Created on: 30 Oct 2024
East Ayrshire Council is meeting on Thursday, 31st October to consider concerning proposals which would see the East Ayrshire Instrumental Music Service transferred from the local authority’s Education Department to an arm’s length trust.
If these proposals are passed, they will effectively privatise music provision and fundamentally undermine key Scottish Government manifesto commitments to raise the status of Instrumental Music Tuition as a key element of Education and to remove barriers to access.
In 2021, the Scottish Government committed to:
abolishing fees for music and arts education, including instrumental music tuition in schools;
mainstreaming music as a core subject of Scotland’s education system; and
ensuring Scotland’s school-based instrumental music teachers receive GTCS registration and accreditation – 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.
The manifesto commitments, for the first time, gave Instrumental Music Teachers 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.
It is clear that the proposed transfer of East Ayrshire IMS to an arm’s length trust, by an SNP-led Council, will jeopardise implementation of these manifesto commitments and thwart plans for the continued roll-out of equitable access to free instrumental music provision for all children and young people.