Music tuition in Scottish schools is facing a new threat after a proposal to remove the service from council control in a bid to save cash.
Midlothian Council suggested the entire service - including preparation for formal qualifications - should be run by an outside service.
The proposal comes just months after the local authority backtracked on previous plans to cuts the service.
Midlothian announced in January that it wanted to axe all music instrumental tuition in its schools apart from pupils studying exams.
But after outrage from pupils, parents and music teachers councillors rejected the proposals at a crucial budget meeting in February.
READ MORE: Sir James MacMillan: Midlothian school music proposals an ‘absolute disgrace’
Now Midlothian has published a new plan, to be debated next week, to create a music collaborative or co-operative to deliver music in schools “that would not be the responsibility of the local authority”.
The proposal document states: “It may be more practical for the music collaborative/co-operative model to deliver all music
instruction, including pupils taking SQA music courses.”
The new proposals, which would save the council £200,000 a year, provoked an immediate backlash from families and teaching unions.
Parent Jayne Mortimer, whose son plays the cello at Lasswade High School, in Bonnyrigg, said: “It feels like the council is determined to undermine instrumental music teaching in schools.
“One minute the council says they are not going to increase fees and the next they are talking about removing the service from council control altogether.
READ MORE: Music lessons are a must
“If local authorities decide they are no longer responsible for music tuition then there will be a grim future for the subject.”
Larry Flanagan, general secretary of the Educational Institute of Scotland teaching union, said it was “disappointing” Midlothian was considering proposals “damaging to the provision of instrumental music”.
He said: “The council abandoned plans to effectively scrap its music service earlier this year following mass opposition.
“What it is now effectively proposing is the privatisation of this important council service, with the outsourcing of any remaining instrumental music provision to a separate body.
“We absolutely reject this proposed model, which would have a negative impact on the provision of instrumental music.”
READ MORE: Last waltz for music tuition in Scottish schools
However, a Midlothian Council spokesman said the number of pupils taking instrumental music tuition had fallen by 39 per cent this year creating a budget shortfall of £225,000.
He said: “The current way of delivering this service is not financially viable, especially given the council as a whole is facing a budget shortfall of £4.6m in the next financial year, rising to £18.8m in 2022/23.
“In the interests of the public pound, we are, therefore, looking at offering creative arts in a different way in coming years while addressing this year’s shortfall by reviewing the number of music instructors required in the current financial year.”
The spokesman said the council had suggested a number of money-saving options including the ‘music collaborative’ run outwith the council.
He added: “Recent consultations with local people suggest there would be an appetite for this potential solution.”
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