Instrumental Music Service

What is the current funding of the Instrumental Music Service in East Lothian and how much does the Scottish Government contribute towards it?

The current funding for the Instrumental Music Service in 2024/25 Academic year is £1,022,000 and the Scottish Government currently support the removal of charging with a contribution of £257,000.

What is the correct figure of the proposed cut? There is conflicting information out there.

The correct efficiency saving approved at Council in February 2024 is £235,000 over three academic years – this was incorrectly reported as £320K in the public papers.

What consultation with the public/staff/pupils has been done to meet these savings?

There was public consultation in November 2023 prior to the savings being agreed in February. We are currently in the consultation phase with our team of instructors to shape the redesign of the service. Once this progresses further and future capacity is established, we will consult with pupils so their voices may contribute to the shaping of future delivery of the Instrumental Music Service going forward.

Why has recruitment been paused?

As a department delivering a service to the young people of East Lothian, our priority is to deliver a high quality, equitable and sustainable service to our current cohort of learners while we navigate through the service redesign. We aim to be able to continue tuition for all our current learners in the redesigned service.  However, we have temporarily paused recruitment into the service until we establish our future capacity as we do not want to start tuition for a new pupil that we then do not have capacity to continue in the future.  As soon as we are able, we will reopen recruitment again. Everyone that would have been offered a chance to register for lessons at the beginning of the academic year will have the opportunity to register for lessons. When we are in this position, we will ask schools to send information to the year groups involved, as per our normal process.

Are repairs of instruments affected by the efficiencies?

General wear and tear of instruments loaned out to our leaners will still be repaired as per the loan agreement and information in the parent handbook. This has not changed due to the service review. If you have a question about an instrument, please contact IMS@eastlothian.gov.uk directly and the IMS team will be happy to assist.