University students fight to save music department

20 Nov 2023

Students at Oxford Brookes University have launched a petition to save a music course after plans to axe it emerged last week.

The petition, which launched on 17 November and now has around 3,000 signatures, calls for university leaders to reconsider the decision, stating that it will impact both music students and the university's culture.

"We are deeply affected by the recent decision to remove the music course from Oxford Brookes University curriculum," the petition states.

"The music department is more than just an academic division; it is a key element of our university and home to non-music students who participate in societies and music groups. 

"Its removal would mean stripping away opportunities for cultural enrichment, personal growth and community bonding."

The petition adds that arts courses such as music "contribute significantly" to students' mental well-being.

In addition to ending the music course, the university plans to reduce the number of salaried academic staff across several programmes, including English and creative writing.

A statement issued by the English and creative writing team said up to 40% of their staff could go by the end of January.

“As a dedicated team of teachers and writers, we believe the humanities are the beating heart of any university. We get to know our students so well, and they love their courses," the statement said.

“When they graduate, they go out into the world as confident and creative individuals. We have brought great prestige to Oxford Brookes University as leading researchers, ranked the sixth best English and creative writing unit in the whole of the UK for this. 

“We are involved in projects and collaborations that enrich the local community and celebrate the diversity of literature and the arts. All of that is now under threat. This is going to be a very bleak season for all of us across the university whose jobs are now at risk.”

Birmingham Hippodrome launches teacher support initiative

20 Nov 2023

Birmingham Hippodrome has launched a new programme for teachers and educators in the West Midlands in a bid to get more young people in the area engaged with theatre.

Teachers in the scheme will be invited to see live performances at the Hippodrome and attend talks, pre and post-show events and networking events where they can meet and connect with other educators, artists and creatives.

It is hoped that successful applicants will expand their knowledge and be keen to be advocates for the power of theatre for young people.

Zayle-Dawn Wilson, Head of Creative Partnerships at Birmingham Hippodrome, said: “Schools are facing significant challenges in the current climate. 

"In our last benchmarking survey, schools reported over 60% of teachers felt inexperienced in arts education, and over 50% unable to engage young people with the arts. Our vision is to support the education sector by inspiring teachers, to in turn support and inspire their young people.”

Birmingham Hippodrome currently works with 44 primary, secondary and SEN schools and colleges across the region, providing young people with the chance to experience and connect with theatre through the Hippodrome Education Network.

ACE commits £1.2m to young people's initiative in Sunderland

A Creative You crafts workshop for young people at Arts Centre Washington
20 Nov 2023

A multi-year programme providing free arts and culture activities to young people in Sunderland has been backed by a £1.196m grant from Arts Council England.

Autumn Statement: Creative industries urge action on arts education

Mature teacher working with art students during painting class at school
17 Nov 2023

Lack of investment in art and design education is having a 'damaging impact' on one of the UK’s most successful sectors, new campaign group warns.

Exclusive: Creative and Cultural Skills to close

A young woman working behind the scenes in a theatre adjusting a light
14 Nov 2023

Loss of core Arts Council England funding a significant factor in the decision to close organisation established 18 years ago.

Music teacher training bursaries set to return

09 Nov 2023

The Department for Education has announced that trainee music teachers at secondary level will be entitled to a bursary of £10,000 from September 2024, after previously axing the support in 2020.

The tax-free sum, which is less than half that on offer for languages and STEM subjects, will be paid in equal monthly instalments over the duration of a trainee teacher's course.

It's hoped the bursary's reintroduction will significantly boost the number of music teachers. Last month, an Ofsted report on music teaching in schools found some schools were experiencing challenges recruiting music teachers at the key stage 3. In a few cases, music had been temporarily removed from the curriculum because of a shortage of specialists.

According to the National Foundation for Educational Research, just 31% of the target for music teacher recruitment will be met in 2023. 

UK Music’s Interim Chief Executive Tom Kiehl welcomed the return of the bursary for music but said: ”There is still far more to be done to fix the current shortage of music teachers.”

Chris Walters, National Organiser for Education, Health & Wellbeing at the Musicians’ Union, added: “We urge the government to revisit its own National Plan for Music Education and review the other barriers that stand in the way of the plan’s delivery, including straitened school budgets and mixed messaging to schools about the importance of the arts.”

Meanwhile, Deborah Annetts, Chief Executive of the ISM, noted: “Despite the good news for secondary teachers, there is no bursary at primary level, where a lack of courses remains a point of great concern." In over two-thirds of the primary schools, Ofsted found that non-specialist teachers taught music, with over half lacking the subject knowledge to teach the curriculum well. 

The government has announced that trainee Art & Design and English teachers will also be offered a £10,000 bursary for 2024/25.

Creativity classes boost confidence of pupils and teachers

06 Nov 2023

Teaching creativity in primary schools can help students and teachers improve their skills, according to new research funded by Arts Council England and the Freelands Foundation.

The year-long study, which was conducted by University of Exeter and worked with teachers from the Penryn Partnership in West Cornwall, found "notable increases" in both teachers' abilities to facilitate creativity and students' capacity to develop creative skills.

Teachers taking part reported “increasing confidence and practice” in teaching for creativity. Meanwhile, researchers found children took more risks in developing ideas and experienced a greater connection with knowledge and skills they had previously been taught. 

One teacher said: "This study has confirmed to me that making the time and space for creativity in the secondary classroom is vital if we want to equip teenagers with the kinds of skills that they so clearly need for the future."

Associate Professor Kerry Chappell, who jointly authored the report, said the findings gave “insight into how it’s possible to teach for creativity."

She added: "The fact that our research synthesis was also able to demonstrate widespread developments in both creative teaching and students’ creative skills shows that the Creativity Collaborative project has impact and could be scaled up nationally.”

Charity seeks support for musician development programme

01 Nov 2023

A talent development organisation has launched a fundraising appeal to support the next generation of jazz musicians.

The Tomorrow’s Warriors charity aims to raise £100,000 through its #IAMWARRIOR appeal to help sustain its free-to-access Young Artist Development and Emerging Artist Programmes. 

Music Week reports that the organisation relies on the support of funding and donations to continue to deliver its learning programmes that provide music education to the next generation of jazz musicians, with a focus on young women and those from diverse and low-income backgrounds. 

Mercury Prize winners Ezra Collective are among jazz musicians to have previously benefitted from the programme.

DJ and broadcaster Gilles Peterson said: “Tomorrow's Warriors occupies a unique and vital space in our cultural landscape. Their work in helping positively shape future generations is of critical importance, especially in light of the tribulations we currently face." 

Treat intimacy co-ordinators like fight directors, says new consent guidance

Director watching rehearsal of the play stock photo
31 Oct 2023

Bectu and Equity have issued intimacy and consent guidance for drama schools, recognising the widespread use of intimacy practitioners in the creative industries.

'Institutional change' needed to boost creative sector diversity

Students holding tablets and phone talk in university lobby
25 Oct 2023

Access to creative Higher Education courses is ‘highly unequal’ and institutional change is required to improve diversity within the sector, report finds.

Dance as a catalyst for change?

Dance workship
24 Oct 2023

In devising a new Master’s degree in dance, Jo Parkes’s aim has been to interrogate the artform - not as a subject to be studied - but as a form of activism.

Music hubs losing pupils and schools over rising costs

24 Oct 2023

Research finds music hubs and services are being forced to increase prices amid rising costs and funding gaps, but parents and schools are not always able to absorb the price hike.

Hastings schools chosen for art education pilot

24 Oct 2023

A pilot project to develop a new approach to arts education will be run across a group of schools in Hastings, East Sussex.

The Clore Duffield Foundation is working with the Ark group of schools to explore how it can support multi-academy trusts to "deliver excellent and inspiring arts education".

During the project, Ark will work with local and national artists and arts organisations to give all pupils the chance to develop their creativity. 

A range of arts initiatives and partnerships will be trialled, culminating in an arts festival in Hastings in July 2024.

Kate Bellamy, Director of the Clore Duffield Foundation said: “We believe that an excellent arts education is essential for children, young people and the creative industries to thrive. 

"The Foundation has spent the past 20 years supporting cultural institutions to create Clore Learning Spaces for arts education. 

"But not all schools and families can easily access these. So, we are partnering with Ark Schools to explore how multi academy trusts can develop inspiring arts education programmes, ensuring all their pupils benefit."

Refugee music programme needs further funding to continue

17 Oct 2023

A music academy supporting Ukrainian refugees has said it requires further funding to continue its programme.

Last week, the London Performing Academy of Music (LPMAM) celebrated the graduation of its first intake of Ukrainian refugee music students.

Since the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, LPMAM has enrolled 54 Ukrainian students, 32 of whom are studying in London, while the rest are studying online.

The academy has been supported by licensing company PPL and record labels association BPI, while scholarships for student refugees have been donated by The BRIT Awards and Universal Music UK.

But a press release published on behalf of the academy says it is “in desperate need of further funding from other parts of the industry to continue its programme”.

Speaking at the academy’s Winter Graduation Ceremony, LPMAM Founder, Dr Stefania Passamonte, said: “We’re so moved by this inaugural success of students saved from the conflict in Ukraine… even more so as three of them had to return after their exams and could not be honoured in person.”

Youth culture collaboration launches

04 Oct 2023

An initiative designed to nurture young and emerging talent from East London has launched.

The partnership, based at Stratford Youth Zone, will see a £733,000-a-year investment go towards supporting creative and performing arts opportunities in Newham through social and emotional learning programmes, as well as activities focused on drama, music, dance, fashion, games design, filmmaking, screenwriting and visual and digital arts. 

Professor Amanda Broderick, Vice-Chancellor and President of UEL, said the "exciting and pioneering" collaboration will help support future cultural leaders, advocates and influencers of the arts. 

"Together, we are driving innovation in the arts sector and beyond, and of course making sure our young peoples’ voices are heard and supported to achieve their ambitions, their dreams and their aspirations,” she said.

Mayor of Newham Rokhsana Fiaz said the collaboration with the University of East London is an evolution of the council's commitment to young people and highlights the borough's cultural credentials as it bids for London Borough of Culture 2025.

"We are injecting a creative spirit into our programmes by putting arts and cultural at the heart of our mission," she said. 

"As we mobilise for our Borough of Culture 2025 bid, this collaboration shows that Newham is the heart of London’s culture.”

Ofsted finds inequalities in music education persist

A music teacher playing piano for a class of children
02 Oct 2023

An Ofsted report examining music in schools has found inequalities in opportunities to learn an instrument continue to impact pupil success in the subject.

Former NPO opens venue in London

02 Oct 2023

Theatre company Stockroom, which ceased to be an Arts Council England-funded organisation last year, has opened a new performing space in Islington through a partnership with drama school Collective Acting Studio.

The new venue, Collective Theatre, is located in a Grade II listed building primarily used for the provision of youth services for Islington Borough Council.

It will now home both the theatre company and drama school and will open to the public in mid-October with the premiere of Stockroom production Influence.

The venue features two performance spaces, as well as green room facilities, a café/bar, recording studio, rehearsal rooms, classrooms, library and office space.

“Since the loss of our NPO status we have been working hard to ensure the artists we work with will continue to have a home to express themselves and take risks,” said Stockroom Executive Producer and CEO, Martin Derbyshire.

“We have produced bold political work around the country and the world and now, having been based in Finsbury Park for 30 years, are excited to be continue that work while having a new home to present the best in the writing from underrepresented voices.”

Paul Harvard, CEO and Programme Leader at Collective Acting Studio, added: “Against the background of Arts Council cuts, and freezes in Higher Education funding, we believe that housing a drama school and a power-house new theatrical venue under the same roof is a way of creating a new collaborative, sustainable model that will allow our companies to thrive and grow in partnership”.

AHRC cuts funded PhDs by 30% after loss of income

26 Sep 2023

The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) has announced that it will cut the number of PhD students it funds by almost a third amid cost pressures caused by reduced funding and higher doctoral stipends.

The number of funded students supported via doctoral training partnerships will be reduced from 425 to 300 a year by 2029/30 to enable “strategic investments” in other areas, the council announced.

The AHRC, which has a budget of £82m this year, will funnel funding into maintaining PhD entry levels in collaborative doctoral partnerships – in which museums, libraries and other organisations work with universities to support around 50 students a year.

It will also reintroduce 'centres for doctoral training', which allow groups of universities to bid for doctoral funding relating to the creative economy or environmental issues.

The new approach means that the council will support fewer studentships, acknowledged Executive Chair Christopher Smith.

“We fully appreciate that this will be a major change for many institutions and it is not a decision that we have taken lightly,” he said.

“However, we believe that our new approach will, crucially, ensure that our doctoral training provision is sustainable, scalable and equitable,” he said.

The PhD stipend was raised by 5% to £18,622 for 2023/24, following a 10% increase by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) in 2022/23.

Smith said that amid rising PhD costs “our funding does not stretch as far as it used to”.

The decision follows a substantial reduction in the council’s operating budget this year, primarily caused by the loss of around £9m in non-core income streams including the government’s Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund, the Strategic Priorities Fund and the Fund for International Collaboration.

By 2024/25, it will receive only about £3.8m from these cross-UKRI strategic programmes, compared with £20.5m in 2022/23, Times Higher Education reported.

The changes to AHRC’s funding model have been designed with “future sustainability” in mind, Smith said, following a report published in February that highlighted “challenges to our current approach, such as an inequality of participation and lack of diversity”.

The council “will remain the UK’s largest strategic funder of postgraduate research in the arts and humanities, and also continue to have the highest proportionate spend on postgraduate research of UKRI’s councils”, he added.
 

Secondary school jointly run with orchestra opens

19 Sep 2023

A new state school run in partnership with a professional orchestra has opened in the West Midlands, offering enhanced music education for students in one of England's most deprived boroughs.

Shireland CBSO Academy in West Bromwich has been founded in collaboration with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO). Pupils can take advantage of weekly workshops, performances, masterclasses and free instrumental tuition for at least two years. 

The school, which opened its doors to 138 Year 7s on 5 September, follows the national curriculum, with music embedded throughout. 

Principal David Green told the BBC, "We are a completely normal school. We have French, Art, Maths, Science - all the things you'd expect, but we have this really special partnership with the CBSO, which is giving these students a level of musical opportunity they just wouldn't get elsewhere".

The intention is for all students to study GCSE Music, which has seen a 45.2% nationwide drop in uptake since 2008.

CBSO’s Chief Executive Emma Stenning told the BBC there is "a crisis in music education in schools.

"There's not the funding, there's not the skill set, there's not the time made to study music. This school is here to buck that trend and prove what an amazing part of a young person's education music can be", she added.

Gender blind theatre course launched at Chichester University 

19 Sep 2023

The University of Chichester has launched a new postgraduate master's course in musical theatre that will offer gender non-conforming casting in all its productions.

The course, which has links to Chichester Festival Theatre, Mercury Musical Developments and Musical Theatre Network, aims to provide training in a range of musical theatre practices. Applicants do not need an undergraduate degree to apply if they have professionally documented credits. 

Modules include creating a devised jukebox-style musical based on an existing body of work, developing a fringe-style event theatre piece and an industry showcase.

All shows will have a gender-blind casting with the support of vocal practitioners to help all singers.

Course Director Meredith Braun said it was a “privilege” to devise a course that “challenges established musical theatre from within”.

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