Dear Current Music Hub Partner / Associate,

We are delighted to announce the Department for Education and Arts Council England have awarded Gloucestershire County Council (GCC) the role of Hub Lead Organisation for the new Music Hub to encompass Gloucestershire, Swindon and Wiltshire from September 2024. GCC will lead as part of a strong consortium of the Swindon Music Service and The Music Works charity, and will go by the initial name of GSW Music Hub.

We look forward to working with all stakeholders, schools, delivery partners and music tutors across the new geographical music hub area, but most importantly we are passionate about ensuring the continuation and development of high quality, inclusive music education for all of the young people in this collective geography, both whilst this transition occurs and into the future.

Change can be challenging, but also brings exciting new horizons and invites welcome partnerships between our kindred professionals. We want to reassure everyone who is part of the current music hubs’ delivery landscape that it is our intention to maintain the established delivery models for the academic year 24/25 wherever possible, whilst meaningful needs analysis work is done over the next year.

We will be offering both virtual and face-to-face sessions for any stakeholders to ask questions and to meet the consortium members in due course during the Summer Term.

If we could ask for your patience in the first instance whilst we liaise with ACE to understand the final HLO T&Cs and then we will be in touch again shortly with further information.

In the meantime, if you or any associates wish to be part of our mailing list please email GSWMusicHub@gloucestershire.gov.uk  and we’ll ensure we keep you up to date with developments. There is also a webpage where you will find FAQs which we will be adding to regularly to answer any relevant questions: https://www.makemusicgloucestershire.org.uk/gsw-music-hub-new-sept-2024/

We look forward to building on the fantastic work of the last 10+ years by the current music hubs and enabling even more young people to find or develop their musical potential in line with the National Plan for Music Education.

For any comms in the meantime, please email GSWMusicHub@gloucestershire.gov.uk rather than replying to this email – many thanks.

Very best wishes,

Lisa Mayo (and on behalf of Peter Clark, CEO Swindon Music Service and Deborah Potts, CEO The Music Works)

SYM Senior Wind Band

Congratulations to the SYM Senior Wind Band who will be performing at the Birmingham Symphony Hall on Friday 7th July at the Music For Youth National Festival.

Swindon Music Service has been awarded another two-years of funding from the Department of Education (DfE) through the Arts Council England.  This will see over £600k coming to Swindon for music education for the period April 2018 – March 2020

Looking forward to the Tutors’ CPD tay that is taking part on Friday 1st September.  The day will focus on the following:

• Service / Hub overview – Peter Clark
• School business, Safeguarding
• Charanga resources
• Quality assurance surveys
• Arts Awards
• Classroom management – Jacki Pattendon
• Research project
• SYM – Golden Ticket
• SYM / Secondary Progression groups

We will start at 9am and finish about 3.30pm.  Lunch is provided.

Swindon Music Service  is running a series of one-day workshops / schools visits for Early Years Settings, Infant, Junior and Primary schools.  These workshops cater for your pupils to undertake an Arts Award Discover (in-a-day).  Here, the children will experience a fun day undertaking many Arts activities (with the main focus on Music and Art).  At the end of this project the children will receive a certificate showing that they have completed the Discover Arts Award.  For more information, contact Lynn Hawkins on 01793 401754 or email on: lhawkins2@swindon.gov.uk.  You can also watch a promo video by clicking here.

You can view the evaluation feedback from Peatmoor School  here

We have run two very successful days here at the Platform with Peatmoor Community Primary School and St Farncis CofE Primary School.  Either school would be willing to discuss the merits of the day with you.

Since 2012, and in response to recommendations in the National Plan for Music Education, the government has been changing the way that music education is delivered outside (but in support of) the schools curriculum. The idea is that no single organisation can deliver everything a young person might want/need from music, but by working together they can make it easier for young people to find the music pathway that’s right for them.

Read More

You probably saw it, but just in case not, here’s a transcription;

http://www.musiced.directory/article/music-education-short-debate-house-of-lords-28-oct-2014.html

KEY POINTS:

Lots of support for Hubs, lots of questions asked that we too want answered including:
– Funding from 2016 and up to 2020 – sport has a commitment up to 2020, why can’t music (reason given was next year’s election)
– Changes to Core/Ext Roles?
– How can hubs share practice (Arts Council now working on that as Peter reported)
– How can hubs develop skilled leaders
– How can hubs develop skills for attracting funding, developing mixed economy

Lots of concerns that we share including:

– We’re not reaching all C&YP aged 5-18
– Reaching disadvantaged YP
– Numbers of YP taking GCSE continues to drop
– Access to instruments
– Shortage of music teachers, music teachers conditions becoming worse (zero hours contracts, lack of investment in them)
– Governance of Hubs / hubs board is now a Cultural Education Board – will hubs convert to cultural education hubs?
– the importance of advocacy to schools and urging DfE to be a bit more consistent ref messages they’re sending out to schools about value of cultural education, music etc (ref focus on numeracy and literacy; English Bacc not containing cultural subjects; advising local authorities to remove funding for music, then backing down; announcing more money but this doesn’t make up the long term overall decrease in funding for music ed)
– Suggestion once again that no school is rated outstanding unless it has good cultural education including music
– Suggestion of a review of the effectiveness of hubs to understand the practical application of the NPME

Responses from Baronness Joly (is she on the Hubs Board?) include:
– Update on help for hubs with leadership, practice sharing, skills for business development/funding
– Music GCSE continues to be the headline measure of schools performance – as part of the ‘five As to Cs including Eng & Maths) reformed accountability measures from 2016 will include 8 subjects, including music (???)
– Reassurance that Hubs will continue to be central to music education into the future (yet no mention of the election’s influence over that!)