Music teaching is under serious threat due to austerity budgeting, increased use of charging and under-valuing of the service. Members can play a vital role in defending these services.
Remember that through your Local Association you can get the issue of music provision onto the local negotiating agendas - it is important for IMTs to get involved in their local committees and meetings.
Got 5-15 minutes?
- Email or phone your MSP to raise your concerns – see tips below
- Email or phone your local Councillors to raise your concerns - (or use http://www.writetothem.com)
- Tweet about the issue – tag in @EISUnion / use the hashtag #ChangeTheTune
- Share your concerns on Facebook and ask your friends to share it (check that the privacy of the post is set to public)
- If you’re a parent/carer, email or phone your child’s/children’s school(s) Parent Council(s) Chair(s) and ask them to put music provision on their agenda, and offer to go along if you can
- Write a letter or email to the local Newspaper, highlighting the issues facing IMTs – members can write in a personal capacity or can ask their Local Association to write in a more formal EIS capacity
- Send a letter or email to a national (Scottish) newspaper to highlight your concerns – letters@theherald.co.uk; letters@sundayherald.com; reception@scotsman.com; letters@thenational.scot; letters@thetimes.co.uk
- Put up a ‘Change the Tune’ poster in your school (once available)
Got 1-2 hours?
- Visit your local Councillor in person at their surgery and do some face-to- face campaigning
- If feasible, visit your MSP at their surgery and ask them to raise your issues in the Scottish Parliament and with local Councillors
- Set up a local online e-petition – check what your Local Association thinks would be most effective – and publicise this to parents, teachers, partner organisations and pupils
- Find out what events around related issues (child poverty, equality, raising attainment) are coming up in your area and make a plan for getting music onto the agenda
- Attend your local EIS Annual Business Meeting (or similar)
Got a bit more time?
- Arrange a local demonstration, perhaps outside the Council offices or in a civic square or local High Street – think about placards, banners, instruments, chants, etc, and invite the local papers and radio stations
- Arrange a musical ‘flashmob’, perhaps outside the Council offices or in a civic square or local high street, and as above, invite local media
- Develop a postcard campaign targeted at local decision makers, for parents, pupils and teachers to take part in
- Start to gather a bank of social media clips of pupils playing their instrumental, performances and concerts (with relevant consents all obtained) that you can use for campaigning purposes
Ongoing actions
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Keep talking to friends, family and colleagues about the work of IMTs and the issues the service is facing – word of mouth is an important campaigning tool!
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Keep sharing research, news and relevant items on music education with your networks
TOP TIPS - Influencing your local MSPs/Councillors
Politicians often say how important it is that campaigners write personal letters to them about local issues. They receive dozens, and often hundreds, of letters & emails each week.
Here are some tips for getting their attention, always bearing in mind your personal and professional standards of conduct when corresponding and in particular maintaining a professional tone when posting online.
- Keep it short - one side for a letter/3-4 paragraphs for an email if possible
- Keep it focused - be specific
- Keep it local - include local examples to back up your points and show how the issue impacts on people within your area/constituency/region
- Suggest an action – be clear about what you want and how they can help
- Above all, make it personal – standard/template letters are much less effective – tell your story, make the issue real to them
- Keep a connection - if you've contacted them before, mention it, and if the result was positive, include that and thank them
- Follow up - if you don't like the reply, follow up asking them to reconsider their position and highlight why you disagree.
