With decreasing government funding for music, many music services are cutting back on staff and hiring freelancers – to the detriment of a generation of teachers. Janet Murray meets some of them.
This week Michele Lomas will give her last lesson for Wiltshire Music Service. After six years teaching brass instruments to children in the area, she is being made redundant. She plans to continue on a freelance basis, but will no longer belong to a pension scheme, nor be eligible for sickness and maternity pay. She will have to fund her own travel, public liability insurance and training. “It’s not so much about the income, as I know I will be able to get teaching work – it’s losing my pension and sick pay I’m most worried about,” she says. “Conditions for teachers have been getting worse for some time, but this is the final nail in the coffin.”
It has been a turbulent few years for music education. After the 2011 Henley review, which recommended the creation of “hubs” (partnerships made up of schools, arts organisations, charities and other education providers), music services had to bid for the right to run them. While most won their bids, a reduction in government funding for music (from £82.5m in 2010-11 to £60m for 2014-15), along with cuts to local authority budgets, has meant they have had to provide more for less. For many councils this has led to restructuring and redundancies. Some, such as Milton Keynes and Cornwall, have closed their services down.
The situation is particularly bad in Wales, where there is no central government funding for music services. Many have no funding at all or have ceased to exist altogether... Keep reading on The Guardian
This week Michele Lomas will give her last lesson for Wiltshire Music Service. After six years teaching brass instruments to children in the area, she is being made redundant. She plans to continue on a freelance basis, but will no longer belong to a pension scheme, nor be eligible for sickness and maternity pay. She will have to fund her own travel, public liability insurance and training. “It’s not so much about the income, as I know I will be able to get teaching work – it’s losing my pension and sick pay I’m most worried about,” she says. “Conditions for teachers have been getting worse for some time, but this is the final nail in the coffin.”
It has been a turbulent few years for music education. After the 2011 Henley review, which recommended the creation of “hubs” (partnerships made up of schools, arts organisations, charities and other education providers), music services had to bid for the right to run them. While most won their bids, a reduction in government funding for music (from £82.5m in 2010-11 to £60m for 2014-15), along with cuts to local authority budgets, has meant they have had to provide more for less. For many councils this has led to restructuring and redundancies. Some, such as Milton Keynes and Cornwall, have closed their services down.
The situation is particularly bad in Wales, where there is no central government funding for music services. Many have no funding at all or have ceased to exist altogether... Keep reading on The Guardian