Despite music being a core element of Scotland’s Curriculum for Excellence, Instrumental Music Tuition – delivered by professional Instrumental Music Teachers (IMTs) – is increasingly under threat in some parts of the country.

In East Ayrshire, for example, the Council is proceeding with plans to remove the Instrumental Music Service from the education service and move it into an arm’s length trust, purely as a cost-cutting measure.

Music is an essential part of the school curriculum, and one that offers a vast array of opportunities to young people. The opportunity to develop their musical talents, either through instrument or through voice, is something that many young people in our schools absolutely cherish. In addition to developing their talent, learning music also builds young people’s confidence and can have a strong positive impact on achievement, including attainment. It is, therefore, a matter of deep concern that Instrumental Music provision continues to be under budget-driven threat in some parts of the country.

A large number of people will have enjoyed the benefits of school Instrumental Music provision over the festive season. Many professional musicians, playing in bands, orchestras and shows will have started out by developing their talents through school Instrumental Music tuition. Young school musicians make many contributions to festive events, both within schools and also further afield in the wider community.

“Music is an important part of the Curriculum for Excellence (CfE). Of all the possible interventions to help raise academic attainment and pupil health and wellbeing, music has the largest body of evidence to support its effectiveness. The National Parent Forum of Scotland (NPFS) believes that all children should have access to free music provision throughout their school life. We have a responsibility to make sure all children are treated fairly, which means that the ability to pay should not decide who gets to play an instrument. The CfE states that our children will have ‘rich opportunities to be creative and to experience inspiration and enjoyment’ through music. Every child is entitled to this, so every child should have this opportunity.”

Joanna Murphy
Former Chair, National Parent Forum of Scotland

Many Christmas concerts and carol-singing sessions would have been impossible to deliver without the talents developed within our schools. Hogmanay celebrations would often not be the same without the presence of a piper – a large number of whom will have first picked up the chanter, and then the pipes, through school Instrumental Music provision. Many recent Burns’ Suppers will, similarly, have employed the services of pipers who started learning their craft at school.

It is, therefore, a matter of deep concern that Instrumental Music continues to be seen as a soft target for councils looking to make funding cuts. Music is not an add-on, or an extra-curricular activity, it is a core element of the school curriculum. The EIS strongly opposes any cuts to Instrumental Music provision, such as the proposals that are currently being pursued in East Ayrshire, which would remove Instrumental Music from the education service and farm it out to an arm’s length trust.

This would have serious implications for schools, for Instrumental Music Teachers and, most importantly, for young people who deserve equal opportunity to learn instrumental music. It is simply unacceptable to have a ‘pay to play’ culture around music education in Scotland. As the philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer famously said, music is food for the soul – but local authorities are risking starving our collective soul with ill-thought-out cuts to Instrumental Music provision in our schools.

“I wholeheartedly believe that music and creativity should be part of a first-class education and available to everyone, whatever their background.”

Nicola Benedetti
Violinist