15/05/2008
The new Music Participation Director, Dick Hallam, has invited teachers and musicians on the ground to have their say on the workings of music education in their area.
Classroom teachers and musicians at the coalface sometimes complain that their voices aren't heard by those setting the agenda. But Dick, whose job is to help Local Authorities devise effective music strategies and spend their money wisely, is all ears.
"My email is out there for anybody and everybody to use," he says. "The more I hear what's going on on the ground, the more I can see whether local systems and structures are working and what we need to do. I want to improve communication for everybody, and I want us all to work together."
Dick took up his post on 1 April and has already been in touch with England's 150 Local Authorities, encouraging them to draw up three-year music strategies and set their own targets against government expectations. He is working closely with the Federation of Music Services (FMS) and has been liaising with key organisations including Sing Up, Youth Music, NAME, MEC, the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust and the Schools Music Association.
Effective networks and partnerships are at the core of Dick's vision and the response so far has been overwhelmingly positive. "I've been so impressed by how open people are and how much the whole sector does care about what we do. The level of commitment and passion in the sector is brilliant, people do care passionately about what they do and it is a really exciting time."
There will undoubtedly be issues. Some teachers have expressed confusion over how to get their hands on new money for the Wider Opportunities scheme and the new instrumental fund, announced last November as part of the government's £332m package.
"If a school says, how do we get our hands on this money? The answer will be find out what your LA strategy is," says Dick. "Your local strategy should have been approved and your Schools Forum consulted with, so go to your local person and say, where do my school and my kids fit into this picture? And if you're then not getting any answers that's exactly the sort of thing I want to know about."
Want to get in touch? Email Dick