Keeping instrument safe at school

[Un2Trois]

If your dc plays an instrument at school or takes school music lessons, how valuable is their instrument? Dc has an entry level instrument and we will soon upgrade to an intermediate one for better sound and playing quality. This will cost about £1300.00. I'm gulping a bit at the thought that they could lose it at school or it might get damaged. Is it worth insuring it? How does your dc make sure their instrument is safe at school?

My dd can leave her instrument in the music room which has a passcode lock on it.

Definitely it should be insured. Either as a specified item on your home insurance or on a special policy. (Hmm must check my home insurance.....) my kids leave them in the music room I think.

I hope things have changed. When I was at school my instrument was stolen out of the cupboard they were all kept in (in the schools music centre). No one cared.

The school should have a room, but also get insurance as others have said. Our insurance is only a few pounds a month and covers accidental damage too. We use allianz, sure there are others too!

What sort of instrument is it op? I only ever had cheap second hand ones kto take to school) , as did my dc, but all of us played small, steal-able instruments.

A double bass or tuba is less easy to steal but I would still get it insured if it cost £1300,school will not have insurance to cover lost/stolen instruments.

It's a flute in a hard top case plus gig bag. The corridors are crowded and currently dc is carrying it with them from classroom to classroom. The one we have now is a second hand student flute and cost us £100.00, which is why I haven't been too worried before.

Are they at secondary school? They might have lockable instrument storage in the music department, usually with a keypad that students who need it can get the passcode for.

DEFINITELY insure it, and if school doesn't have instrument storage make sure the insurers know it will be kept in an unlocked room. It shouldn't be too expensive, ~£50/year. Allianz is the go-to for musicians.

Second Allianz for instrument insurance...Much better than having it on the home policy as if you have to claim it won't push up your home premiums...plus they understand even the weird instruments. That said, we've never had a problem - do make sure it has a decent case!

Speak to the school about where they can leave it safely. And definitely get it insured. My friend was a teacher and her flute was stolen at her place of work (school). It was in a locked music room that was left unlocked

OP there is no way I'd send a £1300 flute into school (that's what we all play) - a hundred quid flute is more than good enough to carry around and play in music lessons, I used a £60 one to pass grade 7 and play in a good few bands/orchestras when I was at school and beyond.

No school I've ever worked in has had adequate locked storage for instruments due to the constant need for such a space to be accessible for lessons etc), and all have a 'we accept no responsibility' policy for having instruments on the premises at school.

Unless your dc is the next Galway leave it at home. And insure it separately even at home.

Will tell dc to ask if there is a locked room and look into Allianz. Thank you.

You have a point @Loverofoxbowlakes . This just gave me an idea, dc could bring their student flute to weekly orchestra practice and the upgraded one is kept for private lessons, home practice and concerts. Or would it be odd for them to play on two different ones? 🤔

Not the same at all (our flutes worth about 350) but I've wondered about all the expensive mobile phones most of them carry now!

The mouthpiece might be a very slightly different shape but it shouldn't make much difference if they mostly will be playing the £££ at home. At lower grades it's mostly about muscle memory and tonguing technique (fnar fnar) which you can practice on a garden hose. A 20 minute school lesson/60 minute orchestra session is usually only half that time playing, so quite minimum if they are spending any decent time practicing the £££ one. And they can take the £££ in for school concerts where it won't be out of their sight for the whole time.

Just checking for reassurance really (sorry sidetracked again).

My daughter has a second hand yamaha 211 . We service it and it's in reasonable condition.

She's working towards grade 7 at the moment. I was under the impression it would do her for grade 8/trying to get into local competitive youth orchestra). Do I need to rethink?!

Definitely don't trust thirteen hundred quid's worth of flute to anywhere that other kids can get to - used to work in Music and there was no way I could police a storeroom with 45 separate instruments - if nothing else, all the kids who did lessons for three weeks in year 7 would also have the passcode (it was almost impossible to get the site manager to change the code, half the staff didn't want it changed as they couldn't cope with the change and when it was finally done, the first thing that happened was that kids gave their mates the code or let them see what it was). Oh, and the other kids with a reason to be in the room will also have a go/'borrow the nice one' or knock it on the floor when dragging their trumpet off the shelf.

Crap flute for school, decent flute for performances. It won't get left on the bus, they won't get robbed for it on the way home (also something that can happen) or on the windowsill in the music room, never even getting into the storage room (despite what they'll insist).

Insurance is a must - just as it is for borrowed or rented instruments.

You flute players would be shocked at what a bassoon costs! The rubbish ones are more than that...! We have no choice but to send the expensive instrument in to school, but it is insured and we're ok with that. The way we see it is it's there to be played. I appreciate we live in a nice area etc but tbh the biggest worry I have is absent minded child leaving it somewhere!!

@LotsOfBalloons I can help on the flute I think. DD2 also has a secondhand Yamaha 211. She will take grade 8 on it this term at this rate. Current teacher isn't exactly thrilled with this - though says it is 'ok' to do so. Her first teacher reckoned Yamaha 211 fine to take grade eight but no higher.

Now new teacher from September wants something FAR pricier - but fair enough, she's off to specialist school. If we manage to buy it in time we will let her take grade eight on it if she's had enough practice, if not it will be the Yamaha. The new flute will be well over £3000 even without VAT as we are buying through the school Assisted Purchase scheme.

And yes @georgedawes I do know re bassoons and feel your pain, but actually new flute will cost nearly as much as current bassoon (which isn't as good). Insurance is a wonderful thing! I also think DD is more likely to leave the flute on the bus.

Just get the Allianz insurance. It is not expensive... £2 or £3 per month depending on value of instrument and then it is insured at home, in the car too.

No way would I send that to school. My DC’s school has a brass cupboard and a strings cupboard which are literally just cupboards and no restrictions. Even if there were it would only take one forgetful student to muck up the system. Having said that DS1’s instruments spend 80% of their time in the cupboards because he never remembers them at home time. They’ve never gone walking.

Ah thanks Mini. I wonder if we will have to think about upgrading then at some point 😔. She really wants to play in a auditions only orchestra that is grade 8+ for flute.... (although lower for other instruments). We certainly won't have 3k to spare but will have to have a think.

We're hiring an oboe at the moment too... 🙈.

There is a middle way @LotsOfBalloons - her current teacher suggested an azumi with an Altus head joint that was much cheaper and would have absolutely have done the trick for most of what is necessary. The fact that new teacher wants a b foot also pushes up the price. Current teacher definitely thinks this is all a bit OTT

Exactly the same thing happened to my DC. School insisted it wasn't the kind of school where instruments got stolen...🙄

She will take grade 8 on it this term at this rate. Current teacher isn't exactly thrilled with this - though says it is 'ok' to do so. Her first teacher reckoned Yamaha 211 fine to take grade eight but no higher.

Grade 8 is the highest you can go...

@Loverofoxbowlakes I think the teacher is referring to the diplomas you take afterwards- really only wants grade eight so she can get started on those.