Sustained and successful campaigning by the EIS, parents and young people, as well as local musicians has led to further success in the campaign to protect instrumental music tuition in schools across Scotland.
News has emerged that budget-driven cuts in school instrumental music have now been halted in Midlothian, Perth and Kinross, and in Stirling.
The EIS is running a national campaign entitled Stand Up for Quality Music Education to highlight the value of instrumental music tuition to young people, school communities, and wider society. The EIS believes that all young people who wish it, should have the right to access instrumental music tuition, free of charge, in Scotland’s schools – one of the key promises made by the Scottish Government in its manifesto in 2021.
Welcoming the news of the decision to remove the cuts from the Council budget, Phil Alexander, EIS Local Association Joint-Secretary for Midlothian said, “We would like to thank everyone who has supported this campaign; we’ve demonstrated that by the power of collective action and by working together, we have secured the ongoing delivery of quality instrumental music tuition for the children and young people in Midlothian as well as securing wins for our members.”
“The EIS will continue to engage with the Council over related issues, such as the replacement of recently retired IMS staff and the local authority’s policy over charges for pupils accessing some elements of instrumental music provision.”
In Stirling, local campaigning by the EIS local association, working with parents and local musicians, has led to the halting of a planned programme of IMT cuts across the authority’s schools. EIS Local Association Secretary Ann Skillen said, “The EIS in Stirling has been campaigning hard to stop the Council’s planned cuts which would have seen the provision of instrumental music tuition in our schools decimated.
“The decision to halt these cuts is a victory for common sense, and for the pupils, parents and wider community across the Stirling area. All of our young people should have equal access to quality instrumental music tuition, delivered by professionally recognised instrumental music teachers.”
EIS General Secretary Andrea Bradley added, “It is of great credit to the EIS local associations, parent groups, pupils and musicians who have stood together to oppose and stop these damaging planned cuts to school instrumental music tuition. The EIS remains determined to fight such cuts, wherever and whenever they might be proposed.
“We welcomed the Scottish Government’s manifesto commitments in 2021 to mainstream instrumental music tuition as part of the curriculum but have yet to see any progress in delivering this in practice. Whilst the removal of charging is welcome, we need to see definitive action to stop the annual threats to provision and to give IMTs as well as young people the certainty that the provision of quality instrumental music tuition, free of charge, will continue year on year.
Commenting on the stop to planned cuts in Perth and Kinross, EIS Local Association Secretary Carolyn Weston said, “The halting of the future planned cuts to instrumental music provision in Perth and Kinross is a positive development for our schools and, importantly, for our young people.
“There should be no threat whatsoever of a reversal of policy that would see young people from the least affluent families missing out on instrumental music tuition because they cannot afford to pay.”
The EIS campaign to Stand Up for Instrumental Music
The SNP Manifesto 2021 set out three inter-linked commitments concerning instrumental music tuition:
- To ensure instrumental music lessons are delivered free of charge, abolishing fees for music and arts education, including instrumental music tuition in schools.
- To mainstream music, including instrumental music tuition, as a core subject in Scotland’s education system
- To deliver GTCS registration for Scotland’s school-based instrumental music teachers – creating a professionally recognised national music teaching force.
When these manifesto commitments were announced, they were roundly welcomed, particularly as they were set in the wider policy context of removing cost barriers to education, with a pledge to develop a sustainable and funded model for future years.
Despite the initial action to abolish fees as part of its 100-day plan, the Scottish Government has yet to advance the other manifesto commitments which were designed to complement and support engagement in instrumental music tuition in Scottish schools.
Regrettably, no long-term sustainable funding model has been brought forward by the Scottish Government, as yet.
The Need for Investment
The EIS welcomed the SNP manifesto commitments, which for the first time, gave instrumental music teachers (IMTs) some reassurance both in terms of continuity of employment but also in relation to the ongoing commitment to widen participation in music education for all children and young people, especially for those from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds.
We were clear, however, that the equitable delivery of instrumental music tuition across Scotland would require to see investment in IM services and growth in the number of IMTs, to ensure that all children and young people who wished to participate in instrumental music tuition could do so.
Instrumental music teachers, despite proposed cuts across many local authorities year after year, continue to deliver a vast amount of high-quality music education in challenging circumstances. They also play a significant role in delivering National Qualifications in music. For some courses, e.g. Higher music, performance constitutes 60% of the assessment. Without adequate investment in IMTs, the achievement of music qualifications will decline.
The Value of Instrumental Music Education
Music has, of course, value in and of itself. Music is universal and omnipresent. How many hours in a row do you ever go without listening to music, turning on the radio, using a streaming service, going to a concert? Would you want to live in a world without music? If the answer is no, then music must be valued more, for its intrinsic worth. However, music also contributes significantly to children’s and young people’s achievement, attainment and health and wellbeing.
Would you want to live in a world without music? If the answer is no, then music must be valued more, for its intrinsic worth.
There is a vast amount of evidence about the value of studying and playing music. IMT members of the EIS have observed and actively contributed to, the wide range of benefits pupils gained from learning a musical instrument, including increased confidence, improved organisational skills, enhanced literacy and numeracy, the development of collaborative skills and increased focus and concentration.
In the wake of the pandemic, the social aspects of music have played a vital role in healing the isolation which many children and young people experienced, equipping learners to work individually, in both small and larger groups.
It is a form of support for children and young people with additional support needs or mental health challenges, providing a vital outlet for expression or a calming influence. Any cuts to IM services are likely to hit these learners, for whom there are obvious benefits, hardest. The specific nature of instrumental music tuition – smaller groups, practical learning – is exactly what many learners with ASN need.
We are concerned that Scotland may return to a scenario where only children from well-off families can learn to play an instrument. This is unjust and unacceptable.