Music Tuition
The final item of business today is a members’ business debate on motion S4M-04051, in the name of Iain Gray, on the value of instrumental music tuition. The debate will be concluded without any question being put.
Motion debated,
That the Parliament recognises the key role that music can play in children’s academic and social development; notes that a five year study by researchers from Harvard Medical School and Boston College, published in 2008, concluded that children who play a musical instrument display better motor, auditory, vocabulary and non-verbal reasoning skills; notes that children in 24 of Scotland’s 32 local authorities are charged up to £340 per year for instrumental music tuition; believes that every child in Scotland should have the opportunity to learn a musical instrument; welcomes Scotland on Sunday’s Let the Children Play campaign; shares the concern of the Educational Institute for Scotland that music tuition charges may deny children from poorer backgrounds the chance to develop their musical talents, and commends the eight local authorities in Scotland, including East Lothian, that make no charge for instrumental music tuition in schools.
17:32
This evening’s debate, on the value of instrumental music tuition, is prompted by research that was undertaken by the Educational Institute of Scotland, which established that 24 out of 32 councils charge up to £340 per year for instrument tuition in schools. Five councils even charge for tuition for pupils who are required to learn an instrument as part of study for music exams. Eleven authorities have raised fees during the past year. I record my pride that my council, East Lothian Council, is one of the eight authorities that do not charge for music tuition.
I congratulate Scotland on Sunday on its let the children play campaign, which calls for instrument tuition to be free, especially for those who are studying music, and calls on the Scottish Government to take a lead in making that happen. There is a precedent for that in Jack McConnell’s youth music initiative, which ensures that every pupil has the chance to try a year of instrumental tuition by primary 6. Thousands of youngsters have benefited from the scheme and the Scottish National Party Government has continued the scheme since 2007 and deserves full credit for doing so. In most of Scotland, however, pupils who are inspired by the initiative to continue with their instrument have to pay. That means, for many, that the opportunity is lost.
My motion was prompted by all that, but was driven by personal experience; all three of my daughters benefited from free music tuition in schools. One learned violin, one the clarinet and one the bassoon. All of them participated in school bands or wind bands, and two of them participated in the Edinburgh secondary schools orchestra. One is now an instrument teacher herself, but all three were challenged, enriched and inspired by music. I am sure that they are better, broader-minded and happier adults for it.
That view is supported by research such as that which my motion cites from Harvard medical school, which shows that pupils who play an instrument demonstrate
“better motor, auditory, vocabulary and non-verbal reasoning skills”.
Such evidence is part of the answer to the rather obvious criticism that, given Labour’s argument that we must debate carefully what benefits can be provided free, this is not the time to argue for free instrument tuition. That criticism misses the point, just as the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities does when it says:
“let’s be clear, what we are talking about here is extracurricular music tuition.”
Even if we set aside the fact that we are talking about Scottish Qualifications Authority exam courses in five council areas, the crux is that instrument tuition should be part of the core provision of our schools and should therefore be provided without charge. If we think that schools are just about getting pupils through exams, our aspiration is narrow and our ambition limited, indeed.
The benefits of music participation at its most intense are seen in El Sistema, which engages a whole community. It was pioneered in Venezuela and is transforming the Raploch in Stirling. I spent midsummer’s evening watching the children of the Raploch sit in the midst of an orchestra from Venezuela, thousands of miles away, and play with it a Beethoven overture from hundreds of years ago. No one there needed to be told that music has the power to transcend distance, time and culture and to transform the lives of those whom it touches, because that truth shone transparently in the faces of the children of the big noise. We cannot have that everywhere, but we can have music tuition. We have all seen some of that when we have seen parents at school concerts watch their children conjure beauty, no matter how falteringly, from thin air.
When I taught in Mozambique, my class’s timetable included mandatory singing—not from me, fortunately. In a country that was torn by war and ravaged by famine, people sang. The children sang everywhere, all the time, in heartbreakingly perfect harmonies. Just as young men tied together rags to play football, they constructed guitars from any disused boxes that they could find, so that they could make music.
In Cambodia—a country rebuilding from nothing with nothing—I have seen the establishment of a school of music and dance being prioritised. That was because people there understood music’s magic in bringing people together and raising them up, and because they knew that the Khmer Rouge killed the musicians first because it, too, understood that.
Nearer home, when I lived in Wester Hailes, the whole community—which had little—clubbed together to buy a saxophone for one Tommy Smith, so that he could take up his place at Berklee College of Music. He learned through the kind of tuition that we are debating, and people in that community understood that the glory of his jazz enriched them all. If people who have little can find the time and resource to sing, play and learn, why do we have to debate whether we can let our children play? A lack of money need not hold us back, but a lack of vision surely will.
Nicola Benedetti told Scotland on Sunday:
“Learning an instrument is ... about understanding the creative, spiritual thing that goes on inside of us. It goes to the heart of who we are as human beings.
How can it possibly be separated by something as superficial as whether you can pay for your lesson or not?”
I know that it is not practical to suggest that anyone can learn any instrument anywhere, on demand, but the Scottish Government can take a lead in pushing open a door that is closing in the faces of too many young Scots across our country. It goes to the heart of who we are as human beings and to the heart of what we want to be as a country.
17:39
I congratulate Iain Gray on bringing this very important debate to Parliament. His passion was evident in his speech.
I will open my speech by almost overtaking George Adam on the number of mentions a member can give of their hometown. I must mention that I am from Lanarkshire and am Motherwell born. While I was growing up in the area and taking my first steps as a budding clarinettist I was very aware of the renowned musician and conductor, Sir Alexander Gibson. My ambition was very much an endeavour of enthusiasm over talent, so I am unlike my colleague Stuart McMillan, who is a very talented piper, and Nigel Don, who is a brass instrumentalist. He is very disappointed that he is unable to speak in the debate.
Earlier this year, I was lucky enough to attend a concert in Glasgow to celebrate Scottish Opera’s 50th anniversary. Sir Alexander Gibson founded Scottish Opera in 1962 and was its music director until 1986. He opened up the world of opera for Scotland. I particularly remember the “Opera go Round” programme, which gave me my lifetime love of the genre when I saw “Madama Butterfly”. Scottish Opera is truly an opera company for the nation and Alexander Gibson enriched our lives and the art form itself with what were often world-acclaimed productions.
Of course, Alexander Gibson was also a native of Motherwell, so it is no surprise that North Lanarkshire Council has continued the tradition that nurtured his talent at Dalziel high school. Many have benefited from the wonderful legacy and there is excellent music provision in North Lanarkshire’s schools. Every Friday evening, pupils who participate in North Lanarkshire schools’ music groups are given the opportunity to attend Coatbridge high school where an incredible array of talent is brought together in their wind ensemble, chorus, symphony orchestra, junior and senior string orchestras, jazz orchestra, wind band, prep band, pipe band and traditional music group. I have no doubt that pupils are benefiting from music tuition and opportunities to participate in ensembles and music groups.
Iain Gray mentioned charging, which is a very complicated area with many variations across Scotland. Perhaps we could address that with COSLA and look into the variations. North Lanarkshire Council does not charge SQA students or those whose families or carers are in receipt of benefits, but it is a complicated situation across the country. From my research, I believe that only five councils charge for SQA activity. That must be looked at.
As we move forward with curriculum for excellence, we must consider the possible impacts of the two plus two plus two and three plus three models of teaching in schools. The point at which a student chooses music must be considered, because if that happens later in their progression through school, it could lead to a year’s extra cost in the three plus three model.
We must consider access to the whole area of music. The issue is much more complicated than being just about charging for tuition; we must also consider access to instruments. They may have to be sourced privately by parents, which adds to costs and could disenfranchise some pupils. I note that Sistema Scotland provides instruments in the Raploch.
I believe that Scottish people are going through a renaissance in terms of searching for and finding their identity. Music for children is vital to that. I totally agree with what Clare Adamson says, but I think that the call for the Scottish Government to assist in this process is important. We should look for ways to encourage our young people to come forward and develop their skills, so that they can identify with their nation and not be Americanised or anglicised, but be Scottish.
There is much that we can do, but what the Scottish Government does in its youth music initiative is possibly the most important thing, because it is there to ignite the fire in our young people, and to inspire them to participate in music throughout their school careers.
I would be grateful if you could draw to a close, please.
The Government’s initiative should not be conflated with curricular delivery, which is the responsibility of local authorities and something that COSLA and local authorities have to resolve.
17:44
Why is music tuition important? It is for the simple reason that music and sport give children options. On a recent visit to my old high school in Dundee, I was told by one teacher that it is music and sport that our kids need. For some who will not achieve academically and for those who do not want to, sport and music provide the chance to find a path, and they open up a myriad of opportunities.
Anyone who has played in a band, orchestra or sports team will know how much of a leveller music—or sport—can be. People who were born with privilege and wealth occupy a level playing field with those who were born without, because as soon as they lift their bow to their fiddle or have the ball at their feet, all that matters is what they do with it—the sound that they produce or the pass that they make. Everything else pales.
That is why such chances are so important and why, in a time of recession when 100,000 young Scots of working age are sitting at home today, wise investment would be to equip children with the skills that they will use to forge their own paths, make their own money and create new and different careers for themselves. The Government should consider that as much an economic argument as a cultural one.
As Iain Gray said, our education is for equipping children with the skills that they need to go out and make their way in the world. From the young Dundonian who paid for his trip round Venezuela by beating old men at chess for money in pavement cafes, having learned chess in his Dundee primary school, to the inimitable Gary Clark, the lead singer of the Dundee band Danny Wilson, who learned music in his community of Douglas, in Dundee, and is now a songwriter in Los Angeles for the likes of Natalie Imbruglia, the economic and life opportunities that are offered by those so-called extracurricular activities know no bounds.
When our children’s commissioner conducted his “right blether” throughout Scotland recently, he heard the same message from children the length and breadth of the country. They said that chances always go to children from families with money. That came from the mouths of under-10-year-olds. It is enough to make you weep. They know that educational opportunities are not blind. In Dundee, in Sidlaw View primary school in Kirkton, four children are learning to play musical instruments. Down the road, in the affluent area of Broughty Ferry, 83 children in Forthill primary school are learning to play instruments. In other areas of deprivation, the story is the same; in Charleston primary school, six children get instrumental tuition and in Lochee primary school, the number is eight.
The cost of lessons is not the only barrier, although it is a significant one. In Dundee, the council charges pupils £132 per year for lessons and another £83 to hire their instrument. Children who qualify for free school meals or a clothing grant are exempt from those charges but face other barriers. At a time when an increasing number of school children in Dundee are turning up at school without having been fed, when the number of people seeking help from food banks is on the rise and as fuel bills go up and people are having to make the choice between heating and eating, instrumental fees are about the last thing that families can afford to pay.
A couple of weeks ago, we had a debate about universalism. Labour argued that a mixture of universalism and targeted benefits or spending priorities should be based on evidence. Here, the evidence is overwhelming and has been very well articulated by the Scotland on Sunday campaign. The Scottish Government has accepted the evidence of the big noise intense music instruction programme in Stirling’s Raploch to the extent that it has given more than £1 million to another big noise project in Govanhill.
For music tuition in all our schools to resemble a map of deprivation, as it does in Dundee, is not good enough for an ambitious, cultured and civilised Scotland. Let us be bold and ambitious; let us feel the incredible inspiration of the musical heritage of our country, and let all our children play.
17:49
Iain Gray has selected one of the most important topics in our schools today and I commend him for the powerful speech with which he introduced the debate. As he said, music—in whatever capacity—should be at the heart of any curriculum, not just because of the educational and social benefits that it brings but because of its power to transform lives, which he described. We have seen that on a grand scale with El Sistema, which is thankfully to be expanded across Scotland. However, another important factor is that music provides an important self-discipline and, often, the ambition for pupils to do well in other subjects. Music is definitely not to be treated as an optional extra. As Nicola Benedetti has said, that would do untold damage to the cultural fabric of Scotland.
We know that music is, in principle, firmly embedded in curriculum for excellence, but we also know that its provision is patchy, particularly when it comes to instrumental tuition, and that that situation relates largely to costs, as both Clare Adamson and Jenny Marra said. In particular, our concerns relate to the wide variations between local authorities. Just a few months ago, the Education and Culture Committee was presented with the stark reality of the statistics. Three quarters of the 32 local authorities in Scotland are charging for instrumental music tuition, and the annual charge varies from £95 to £340. In many cases, the costs have continued to rise over the past two or three years, and in the past year 11 local authorities have announced increases that are well above the rate of inflation.
It is just as important to note that five councils—it was six, so it is good to hear that one has changed its mind—are still charging students for entering SQA exams. Notwithstanding the fact that we know that budgets are tight—again, the Education and Culture Committee was told about the effect of that—it is simply unacceptable that some councils see music as an easy target when it comes to budget cuts, and there is sometimes a hint that they see it as a means of generating additional income. That is a situation about which we should all feel distinctly uncomfortable.
There is also variation between primary schools and secondary schools. We should accept that that needs to be dealt with quickly. If music is to be treated as an important part of curriculum for excellence—I am sure that we have a unanimous view on that—it is difficult to square that with the fact that families are having to pay high fees, and parents will rightly be confused and angry if they have to face more increases in that regard. Given that parents are already paying taxes to local authorities, they find the additional charges reprehensible.
We have been told that it might not be possible to avoid additional charges altogether. I can accept that up to a point, given the nature of some of the tuition that is required. However, if there have to be some charges, I suggest that local authorities be more imaginative about possible sources of additional income. Some of them have been interested in the concept of trusts when it comes to sport, and I wonder whether something can be done on the same basis for music. It might also be possible to involve local businesses if we have to find some additional funds.
I finish by commending Iain Gray again, because this is an important debate and he spoke with considerable passion on the subject. It is something for all of us to take on board.
17:53
Tonight, I should go home to an ailing wife via the childminder—or I could incur the wrath of that spouse by going to a concert: Kevin Henderson’s new band, Aamos, is mixing all that is good about Shetland and Norwegian music, and I can commend a good night to the Parliament.
I should probably start by agreeing whole-heartedly with Iain Gray’s central contention that music is a central part of schooling. It is not an add-on but is at a school’s core.
The playing of the traditional fiddle is part of Shetland’s DNA. The islands’ international reputation rests on the playing of reels and slow airs—on the playing of something that is uniquely Shetland. However, generations of local fiddlers have stretched Shetland’s musical expertise by listening to, learning from and adapting to the local genre the moods and swings of international music. Aly Bain, Chris Stout and Maggie Adamson—a two-time winner of the Glenfiddich fiddler of the year award—are widely known and admired.
There are few better nights than the Shetland folk festival, Shetland night at Celtic Connections in Glasgow—indeed, every night is Shetland night at Celtic Connections—or the recent Anderson high school centenary concert at Mareel, which featured pupils past and present in a musical tour de force. The stars that night were Vair. Jonny Polson, Lewie Peterson, Ryan Couper and Erik Peterson all have music in their blood, but the point is that they all came through the Shetland school system.
As an international supporter of Shetland fiddle music has observed,
“There is no other island community in the world that can boast of such a high concentration of musicians grounded in a tradition that captivates all who hear it.”
Much of that starts in Shetland’s schools. Musical abilities learned at a young age are retained through life; people keep playing. Thousands of Shetland bairns have learned the fiddle—although, thankfully, I am an example of a much-needed quality control check in primary school.
Today, 200 pupils take traditional fiddle lessons in Shetland, but the sort of financial pressures that colleagues have already explained exist and I am very concerned that the limits applied in many other local authority areas—aptitude tests, cutting the ratio of children receiving musical tuition and, indeed, cutting everything other than fiddle and piano—could happen at home as well. Such a move would affect 280 Shetland pupils who are being taught cello, accordion, drums, trumpet and other instruments. Fees for lessons are difficult enough for many parents but, as many pupils and music teachers have made clear, a lesson lasting only 25 minutes does not work. Overall, even with the financial challenges that Shetland Islands Council faces, I trust that the current review of music tuition—the second in two years—will create a bedrock of support for music in Shetland’s schools.
A letter from the adjudicators to the Shetland young musician of the year and indeed the schools festival held every year on the island best proves the case. It says:
“In Shetland today you have a very high standard of musical achievement that enhances the life and culture of the islands.”
In that respect, Iain Gray’s comments and observations about Scotland hold for individual parts of Scotland such as the island.
With regard to the schools festival, I ask the minister to clarify the funding situation with regard to Creative Scotland’s very welcome youth music initiative, which, as Iain Gray rightly pointed out, was introduced by a previous Government. I understand that the funding has been cut for the future, which will certainly have an effect in Shetland. I must point out that the benefit of the schools festival is that it involves children from across the islands. Playing before a large audience at primary school is about self-confidence and ability; it should also be about fun, although try telling that to yourself before walking on to a stage in front of 600 parents. The event builds Shetland itself, not just its musical future.
As Iain Gray said in the context of Scotland, this is about our culture, our place in the world and showing what we are. It is not just about fiddle but about instruments that are central to an outward-looking vision. All I can do is urge my council at home to make responsible decisions that reflect music’s role in 21st century Shetland and, in that, I am with everyone in the chamber who wants the same for Scotland.
17:57
I, too, congratulate Iain Gray on securing this members’ business debate. As his speech showed, he obviously has a great deal of passion for and commitment to the subject, and I commend him for that.
I thank Clare Adamson for her plug for piping and certainly whole-heartedly agree with at least the first half of Jenny Marra’s speech. However, although I agree with the general thrust of Iain Gray’s motion, I am not too sure how the aims of Scotland on Sunday’s let the children play campaign can be fully implemented.
As members will know, I play the bagpipes. However, I was not taught them at school; I actually learned them as a member of 1st Port Glasgow Boys Brigade. Tuition was free, but we paid for it by playing at gala days and functions throughout the year.
Like many musical instruments, pipes are not cheap; in fact, they are pretty expensive. Members of pipe bands have to pay for their uniforms, their pipes, their drums, their drumskins, their drone reeds and their pipe reeds as well as for their transport and their accommodation when playing at a function. An important point that we will all take away from the debate is that the vast majority of parents, bands and schools do not have an unlimited pot of money to draw on. Although it is vital to ensure that music tuition is affordable, certainly for our younger people, it is also imperative to recognise that such tuition does not happen only in schools.
Before I talk about local authorities, I want to highlight an organisation that does a tremendous amount of work and which I believe I and Hanzala Malik have discussed in the past: the College of Piping in Glasgow. On average, the college takes more than 500 piping students a year, and on a Monday evening it provides free tuition. It supplies equipment such as pipes and drums, and some of the uniforms, for younger people who come from disadvantaged areas.
A further example of the college’s excellent work is that it paid for a set of pipes that cost approximately £1,000 and gave them to a young boy to aid him in his piping efforts. A set of pipes is not cheap—in fact, that was a cheap set at £1,000. We should all congratulate the college on the tremendous amount of work that it does for the piping community and for the local communities that it serves.
I will touch briefly on the work of local authorities. I congratulate the eight council areas that have no charge for music tuition—I warmly welcome that. I hope that the other 24 areas in Scotland can have a look at their charging regimes and see whether they can make the charges a bit smaller.
As members know, I stay in Inverclyde, where the council charges £95 a year for tuition. That is not a lot of money in the grand scheme of things, but for some families it will be a lot. However, that is the lowest sum among the authorities that charge for tuition; in comparison, Aberdeen City Council charges approximately £340.
My key point is that I do not believe that we can tell local authorities what to do. At a recent Local Government and Regeneration Committee meeting, Councillor Michael Cook, the vice-president of COSLA, was clear about our councils’ powers and responsibilities. He stated:
“We need to recognise that when it comes to a whole range of factors, there is legitimate variation based on local democracy. It is up to councillors, who are the local democratic agents within councils, to make a policy judgment about some of those things ... It may also partly be a consequence of policy determinations that those elected members have made and that is absolutely right. Sometimes we hear complaints about the postcode lottery. Sometimes the postcode lottery is local democracy in action.”—[Official Report, Local Government and Regeneration Committee, 31 October 2012; c 1343-44.]
That is a very powerful argument.
Will the member give way?
The member is in his last minute.
I can talk to Jenny Marra about her point later; I am just concluding now.
There is so much more that we could highlight and discuss tonight, but time is short. I know how beneficial playing an instrument is, as it has certainly benefited me. However, we must recognise that music tuition does not happen only in schools, and we must acknowledge Councillor Michael Cook’s comments.
18:02
I congratulate Iain Gray on bringing the debate to the chamber, and on raising the profile of the issue as he has done for many months. Scotland on Sunday also deserves credit for its championing of the issue.
Like many colleagues who are speaking in the debate, I have a deep and abiding love of music, and a great admiration for those who can play an instrument proficiently. I persevered at violin and guitar lessons for more years than I would like to admit to, before eventually deciding that I simply did not have a talent for it. I still have my violin, however, and if there is no one else at home and the house is quiet I have been known to bring it out of its cupboard and play a little. Every time I do that, I remember just how much I enjoy it—although I am not sure that anyone else does.
I do not regret in any way the lessons that I took or the time that I spent in trying to master those instruments, because I have benefited so much from it. My world was expanded, and not just musically. Playing an instrument gave me an interest in a fairly eclectic mix of music. It taught me that music, like so many other things, is influenced by our environment, history and society. It helped me to become a more confident person, and playing in the school orchestra taught me the real value of teamwork and the importance of the individual’s contribution to the team.
The Harvard research that Iain Gray mentioned bears that out, but so too should our intuition. My experience tells me that the opportunity to play a musical instrument should not be regarded as an extra. It should be recognised as an important—indeed vital—part of the curriculum, and should be available to all children. It cannot simply be the preserve of those who can pay for their child’s tuition, because talent does not recognise social class. We could be missing out on our next Nicola Benedetti if we limit the opportunities that our young people have.
Like other colleagues, I was very concerned to read about the local authorities that have decided to charge for musical tuition. I know that budgets are tight, but for too long now the arts—and sometimes sport—have been seen as an easy hit when cuts have to be made. That is one reason why the youth music initiative was introduced in the first place. I gently point out to Stuart McMillan that the youth music initiative is an example of Government telling local authorities that this is a sensible thing to do but then leaving them democratically to decide how they go about delivering it in a way that reflects their own areas and interests.
My concern was further piqued by hearing that some young people who are sitting standard grades and other qualifications in music are being asked to pay for their tuition. The idea of an aptitude test is, frankly, unacceptable because the tuition is about not just the student’s ability to play but the enjoyment, the experience and the life-expanding opportunities that come from contributing.
The youth music initiative is an excellent first step on the ladder for many young people, but it was never intended to end there. Frankly, it is cruel to give children a taste of what might be possible but then to suggest that anyone who wants to pursue their talent or interest will have to pay. We can all be inspired by El Sistema and what the big noise orchestra has achieved in the Raploch. Like my colleague Jenny Marra, I am working hard with partners in my constituency to try to bring El Sistema to my area. I know that El Sistema cannot be replicated in every community in Scotland, but I think that its success shows that, if enough young people have the opportunity to take up music, we can do great things.
On a visit to Malawi, I was intrigued and moved to be greeted by the school band, whose instruments were made of oil cans and string but were capable of being tuned and producing music. They valued their music and their ability was recognised and valued by their communities. I very much hope that the Scottish Government will take the opportunity to consider how it might better support young people in Scotland who wish to be involved in music and music making. If we do not take action soon, we could end up losing an entire generation of music makers.
18:07
I, too, thank Iain Gray for securing this evening’s debate and welcome the opportunity to discuss this important issue. I whole-heartedly support the motion, which notes the many widely acknowledged benefits to learning that instrumental music tuition provides. The confidence, self-esteem and enjoyment gained from developing such life-enhancing—indeed, sometimes life-changing—skills are worthy of note, too.
I highlight the excellent work that goes on in the City of Edinburgh music school, whose work paves the way for its students to secure positions in world-renowned colleges, ensembles and orchestras across the globe.
As we have heard, an EIS investigation earlier this year reported that across the country there is a mixed picture for instrumental music tuition outwith core teaching hours. The report showed that several local authorities charge pupils for SQA-accredited courses and sometimes charge more than necessary to cover the costs of music tuition. The curriculum for excellence states:
“Performing and creating music will be the prominent activities for all learners.”
That will not be the case where the ability to pay is a factor in the pupil’s selection of subjects.
The “EIS Charter for Instrumental Music” explains the many benefits that music provision gives us as a society and how current cuts to instrumental music tuition must be challenged if we are seriously committed to a curriculum that makes instrumental music provision a core part of our young learners’ education. In one case study in the charter, a musician tells us:
“At school I was non-academic, I failed in most subjects.”
However, through guitar lessons in secondary school, the learner discovered a world that is described as
“non-discriminatory, enjoyable, something that fitted me like Cinderella’s slipper.”
The learner describes musical instrument tuition as “vital” to enabling her to find a
“positive path to follow through education.”
As Jenny Marra rightly highlighted, one-size education does not fit all; variety is essential.
In some local authorities where curriculum-time provision is free, budgetary constraints still mean that it is limited to the few chosen individuals who have shown an aptitude when tested and, although the tuition is free, instrument hire or purchase is still at the expense of parents or carers. That approach means that many children are persuaded of a relative lack of talent at a young age, and some might be unable to take up the offer, should the instrument cost be beyond the family budget.
Instrumental music tuition makes an important contribution to the four capacities that are outlined in the curriculum for excellence. It is delivered by dedicated, highly skilled and qualified professionals, and it should play an important role in the education of the rounded citizens that the curriculum for excellence strives to develop. We have yet to achieve delivery of sufficient physical education to all pupils. If we are serious about a holistic curriculum, we must stop seeing certain subjects as less worthy of funding than others.
I am sure that we all want Scottish education to encourage creativity and to value that creativity and place it at the heart of the curriculum. For many pupils whose parents and carers have work schedules, shifts or siblings to care for, and for those on tight budgets, access to music tuition outside schools, even if it is affordable, might sometimes be simply inaccessible. That is why it is vital that the importance of music is recognised and embedded totally within the curriculum.
I support the aims of the “EIS Charter for Instrumental Music”, and I would welcome the minister’s comments on the entitlement or right of every school-age child to receive instrumental tuition, and not only for a period of several weeks. In response to a question in September, the minister advised me that the Government had been in touch with local authorities with a view to levelling the playing field across Scotland. I would be grateful if the minister provided an update on that in his speech.
As the debate is heavily subscribed, I am prepared to accept a motion under rule 8.14, to extend the debate.
Motion moved,
That, under Rule 8.14.3, the debate be extended by up to 30 minutes.—[Iain Gray.]
Motion agreed to.
18:12
It is probably my fault that the debate has been extended, because I did not intend to speak in it, but I have found several of the speeches to be inspiring and the debate has raised many significant issues.
Much of the debate might be couched in terms of what can be directed from central Government and what local government decides. It also leads us to the debate that we have been having about what should be free and what should be charged for. I do not want to prejudge the minister’s speech, but I suspect that some in Government will say that we cannot tell local authorities what to do and we cannot have any more free services, because of the financial difficulties. That would be a wrong approach, which is why we have suggested that we should open up the debate about the basic principles of free entitlements.
From this debate, I have concluded two things. The first is that music education is extremely important. Iain Gray, in a powerful speech, indicated the many reasons why it is so important. The motion refers to the evidence about the general effects on people’s development, but we also know about the great pleasure that people get from music and the way in which it contributes to their happiness and wellbeing.
The second issue that I started thinking about during the debate was the main theme of Jenny Marra’s speech, which was about the inequalities that exist on the issue. We all know that, in many areas, young people do not have equal opportunities. However, it behoves us in this Parliament to do all that we can to redress those inequalities. Traditionally, some aspects of culture have been very class based. Those with money have been able to develop their talents in many areas, whereas others have not. Music is one such area. The figures that Jenny Marra gave on schools in different areas of Dundee illustrated that powerfully. We have an obligation to address that problem and to regard it as a national priority. It is scandalous that people in some more disadvantaged areas should lack the opportunities that their neighbours in wealthier areas have to develop their musical talents.
We must regard the issue as one on which the Parliament needs to take action. We cannot just leave it up to local authorities to make up their minds. That is why, as Patricia Ferguson reminded us, a previous Government took some initiatives in the area, through the youth music initiative and the creation of cultural co-ordinators, to try to democratise culture and give opportunities to as wide a range of people as possible to develop their talents in what are generally regarded as cultural areas.
We were right to do that when we were in government, and the current Government should rise to that challenge and realise the importance of music. It does that, for example, through the money that it gave to Sistema Scotland to set up a big noise orchestra in Glasgow a week or so ago, which illustrates that it recognises the value of instrumental music tuition. However, it is not good enough to give that opportunity to just a small number of people; we must give that opportunity to the widest range of people possible, because that seems to be what justice and equity require.
In general, the Government deserves credit for shifting some of the balance of policy discussion to the early years. Music tuition is an important aspect of giving people opportunities in the early years to develop their talents, personalities and their abilities more generally.
I strongly support Iain Gray’s motion, and I commend Scotland on Sunday for taking up the music campaign. That illustrates that it should not get caught up in the general argument about what is free and what is not. Scotland on Sunday would perhaps not support universal entitlements in quite a few of the areas that the Government may support, but it has recognised that music is a key area in which charges should not be imposed. It is incumbent on us to act on that principle and address the problem.
18:16
I thank Iain Gray for lodging the motion that we are debating. I certainly welcome this opportunity to listen to the thoughts and views expressed by members.
Like all members here, I am passionate about children and young people experiencing all aspects of the broad general education that they are entitled to under curriculum for excellence and in my view that includes the opportunity to play a range of musical instruments.
One of the benefits of my job is that I get to visit schools and see at first hand what is being achieved in our classrooms every day. I never cease to be amazed by the innovative examples of teaching and learning that I witness. I concur with Mr Gray, Patricia Ferguson and other members about the liberating power that music has for many communities within Scotland and worldwide. That is why I absolutely agree that music—and learning to play a musical instrument—can play a key role in a child’s education, benefiting their academic and social development and, as Liz Smith mentioned, inspiring them in other areas of the curriculum, too.
It never pleases me more than when I attend—and occasionally sing at—national events such as the Mod, where I am able to listen to youngsters from around the country giving expert vocal and traditional instrumental performances. I saw that at first hand when I was compering the Barra local mod earlier this year.
This debate is ultimately about the value of instrumental music tuition and our shared belief that every child should have the opportunity to learn to play a musical instrument. That being agreed, it is necessary to clarify what Mr Gray requested in his motion:
“That ... Parliament ... notes that ... 24 of Scotland’s 32 local authorities are charging up to £340 per year for instrumental music tuition”.
I stress that the charges are applied to instrumental music tuition provided via the authority’s instrumental tuition service; the charges are not applied to classroom music lessons as part of the child’s curriculum learning. I appreciate that there is an issue in some authorities about classroom teachers being able to provide tuition in only three or four instruments themselves, and a debate then emerging about what other musical instruments should be free. That is an important debate to have, not least because of Tavish Scott’s point about the importance of some instruments to local musical traditions.
I think that we all agree that local authorities are under a great deal of pressure to deliver the services that are required of them, and the issue of charging for instrumental music tuition is not straightforward. If Liz Smith or others have evidence of local authorities that are profiting from any charges applied for accessing such provision, I would be pleased to look at that. I do not have such evidence at present. Out of all the authorities that apply charges for their instrumental tuition service, it should be said, in the interests of fairness, that only one does not offer concessions. All other authorities offer a range of concessionary rates dependent upon local policy and family circumstances.
I agree with Mr Gray, Clare Adamson, Jenny Marra and many others that no child should be denied the chance to develop their musical talent. There is—and there should be—systems in place to ensure that no child is ever denied an opportunity because of their background.
This Government is committed to working with local authorities and COSLA to find a way forward on this matter. We need to establish greater clarity regarding the position around the country on charging for instrumental music tuition. Our first priority is to examine the position for pupils undertaking SQA national qualifications.
Scotland on Sunday’s let the children play campaign raises a number of issues, some of which have been echoed by members in the chamber tonight, and not least of which is the array of different charging practices throughout the country. I am committed to finding solutions to the issues raised by the campaign. We are working with our colleagues in local government to find a way forward, in tough financial times, so that we maximise access to music tuition.
Other members mentioned the youth music initiative. I have met my colleague the Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs about the initiative’s contribution to the debate. The initiative has received wide recognition for providing high-quality music-making opportunities for all young people—not just schoolchildren—and particularly for those who may not otherwise have had opportunities to participate. That is an important factor, given the cost of individual instruments, to which Stuart McMillan and others referred. Without a doubt, part of the increasing pressure that we face for instrumental music tuition in schools comes from the continued success of the youth music initiative. I was pleased to hear that the Scottish Brass Band Association has attributed the dramatic increase in the number of brass bands in Scotland to youth music initiative funding.
Funding projects and creating opportunities for young people to get involved in all types of music are a continued commitment from this Government.
To conclude, and to respond briefly to issues raised by Alison Johnstone and others, the provision of instrumental music tuition in schools varies widely across Scotland and is a complicated matter. However, it is a matter that the Government is committed to examining in detail.
I will pick up on Malcolm Chisholm’s point about the need to begin with principles and say that the Scottish Government begins with the principle that no child should be excluded from developing their musical talent because of financial pressure or their background.
Learning in music and the wider expressive arts plays a role in supporting young people to recognise and value the variety and vitality of our culture locally, nationally and globally.
Will the minister give way?
I am just concluding, but I will give way.
I am very pleased that the review of the current circumstances and discussions on how we could move forward are under way. Will the minister give us a specific date for when he might report back on the outcome of those discussions?
I can certainly undertake to report back to the Parliament soon. By soon, I do not mean in glacial time. I would like to be able to report back on some of the progress of those discussions early in the new year. For those reasons, I commit the Scottish Government to helping to address the issue of instrumental music tuition in schools. I express my support for the sentiments of the motion.
Meeting closed at 18:24.