On 4 January, Arts Council England (ACE) announced the launch of the research and consultation stage of the music hub investment process.
On 10 January, Music Mark released a statement responding to this detailing concerns that ‘a focus on provision of an equitable, diverse and inclusive music education is being lost’ within this phase.
The concerns raised about the content and process of the consultation include a ‘continuous lack of clear rationale for fewer Hub Lead Organisations (HLO)’, or information on the role the HLOs will undertake. On this, Music Mark has said in a statement on its website: ‘We are concerned that reducing the number of HLOs dramatically will make them too remote from the areas they serve and introduce an additional tier of management and administration, increasing costs at a strategic level at the expense of delivery to children and young people.’
In addition to this, Music Mark has said that it is concerned about the three ‘example geographic methodologies’ outlined by ACE in the process, believing that there is a risk that prescribed geographies will not recognise local infrastructure, population and demographics. A call for more funding from the Department for Education has also occupied Music Mark.
Music Mark’s CEO, Bridget Whyte, said: ‘If we want to increase equitable, diverse, inclusive access to musical learning, we need to keep children and young people at the centre of our thinking about the future structure with which to do that.
‘While it is fully understood that there is a need to periodically retender for public funding, and that encouraging a more collaborative approach to partnership will support a joined up musical offer, I am concerned that the current conversation and consultation on the Investment Process has the potential to obscure the vision we are all keen to achieve.
‘The current network of music education hub partnerships know and understand what is needed to support schools and to overlay that provision with a broader offer,’ she continues. ‘I would therefore strongly urge the Department for Education to listen carefully to the feedback from the sector as it agrees the next step in the process. We cannot afford to lose the momentum from the past 10 years through a lack of recognition of the great work achieved to date by the existing hub partnerships.’
Music Mark has made a formal submission to the Investment Process Survey run by ACE.
Read the full statement at: musicmark.org.uk/news/lost-in-conversation-concerns-about-the-music-hub-investment-process-consultation/
