As local authorities across Scotland start to prepare their budgets for 2025-26, it has not taken long for music services to find themselves in the firing line for savings.
Damaging proposals to cut instrumental and vocal teaching staff in East Lothian, Midlothian and South Lanarkshire, potentially affecting the music lessons of hundreds of young people, have already been published.
Of great concern was the decision last week by East Ayrshire Council to outsource its music service, along with the jobs of 13.4 full-time-equivalent staff, to East Ayrshire Leisure Trust - an arm’s-length body. This will effectively privatise local instrumental and vocal education and is a massive backward step in the effort to achieve equitable access to music tuition for all young people.
In a review document, written by council officers for elected members, an argument was advanced that music tuition from primary school to S2 need not be considered “education”. In contrast, tuition in preparation for Scottish Qualifications Authority music exams from S3-6 should be regarded as “education”.
‘Lack of understanding about instrumental education’
This is not an intellectually credible position and reveals a shocking lack of understanding about the place of instrumental education in the curriculum.
At the time of writing, I am aware that a complaint to Scottish ministers, under section 70 of the Education (Scotland) Act 1980, may be about to be lodged by parents in East Ayrshire who wish to challenge the legality of the council’s decision to outsource its music service.
In answer to a question in the Scottish Parliament in 2016, John Swinney, then education secretary, said that “the Scottish government considers music tuition in schools that take place during the course of the school day to constitute school education”. The government went further in a manifesto commitment in 2021, stating its intent “to raise the status of instrumental and vocal tuition as a key element of education and to remove barriers to access”.
There appears to be no doubt that the Scottish government regards music tuition, in all of Scotland’s schools, as education.
As a brass instrumental teacher in Stirling for almost 40 years, and a long-time campaigner for music education in schools, this is an issue that really matters to me. Before local authority charges for music tuition were removed by the Scottish government in 2021, too many young people were denied access to instrumental or vocal lessons on grounds of cost.
Scottish success story ‘admired by rest of UK’
This situation has been transformed in recent years and now more than 61,000 children receive music tuition on a weekly basis across the country. It is a success story made in Scotland and is looked upon with admiration - and perhaps no little envy - in other parts of the UK.
Why, then, are constant annual campaigns required to save council music services? Councillors are lobbied, petitions are signed, social media is engaged and questions are asked in the Scottish Parliament. To what purpose?
Even if parents, young people and local residents are successful in having proposals withdrawn, it seems only a matter of months before the same cuts appear in the next budget round. The demoralising effect of this, particularly on teaching staff, is too often overlooked.
What is required is a political solution. If the Scottish government wishes to see music tuition as a full part of education in schools, it must remove responsibility for managing music services from councils and fund them directly from the education budget.
In this way, instrumental and vocal education in Scotland would be given the space and time to consolidate its success - and continue to give many more young Scots the opportunity to learn to sing or play a musical instrument.
Alastair Orr is a campaigner for music education in schools, who has worked as a brass instrumental teacher in Stirling for almost 40 years
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