Musical instrument lessons in UK schools

[MusicIsForAllChildren]

Hello. I would love to start a discussion about what I see as a sad fact that UK state schools are now charging parents for musical instrument lessons. It never used to be this way. Children need opportunities to learn about the arts at school just as they need academic lessons and sports. Cultural vitamins please, not invoices!

Fees in state schools create barriers and stigma.

Grateful for any stories and thoughts.

If you agree with its proposal, please consider signing this petition.

petition.parliament.uk/petitions/223408

Thanks!

I'll sign your petition OP but my parents had to pay for me and I am now paying for my kids' lessons. My choice of schools for our two was strongly influenced by the level of support for instrumental music.

Hi all - I've name changed for this as I think it is important that the information I provide remains impartial. I am one of an army of instrumental teachers in this country. Upto 10 years ago, we were funded by local government & the price You paid for tuition in your local school was heavily subsidised by government. The whole system has changed. Most of these local services are gone or in serious trouble. We do still get some national funding but only for whole class short term projects.
What does this mean for me?

1. I am paid less than other qualified teachers
2. I spend much of my time teaching whole class beginners which is not only exhausting (once you factor in all the driving & lugging instruments from school to school) but heartbreaking when half the class desperately want to continue at the end of the project but the funds don't exist (many tears)
3. The schools who subsidise through pupil premium etc are becoming rare. Our fees jump up to double overnight & parents think we are just putting our prices up when we're not!
4. Our army of qualified teachers is massively diminishing as schools prefer to get cheap unqualified individuals in to teach. Quality is affected & kids don't stick at it because they don't have access to all the 'aftercare' programmes as we struggle to fund the orchestras & bands
5. Our national & regional orchestras are beginning to suffer. The uk has a reputation for some of the best orchestras in the world. If we stop subsidising music lessons in schools quality will be compromised & access into the profession will only be for the rich.
6. I personally received free lessons at primary school (I wouldn't be in this job without them). I truly believe I am a better person, a more caring person because of them.
7. If this was sport that was being cut this much parents would be in uproar. But the reality is that until now this country has provided more violinists to the world than footballers, more cellists than tennis players etc etc. Being a musical country with orchestras in every town is what makes me proud to be British. If we diminish the arts & make them elitist again what kind of country are we?

Signed,
One of the lucky few that still have a job

I sadly couldn't afford choir or recorder lessons for my daughter for this September. The take up for places was so low that the price has now become prohibitive now they are cancelled. Such a shame.

It must have been many, many years ago - they weren’t free when my children were in school 90s/O0s. They were run through a borough based trust, and lessons were either in school or at a base school on a Saturday. There were some bursaries available for low income. I gave up on them for mine because they were either ever changing teachers or unwieldy groups and found a private teacher for not much more .

And when I was in school decades before that, recorder lessons were the only free tuition available.

I do support your view about the importance of music in schools though, especially instrument learning rather than just ‘appreciation ‘ and technology. There was a really enthusiastic year 6 teacher at one point who ran the school orchestra - admittedly a small school, though a city one with quite a mixed demographic, and she had 2/3 of the school playing in it at one point ( from very talented cello players to otherwise untutored percussion players )

I am not sure if I would want schools to use funds for instrumental lessons for all.

We pay for DD's violin lesson, provided by a teacher from a youth music charity, she only teaches 1-2-1 or small (max 3-4) groups but the latter only after certain grades.

With classes of 30+ how would this work? You can't teach an instrument in such a group.

You also have to practice to go anywhere decent. Not all children can/want this and I think it would be unfair to expect parents to enforce 2-3 times a week instrument practice.

Our school shifted funds towards paying a music teacher, each year group learns a different part of music, Y6 does percussions at the moment. We have a choir and recorder is taught in Y2 and Y3. The teacher also teaches music theory and all kind of different types from classical ones to Jazz, Blues, Rock, Pop etc. They learn a lot, you don't have to learn to play an instrument for getting to love music.

Targeting children who would benefit from reduced fee/hire charges is another thing, PP can be used for this, we also have a portion of the funds raised by the PTA earmarked to subsidise fees.

Music is important, music lessons are part of the national curriculum so all children in primary school access the music curriculum but why should they get individual lessons for free? It's just not reasonable. You wouldn't expect a child to receive individual maths lessons each week. At the school I work at all children have a music lessons each week. It changes each half term it might be singing one term and the drumming the next. They are delievered by professional music teachers which they school pay for out of the budget. I'd much rather everyone access a wide range of music each year rather than some having individual lessons on an instrument that they may or may not carry on playing once they leave school.

I was at school until a few years ago and they still charged then ever since I was at primary school. They need to charge because otherwise it would be such a drain on the budget

I am not sure some people are getting the importance of this issue. We are not just talking about whether a few kids can get out of lessons to go & have some fun! This is a whole industry in disarray- what if we didn't allow kids exposure to science or history? "Let's just leave it to the posh kids with money" would not cut it. Without being able to fund talent at a young age our whole music industry is dead! You can't just teach instrumental lessons to those who can afford to pay full fees - that doesn't find the musicians of the future!

The kids still get "exposure" for free until end of yr8 ime, they just don't get focused lessons. Seems fair to me.

By the end of year 8, to stand a hope of making it in the profession the average child will have already clocked up over 100,000 hours of practice! Contrary to popular belief musicians will not make it without support & commitment. So yes, we need to find & support them young unless you fancy never hearing any music alongside your favourite film in a few years time?

I'm the very wrong person to ask to prioritise arts -truly don't give a monkeys

If music is a serious subject at school, to be delivered with a commitment to excellence that matches any other subject, then the place of musical instrument tuition needs to be revised upwards. Music doesn't exist without the ability to make music using musical instruments. Charging fees for such an important element of music education is strange. Imagine getting free biology lessons at school but having to pay for lab time.

I'd vote to subsidise more cookery & financial literacy lessons first.

Mine were free in the late 1980’s (well we had to pay a nominal £1 admin fee per year.

I was at school in the late 60s and 70s. The whole class learned recorder at primary school but in my area that was it, unless you arranged and paid for your own lessons privately. There was no music teacher at my secondary school for most of my time there (there was one for my 2 first years, but she went off sick and wasn't replaced until I was in the 6th form). It wasn't all rosy in the 'good old days'!

Brilliant discussion, thank you! I've learned a lot from this. The petition is just about to tip over 10k which means HM Government will respond in writing. I'll share that here for interest! petition.parliament.uk/petitions/223408

No I'd rather money went to the schemes that introduce all children each year to an instrument. We don't exclude the non sporty from PE so certainly shouldn't the non musical from access to instruments.

Has an extra zero or two crept into that 100,000 hours, Musicischanging? Even if they started at three, that would mean 27 hours a day.

My dc are 20 and 22 and always had to pay for lessons and they werent cheap back then even and we couldnt afford more than 15 minutes. I think if they were on free school meals then instrument lessons were free.
I had free flute lessons with flute provided vack in the 70s.

Music teacher here.

My old school used to heavily subsidise lessons but there literally aren’t the funds now. So unless you are pupil premium, parents pay the true cost.
I used to do recorder club which was free and actually did whole class recorder lessons in lesson time with some year groups..
But again I appreciate this isn’t everywhere.
There just aren’t the music teachers and there isn’t the money

Using french or history as comparisons just doesn't stand up - those lessons are taught to full classes of children, instrumental lessons are taught to very small groups and require a degree of individual attention.

Also somebody mentioned being one of seven children, well unfortunately for you that was a choice on your parents' part and anyone who chooses to have a very large family must realise that they may not be able to afford to give those children some of the things that parents of smaller families do.

My children's school (state, London) provides free instruments and group lessons.

I think it's wonderful, and completely agree that it should be universal.

In the primary school I work in, year 4 all take part in a weekly music lesson in brass as part of curriculum with extra lessons for a chosen few in drums, guitar, flute and hand bells. Instruments loaned from either school or local music school for free. All children who do this have the option to join the local music school for a small weekly fee( think it was a couple of pounds) to continue with lessons if they wanted. Their is also an active choir group with chance of joining local church choir.
Reading this I am realising how lucky our children are , just how it doesn’t change in the current local authority cuts.