Education charity appointed music hub lead for Birmingham
Services For Education, the Birmingham education charity, has been appointed by Arts Council England as one of 43 new Music Hub Lead Organisations in England as part of an ambitious national programme to provide high-quality music education for all children and young people.
The announcement by Arts Council England comes after a bidding process with the 43 new hubs replacing the existing 116 Music Hubs. The new structure will be effective from September 2024.
As the new Hub Lead Organisation for Birmingham, Services For Education will receive £1,959,449 from the Department for Education.
Services For Education will also receive an additional £643,663 as a capital grant over two years to invest in new music instruments, equipment and technology tailored to the needs of children and young people in Birmingham, including those with special educational needs and disabilities.
The new Music Hub Lead Organisations are part of a restructure to realise the ambition and vision of the government’s National Plan for Music Education - ‘The power of music to change lives’ - designed to ensure the best music education for all children and young people in every local area.
Arts Council England has worked closely with the Department for Education to shape the new geographic areas for Music Hubs.
The announcement means that Services For Education, which was established in 2012, will continue to provide music education in the city. Currently its Music Service works with 98% of Birmingham schools teaching music to nearly 32,000 children – as well as running 113 free ensembles.
It also provides 27,000 musical instruments free-of-charge so all children have access to playing and enjoying music together. Its highly acclaimed annual Youth Proms at Symphony Hall gives 4,000 young musicians the opportunity to perform to an audience of more than 10,000.
Sharon Bell, Services For Education’s charity’s chief executive, said the appointment would further enhance the already excellent delivery of music education in the city: “Our appointment as Hub Lead will enable us to enhance our work in the city.
“This is great news for Birmingham and a reflection of the tremendous efforts made by all our staff including 187 music teachers who work so hard in the city’s schools and the community to enable children and young people to enjoy and experience music,” she said.
“Not only will this ensure continuity of our work, but our plan is to enable more children to participate in music and music-making. Birmingham can already be proud of the ground-breaking work undertaken in music in our city’s schools which has been recognised nationally and regionally and serves as a role model for others.”
