Following the government's announcement of generous new funding for music education we spoke to Alan Clarke, Joint Deputy Director of the Curriculum Unit at the DCSF, to get the facts behind the figures.
MM: How much of the money announced on 21 Nov is new money?
AC: There are three packages of money. The first is the £82m Music Standards Fund going to Local Authorities (LAs) each year, up to and including 2010-11. Two years ago that amount was approximately £62m and for the current financial year that did go up to £82m, of which £59m was through LAs and £23m was devolved to schools. So the actual amount hasn't gone up but we have guaranteed the £82m for each of the next three years and the whole amount is now ringfenced - one of the very few ringfenced amounts of money within the Local Authority settlement.
Then you've got £10m in each of the next three years for the Singing Programme. Two years ago there was nothing for singing. This year we found £10m, which Alan Johnson announced back in January, so £10m for each of the next three years is a continuation of that new money. And then you've got the £40m for musical instruments - that is new as well.
There's also about £1m each for CPD and for the Pathfinder projects, which is continuing.
Are there conditions attached? Are you asking LAs to work in a different way?
Rather than giving part of the money to LAs and part to schools we're giving the whole amount to LAs which is in recognition of the strategic leadership role we want them to play. Having said that, we will be expecting LAs to consult school forums on the decision-making process.
We will be issuing guidance soon but yes we will be asking LAs in some cases to focus on particular things. We will be asking them to draw up a strategic plan to focus on key areas. The first is an ambition for all children in early stages of KS2 to have one year's free tuition. Of those children we expect that around half will choose to continue in subsequent years. We'll be looking to the plans to set out how all children can be reached, specifically gifted and talented kids and children who don't always receive the same opportunities - children in care for example and children with learning difficulties. Then we'll be looking for the ways in which LAs will enable children to continue learning. We'll also be looking to LAs to tell us what arrangements they've put into place for the transition into secondary. And what authorities say in relation to that will help us look at future direction and strategy in that area.
In addition, Ministers are very keen on two things - one is that music services and schools do everything they can to boost opportunities to take part in performance. The second thing is the notion of partnership - partnership between schools, and between schools and other organisations devoted to music, such as the national orchestras but also local practitioners. The more they can come together collectively to enhance the provision that's made for young people then the better that experience is.
In terms of partnership, does that include independent music agencies, community musicians etc?
Absolutely. It's school based to the extent that this is particularly about primary school children and it's principally, not wholly, about their time spent in school. That doesn't mean to say it's about what teachers do and no-one else.
Will the year's free instrumental tuition be using the whole-class teaching model?
That is what we have in mind yes. The pilots showed that children learn well in the whole-class models and many choose to carry on learning an instrument. Where they do choose to continue we hope to make room for one-to-one tuition where it makes sense.
This isn't some kind of national model that we shove down LA's throats but it's setting the direction of travel and the principles that you put into play. There are all sorts of ways in which schools and music services if they think creatively enough can organise that in their own way.
How can we make sure the whole-class teaching model is effectively implemented?
We'll be continuing the OU/Trinity Guildhall CPD programme. Plus, in the guidance that we're intending to put out about this new package we're going to remind people about the successful models that were piloted through the Wider Opportunities scheme. Most of those found that the success was down to a partnership between the classroom teacher and a musician.
There is a lot of emphasis on individual Local Authorities, surely this also means there will be a lot of variation in provision?
We'll be looking to our Music Participation Director to be working with those LAs where the musical tradition is less well developed. The Music Participation Director will have important role supporting LAs and schools through any problems, which is not to say that he or she can wave a magic wand.
Will this rectify the so-called postcode lottery?
It's certainly intended to. It's beyond question that as in every other area of the curriculum, some areas have brilliant things happening and other areas are not quite at that level yet. One of the important roles of the Music Participation Director will be looking at the areas that are struggling with this, perhaps by reference to similar types of authority.
If you take sport for example, we did a comparison a couple of years ago of some inner and outer London boroughs, looking at those who had significantly increased participation and those who hadn't. So we went to those authorities that hadn't and showed them some successful models. And participation has shot up in those authorities where we have put not additional money, but additional resources in terms of advice and support and guidance.
How will the instrument fund work?
It will be administered by the Federation of Music Services. We'll make an allocation of the money to each Local Authority based on relative proportion of KS2 pupils, and factors such as the number of pupils receiving free school meals.
We're working with the FMS on guidance that will be sent out to LAs on use of the fund and how you go about spending it. The number of instruments and the type of instruments will be for LAs to decide, but we mean new instruments and we also mean instruments of quality.
This is all very focused on primary children. What about secondary?
I think it's rightly primary-focused and I don't think many people would disagree with that. Because those are the years where you give the first experience to children who are open and receptive, so I think it's absolutely right to focus on the primary years.
As I said, part of what we want to find out through the LAs and the work of the Music Participation Director are what the issues are in relation to transition to secondary school.
Having set an ambition in relation to primary schools we're not in a position where we can set out the same kind of ambition for secondary school pupils, although the new charging legislation, the enthusiasm you build up, the kind of partnerships you want to develop at local level should impact on secondary schools as well as primaries.
What happens after 2011, will the funding continue?
You can't make any promises. It will depend on next government spending round. It depends on what government priorities are, it depends what people are saying to ministers, it depends on the economic circumstances of the country.
Tell us about the plans for an English El Sistema.
What's clear is that large numbers of people have been inspired by what El Sistema has been able to achieve in Venezuela. It's not just about learning a musical instrument; it's the socialising effect, learning to work together, learning to perform.
But England is not Venezuela. We're trying to identify the principles that underpin El Sistema and see how you can apply them successfully in this country. We propose when we pilot the scheme to do so in deprived areas of the country. But we have people thinking about this as we speak.
What reaction have you had so far to the announcements?
The reaction has been probably the most positive I've come across in quite a lengthy career around a government initiative. I was talking to someone the other day who was saying he'd heard nothing but praise from the music sector for what the government's announced.
Now of course we've got to make it happen, but I think there is a goodwill in schools and authorities and the sector more generally to try and contribute to that.
And of course we've got Darren Henley and the Music Manifesto Partnership and Advocacy Group and one of the roles of that group is to say to the music sector at large, look at what the government has been doing, there are a lot of people want to get into partnership with you guys, let's make it happen.