Discord over fees for school music tuition

Details obtained by Scotland on Sunday show a number of local authorities are now making parents pay for their children’s tuition as part of their studies towards Standard Grade and Higher Music qualifications.

Scotland’s largest teaching union, the Educational Institute of Scotland, said the charges were part of an “alarming trend” which was seeing pupils being penalised by councils trying to make savings.

The union has made protecting free instrument tuition one of the key aims of its “manifesto” launched ahead of May’s local council elections.

Figures provided by the EIS show that only eight – East Lothian, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Orkney, South Ayrshire, West Dunbartonshire, West Lothian and Western Isles – of Scotland’s 32 local authorities currently provide free instrument tuition to pupils.

While most others offer exemptions to pupils taking Standard Grade or Higher Music, details obtained by Tory education spokeswoman Liz Smith MSP, using Freedom of Information laws, show that a number are now charging those students as well.

Those councils are Aberdeen, Dumfries and Galloway, Highland and Renfrewshire, which has only just begun charging. Borders Council charges for the loan of instruments, but not lessons, while Aberdeenshire Council is phasing out an exemption for SQA candidates, according to the EIS.

Mark Traynor, convener of the union’s Instrumental Music Teachers’ Network, said that with exemptions for the poorest students, it was those from middle-income homes which were likely to suffer.

He said: “What’s happened recently is that there is increased pressure financially and that puts pressure on councils to make cuts, which has had a direct impact on instrumental music tuition. It’s one of the first things to go.

“There’s a huge disparity across Scotland as a whole, which concerns us. It’s like all things, the council will say they have no choice, but local authorities do have a choice – you only have to look at the ones which are not charging.I’m concerned it will only have a detrimental effect as soon as you introduce charging.”

There is no standard way of charging for tuition, with councils across the country setting varying rates. The annual charge in Highland, for example, is £228, and £272 in Aberdeen, compared to £90 in Inverclyde. There are around 750 music instructors working alongside music teachers in Scotland’s schools.

One instructor, who did not want to be named, said the legality of the charges was “highly dubious”. He said: “The main concern we have is that SQA Music is a curriculum-based exam. This is not the same as kids getting music lessons, it’s councils taking it upon themselves to charge parents for their children to sit an exam.

“It’s not clear if that’s even legal. My understanding is that music has the same status as maths, English or geography – it’s part of the official curriculum. It’s a highly dubious and quite shameful thing to be doing.”

A spokesman for Aberdeen City Council, which has some of the highest charges, said: “Music tuition charges were introduced in Aberdeen 15 years ago. There is a scale of charges relating to music tuition. For session 2011/12 the fees are £340 per year for individual lessons and £272 per year for group lessons. This fee also includes the loan of an instrument and attendance at all music centre activities.”

A spokesman for Renfrewshire Council, which has only recently introduced charges, said: “The charges relate to additional tuition, which is an optional extra for pupils learning an instrument. Parents do not have to pay for their children to take part in the core curriculum. It is also worth pointing out that the additional tuition service remains heavily subsidised by the council.”

Liz Smith said: “I fully understand that councils are under budgetary pressures and have to be careful that money is being spent with the right focus.

“However, it’s a concern that we’re starting to see one or two councils feeling obliged to make charges for SQA candidates.

“I’m worried that might extend into other subject areas, which is something many teachers and parents would find rather concerning.”

Borders Council said it had exemptions in place for pupils receiving free school meals, school clothing and footwear grants.

Dumfries and Galloway Council disputed Tory figures showing 355 SQA candidates are currently paying for tuition. The council said it had safeguarded access for SQA students, along with those from poorer backgrounds.

A spokeswoman said: “Benchmarking suggested that our current fees are well below the average of other councils within Scotland and free instrumental tuition will continue to be provided for those families meeting the eligibility criteria.”