The Musicians' Union is calling on Ministers to issue “more pragmatic and clearer guidance” on out-of-school music learning under the new tiered restrictions that will apply after 2nd December at the end of England’s current lockdown. The Union is contesting the government’s current classification of music classes or drama tuition as “extracurricular and therefore inessential”.
It highlights inconsistencies between Cabinet Office guidance, which bars pupils from leaving their homes for music tuition, and the Department for Education’s guidance, which states that music lessons in private homes can resume if there is no viable alternative. The Union’s letter to Ministers says: “Taken together, these two documents suggest that lessons are permitted only in pupils’ own homes, since pupils are not allowed to leave their homes to attend lessons elsewhere (limited exemptions aside). This position does not support the Government’s desire to reduce Covid-19 transmission, because teachers’ homes/studios and private music schools – where Covid-secure measures have been in place for months – are likely to be just as safe if not safer than pupils’ own homes.”
Its recommendations include “reasonable exemptions to online teaching” where exams or university/college entrance is being prepared for; when a high level of musical learning is being undertaken; if there is a risk of exclusion because of digital poverty; where there is an adverse mental health risk to learners; and if learners have additional needs that cannot be met online.