Agenda item

Music Hub

The Music Education Hub (MEH) in B&NES is a group of interested representatives from schools and musical organisation in B&NES. They are responsible for ensuring that the National Plan for Music Education (NPME) is delivered across the BANES area.

Minutes:

The Director of Education, Inclusion and Children’s Safeguarding introduced this report. He explained that the B&NES Music Service employs approx. 54 staff, the majority of whom are part time Peripatetic Instrument & Vocal Tutors. He added that the Service works with approx. 2200 pupils and 66 of B&NES's 82 Secondary, Primary, Junior, Infant and Special Schools each year.

 

He informed the Panel that the Music Education Hub (MEH) in B&NES is a group of interested representatives from schools and musical organisations in B&NES and that they are responsible for ensuring that the National Plan for Music Education (NPME) is delivered across the B&NES area.

 

He stated that the Music Service is the Lead Organisation for the MEH which attracts funding from Arts Council England (ACE) to deliver musical activities to ensure that every child has an opportunity to engage with music between the ages of 5 and 18.

 

He said that in May 2019, ACE commissioned a review of the B&NES Music Service. This review was undertaken by A P Benson consultancy firm. The review made several recommendations on how the Arts Council grant is currently being used to deliver the MEH in B&NES and how the Music Service was being operated.

 

He explained that the core issues identified by the ACE review fundamentally concluded that the Arts Council grant was not being used effectively to deliver the outcomes expected for a MEH and that too much of the grant was being used to support the Music Service and that the service delivery model was not financially sustainable in the long term. It also concluded that the MEH itself needed to be empowered with more of the ACE grant to achieve the expectations of the NPME and have wider strategic impact and increased avenues of delivery.

 

He stated that since October 2019, the Music Service and the MEH have been supported by Nick Howdle, Head of Wiltshire Music Connect and that Nick has worked alongside the two Co-Managers to carry out a detailed analysis of the delivery of the MEH and the Music Service.

 

He said that a redesign of the music service delivery model and a review of its processes had been completed to ensure that it will be more efficient in accounting for its use of finance. He added that this activity is designed to free up a significant percentage of the ACE grant, both (time and finance) to enable the MEH’s to expand scope for delivery and capacity to deliver the NPME and ensure that the music service is viable.

 

He stated that the original objective was to pilot these new ways of working from September 2020 to demonstrate to ACE that the B&NES music service and the MEH were on a journey of improvement. He explained that these timescales have been impacted by COVID 19 and the A P Benson report is not yet completed. However, the current interim managers of the Music Service and Nick Howdle must be commended on the work they have achieved in a short amount of time.

 

Councillor Michelle O’Doherty asked if the Music Education Hub was now due to be financially self-sufficient.

 

The Director of Education, Inclusion and Children’s Safeguarding replied that he had presented a budget to the latest steering group and believed that it would be.

 

Councillor Michelle O’Doherty asked what the long-term delivery plan was for lessons whilst the Covid-19 pandemic was still in place.

 

The Director of Education, Inclusion and Children’s Safeguarding replied that the Service had adapted well and they were now looking to deliver face to face lessons in a safe way and had carried out risk assessments with schools.

 

The Interim Music Service Manager added that they had tried to gauge over the Summer how people felt about lessons coming back to school. He said that room plans have been devised and risk assessments shared with tutors.

 

 He said that the figures had now doubled for those that want to receive tuition and that this would be delivered either online or face to face to individuals and classes. He added that the review and impact of Covid-19 had opened up a lot of opportunities for the service to continue and widen their delivery.

 

Councillor Liz Hardman commented that she was pleased to hear that the Service was adapting and returning to lessons where possible. She said that the grant from the Arts Council was vital and had kept the Service going when budget cuts had been put in place around two years ago. She asked what they were able to offer to young people who were not able to pay for music lessons.

 

The Director of Education, Inclusion and Children’s Safeguarding replied that the proposed budget cut did not take place in the end.

 

The Interim Music Service Manager added that he felt very strongly that music lessons should be available on a wider basis. He added that a redesign of the music service delivery model means that it will be more efficient in accounting for its use of finance and this will free up a significant percentage of the ACE grant, both (time and finance) to enable delivery of lessons to those that can’t afford them.

 

Councillor Paul May commented that the Music Service was well respected across the Council and that he was pleased to see the proposals that had been made.

 

Councillor Kevin Guy, Cabinet Member for Children’s Services stated that the proposed budget cut had not been implemented and that he supported the work of the Service. He added that the intention is to enhance it during his tenure.

 

Councillor Hardman said that she was pleased that the cuts did not take place and welcomed the comments from the Interim Music Service Manager.

 

Councillor Ruth Malloy said that she welcomed any effort to widen the offer of lessons to disadvantaged children.

 

The Chairman stated that it was clear that the Panel supports the work of the Music Service and thanked the officers for the report.

 

The Panel RESOLVED to:

 

i)  Note the progress being made in delivering improvements to the Music Service and the MEH.

 

ii)  Note that ACE has commissioned a second report by AP Benson, to examine the progress the Music Service and the MEH is making to

deliver the improvements identified in the first A P Benson report in May 2019.

 

iii)  Note the impact of COVID 19 on the Music Service and its response to ensure that music education was still available to children and young people during the lockdown.

Supporting documents: