Education

An initiative to perform live classical music shows in school playgrounds will tour schools and venues nationwide this year after being given further funding by Arts Council England (ACE). 

Inspired by the BBC's Promenade Concerts, Playground Proms were initially developed by comedy string quartet Graffiti Classics in 2021 as a way to perform during COVID social distancing restrictions. They began as a collaboration with Cumbria Music Hub and toured across the county.

The charity said the latest grant from ACE, the third it has now received, will enable the project to be rolled out to even more schools later this year in collaboration with music hubs in Cumbria, East Riding, Lancashire, Norfolk, North Yorkshire, Portsmouth and York, as well as a pilot project in Kent.

Cathal Ó Dúill from Playground Proms said, “We are so pleased to be able to take Playground Proms to even more school children in 2024 and are very grateful to Arts Council England for their support.

"We believe classical music can be enjoyed by everyone, and the response to our schools’ workshops and performances in the local communities shows this. 

"Some children we perform with may have never heard any live classical music before our visit, and we believe passionately in the transformative nature of live music in all children’s lives. 

"All our audiences really enjoy the music being presented in a new and fresh way, and we hope this can go some way to show there is interest from the public and classical music should be invested in."

The charity Barnet Education Arts Trust in North London is to allocate £500k over the next three years to cultural activities for children and young people outside mainstream education. 

North Finchley's cultural centre - artsdepot - will run the scheme for 8,000 children and young people working in partnership with 120 organisations.

The funding will be used to hold events for home-educated children educated, take touring shows to religious schools and for pupils with special educational needs educated at the Pavilion study centre in Whetstone.

There will also grants available for schools to bring artists into educational settings.
 

A report published by admissions service UCAS says UK universities should take advantage of rising interest in creative arts degrees among Chinese students.

In the last 10 years, Chinese students’ interest in creative arts and design subjects has more than doubled, going from 4% of UCAS acceptances in 2013 to 11% this year - making it the fourth most popular undergraduate subject for Chinese students.

Business has been the most popular degree subject among Chinese students for the past decade, but has fallen from making up 43% of undergraduate acceptances in 2013 to 26% in 2023.

China is the UK’s largest undergraduate global market, accounting for one in every four international acceptances via UCAS.

More Chinese students currently apply for degrees in the UK than students from Wales or Northern Ireland.

The UCAS report says that to remain competitive in the global market, higher institutions should proactively promote more subjects to Chinese students, such as the creative arts.

“The UK has a flourishing creative arts sector with world-leading TV and film, fashion, design and music industries so it’s encouraging to see growing numbers of Chinese students motivated to study in the UK due to the value of our vibrant arts and culture,” said Sander Kristel, UCAS Interim Chief Executive.

“This presents a significant opportunity for universities and colleges to promote the unique offering of our creative courses.”

A third of UK primary schools are not teaching dance, despite it being part of the National Curriculum, a report has found.

Ofsted’s latest subject report on PE also found that in two-thirds of the schools, dance is not taught to all pupils or that the dance content is “not well organised”. 

In its recommendations, the regulator advised schools to include “carefully sequenced and taught” dance lessons in both primary and secondary schools.

Eve Murphy, Founder and CEO of Dance to School, said: “Dance is a statutory requirement of the National Curriculum at both Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2, yet a worrying proportion of primary school teachers identify dance as an area for development in their school."

A survey conducted by Dance to School has found that 83 per cent of teachers lack the confidence, subject knowledge, and resources to deliver dance as part of the curriculum.

“We know from research that dance is linked to and can impact wider cross-curricular themes, as well as helping children to build confidence, creativity, and relationships," said Murphy.

"I see some incredible examples of dance in practice and the joy it brings to children. However, in those schools that aren’t teaching dance, it’s a negative spiral with teacher confidence continuing to waver.”

The Jewish Museum London has received more than £200,000 to work in the community ahead of a move to a new building.

The National Lottery Heritage Fund will provide £231,000 for the "Jewish Museum London on the Move" project which involves the development of learning and collections programmes around the UK to new and existing audiences after it left its premises in Camden in June this year.

Learning programmes will be adapted for outreach in London schools, along with virtual programming and broadcasts about Jewish festivals. In person schools workshops will begin again in partner venues from spring 2024 and plans are in place to develop the schools offer for 2025. 

Meanwhile, community and heritage partnerships will host family days around London and reminiscence sessions with the museum's collections will take place in Jewish care homes.

Chair of Trustees, Nick Viner said: “The trustees of Jewish Museum London are very grateful to the National Lottery Heritage Fund for this investment which will enable our ongoing transition towards a future museum. 

"We’re delighted that our objects can already be seen around the country, and this support will enable us to expand further our programme of loans and displays, alongside our education work. Jewish Museum London exists to celebrate the UK’s diverse Jewish community and heritage. Now more than ever we need to foster understanding between all cultures.”

The museum, which receives £224,000 a year from Arts Council England as part of the National Portfolio for 2023-26, hopes to reopen in a larger new home within the next five years.

The Musicians' Union has written to Education Secretary Gillian Keegan calling for urgent financial support for music education hubs.

An open letter from the union highlights the potential impact of increased employer pension contributions on the finances of hubs, stating that it could lead to "extreme financial difficulties" for the organisations that run hubs. 

It says that, in turn, this could result in a drastic reduction of what hubs will be able to deliver.

Chris Walters, MU National Organiser for Education, said: “In its National Plan for Music Education, the government has asked the music education sector to deliver more than ever, and yet it has offered no increase in funding for well over a decade. 

"On top of this, it is expecting the sector to self-fund a significant increase in mandatory pension contributions.

“We are simply asking that funding for music education be unfrozen and linked to inflation and that the government funds employers’ pensions contributions for teachers who are employed to deliver the vital work of music education hubs.”

Students at Oxford Brookes University have launched a petition to save a music course after plans to axe it emerged last week.

The petition, which launched on 17 November and now has around 3,000 signatures, calls for university leaders to reconsider the decision, stating that it will impact both music students and the university's culture.

"We are deeply affected by the recent decision to remove the music course from Oxford Brookes University curriculum," the petition states.

"The music department is more than just an academic division; it is a key element of our university and home to non-music students who participate in societies and music groups. 

"Its removal would mean stripping away opportunities for cultural enrichment, personal growth and community bonding."

The petition adds that arts courses such as music "contribute significantly" to students' mental well-being.

In addition to ending the music course, the university plans to reduce the number of salaried academic staff across several programmes, including English and creative writing.

A statement issued by the English and creative writing team said up to 40% of their staff could go by the end of January.

“As a dedicated team of teachers and writers, we believe the humanities are the beating heart of any university. We get to know our students so well, and they love their courses," the statement said.

“When they graduate, they go out into the world as confident and creative individuals. We have brought great prestige to Oxford Brookes University as leading researchers, ranked the sixth best English and creative writing unit in the whole of the UK for this. 

“We are involved in projects and collaborations that enrich the local community and celebrate the diversity of literature and the arts. All of that is now under threat. This is going to be a very bleak season for all of us across the university whose jobs are now at risk.”