Stand up for Quality Music Education

Sign the petition to defend instrumental music in Scotland's schools

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Find your local IMT rep.

Campaigning to promote and protect music education in Scotland's schools.

With Local Authority budgets being stretched more than ever, and many councils exploring ways of achieving savings, IM Services are again at the forefront of proposed cuts. Our concerns focus on the following issues:

• Actual and proposed cuts to Instrumental Music Teacher (IMT) numbers in several local authority areas
• Actual and proposed cuts to IMS budgets in several local authority areas
• The reintroduction of charging for ensembles in some local authorities
• The impact of these cuts and charges on participation in instrumental music tuition and outcomes for children and young people

Instrumental music teachers have a vital role to play in providing quality instrumental music education in our schools. Learning to play a musical instrument can bring many benefits to pupils, including increased confidence and self-esteem. Creativity and independent expression are central to the new Curriculum for Excellence, and these are also key aspects of learning to play a musical instrument.

The educational experience for pupils must always come before financial concerns, and those Councils looking to save fairly small sums of money by cutting back on music teaching are being short-sighted in the extreme.

The benefits to pupils of quality music teaching far outweigh the relatively small cost to Councils of maintaining an adequate music instruction service.