sang every week. In years 3/4 &5/6 They paid for a pianist to come into school twice per week a accompany them. They had tried recorders with the older juniors but it had not been a great success. Maybe they should have tried with year 3 not 6.

Eventually me and another mum persuaded HT to arrange for county hall to send a peripetetic(sp) teacher in for woodwind tuition. Mine have now left the school but the woodwind teacher still goes in and a small group of DC are also having keyboard/guitar lessons. Parents do have to pay unfortunately so not every DC gets the chance.

My dd's school doesn't have a choir. I'm a (very rusty) singer - I trained at one of the major music colleges, but have only sung once in the last 10 years.

My dd has only just started at the school in Reception, but I have offered to go in a run a choir, once a week for the KS2 children, during a lunchtime. My piano skills are almost non-existant, but there is loads I can do just with the voice and some percussion instruments. I'm sure there must be someone in our village who plays the piano whose arm I can twist to come and accompany us if I am desperate.

I want my daughter to be at a school where music is important, has a high profile and a high standard. If that means providing it myself to start with, then so be it!

I think primary age DC get more chance to learn an instrument now. They can have brass tuition at one neighbouring village school and strings at another after school. This is of course if parents can pay and are there to transport DC. So just the lucky few get to learn.

how do schools cope without a resident pianist, for assemblies and christmas plays etc?

I cannot believe some of you have so little provision, how sad. ours bring music into all areas of the curriculum eg if they are learning about water they will "compose" (with percussion inst) music for waterfalls and storms at sea etc, as well as doing art on the theme and writing poems etc

My dh is a musician and peripatetic music teacher and is critical of the wider opportunities scheme. He has inherited a potentially good trumpet player from one of these schemes, but because he could make a good sound was rather neglected during class and has developed very bad habits!! It seems a good idea, but a whole class with one teacher - you're not going to get very far.

County music service would be the place to start. Unfortunately music is not given a high profile at most schools.

Well I'm not sure because mine have left primary now but certainly the pianist that came in for 3/4 & 5/6 came back for the Christmas concerts and when the DC went to church for carols the oganist played.

In assembly? not sure. The school did have lots of percussion instruments and they did "compose" music in class.

No orchestras until secondary school which was a shame.

thedolly - I'm taking a break from teaching to be at home with ds and I'm afraid there a few head teachers like it, usually art lovers for some reason. It doesn't matter what your strengths are or how hard you work setting up music/history/gardening clubs for the children, there is an underlying agenda that you're not quite as good or worth as much as the staff who are 'into' the pet subject .

Good luck, hope that you get somewhere with the music .

LGP it becomes obvious from reading the various school related threads on MN that not all state schools are equal in their provision of music (amongst other things). I suppose it is down to how schools choose to manage their budget and what they choose to give priority to. The dedication of the staff is obviously also a factor.

A middle school near us has openly reported that it spent £10 000 on music provision last year and it is now asking parents to contribute £25 per term - that is I suppose one way of raising the profile of music.

funtime - that is so demoralising for the other members of staff. Still, I guess if the kids like the 'other' clubs then that's what makes it worthwhile.

But the thing is thedolly, all the music lessons are given by peris and paid for by parents - the school obviously makes space available for lessons and allows children out of class to take them, but it doesn't cost the school anything. There are choir and school orchestra after school clubs which rely on the dedication of one particular teacher in particular, but the lessons themselves do not impact on the school resources or budget. That's why I find it difficult to understand why there are so many schools who don't try to facilitate this provision.