The Changing Music Education Landscape

This next few months will see some major announcements and changes to the MusicLeading Landscape. 

Following the government’s reply to the Henley Review, the Government will be producing The National Music Plan. This will inform the formation of a Hub for each County. These Hubs will be made of delivery organisations such as music services, community music and arts organisations and The Arts Council. The idea behind Hubs is that they will receive ring-fenced funding to deliver music education in each area. 

Also each region will have a Bridging Organisation. Bridge delivery organisations will provide a direct connection between the work produced by arts organisations, and schools and communities. Our region has two Bridging Organisations: The Norfolk and Norwich Festival and the Royal OperaHouse in Thurrock. From 2012 to 2015 the Norfolk and Norwich Festival has just over £1.5 million to deliver this work and The Royal Opera House has just over  £2.2 million to deliver this work.

These will have a direct impact on the way many of us work and both Hubs and Bridges are being planned at the moment. MusicLeader East will include updates in our bulletins but it is important that you stay informed using the daily updates, which are to be found on the news section of our front page.

Another good way to keep informed of changes and realise opportunities is to make sure that you are well networked. Our training pages contain information of some great networking and training opportunities coming up in our region.

Finally, we have an opportunity to bring some new exiting training into the region. To make sure that we only commission things that interest you, we have created a very short online questionnaire. We would be grateful if you could not only take a minute to tick any of the 9 boxes that interest you, but forward it to others who you think it might interest.

Paul Weston, Director, MusicLeader East of England