PROPOSITION
THE STATES are asked to decide whether they are of opinion –
to refer to their Act dated 24th June 2003 in which they agreed that no new ‘user pays’ charges should be introduced without the prior approval of the States, and
to agree that, in accordance with the proposals of the Comprehensive Spending Review Programme, a charging system should be introduced for the tuition and other support provided by the Jersey Music Service, with the level of charges to be set by the Minister for Education, Sport and Culture, as follows:
- With effect from September 2013, charges to be levied for any new tuition and other support services provided by the Jersey Music Service;
- With effect from September 2014 charges to be levied for the existing tuition and other services provided by the Jersey Music Service.
Minister for Education, Sport and Culture
REPORT
The Comprehensive Spending Review commitment of the Education, Sport and Culture Department includes making savings of £200,000 from the Jersey Music Service, which has a budget of £726,100 for 2013.
The saving is to be achieved through the introduction of a ‘user pays’ charge for the services, which would generate an estimated £165,000 per annum. A further £35,000 saving will be generated through reduced operating costs, economies of scale and the creation of new income streams.
Although the saving has been approved by the States as part of the Comprehensive Spending Review, separate States approval is being sought as this is a new ‘user pays’ proposal.
Background
All students receive music lessons in school as part of the Jersey Curriculum. The Jersey Music Service adds to and enhances the classroom teaching by giving students extra opportunities to learn a musical instrument. It is a non-statutory provision that exists to promote the pursuit of musical excellence among students who have a particular interest in music and wish to study further. 165 similar services exist across the UK.
The JMS provides instrumental tuition for approximately 1,000 children from Year 3 (age 7/8) to Year 13 (age 17/18) in all States schools, including Victoria College and Jersey College for Girls. Private schools such as De La Salle and Beaulieu are not currently included.
The service is delivered by a staff of 18 specialist music teachers who offer tuition on a range of traditional orchestral instruments including flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, French horn, tenor horn, trumpet, cornet, trombone, baritone, euphonium, tuba, violin, viola, cello, double bass and percussion.
Students receive individual or group tuition on their chosen instrument and there is a weekly programme of bands, orchestras and choirs to enhance their learning. The JMS also organises regular concerts, educational projects, and workshops.
The JMS is well-regarded and popular, particularly among students from the States fee-paying schools. However, children from the States 11-16 schools are currently under-represented. Overall, 43% of JMS tuition is with students from fee-paying schools (Victoria College, VC prep, JCG and JCG Prep)[1]. One of the aims of this proposition is to provide greater access to music for a wider range of students.
The JMS also provides some support to teachers who deliver music lessons in States schools. This includes music therapy at Mont à l’Abbé, which will be exempt from any charges under the proposed new arrangements.
At present there are no ongoing charges to students for tuition or ensembles. There is a small one-off charge of £20 for new entrants to the service. Parents are also asked to cover the cost of entry fees for public examinations as well as ongoing sheet music, spares and accessories as required.
Reasons for change
The proposal initially came about because of the CSR but has provided an opportunity to re-evaluate and refresh the service so that it can reach more people and provide more services.
The work of the JMS is currently limited by having a fixed annual budget, which means it does not have the additional funds required to develop and expand or to provide new instruments or services. The reduction in budget would limit this flexibility still further but the introduction of charges provides an opportunity to invest in the service, maintain current service and develop new ones.
The JMS is currently oversubscribed and cannot meet existing demand. Approximately half the students who apply are unsuccessful and either have to seek alternative private tuition or miss out on the opportunity to learn a musical instrument. There are ongoing requests from parents and students for tuition on instruments not currently taught by the service.
Adopting a user pays charging system will remedy this and will:
- Give the JMS the flexibility to broaden its service and offer more instruments. If fees are charged it will be able to ‘buy in’ tutors for instruments it does not currently teach such as guitar, piano and drums. This will attract students who may be musically inclined but not interested in playing traditional orchestral instruments currently on offer. This will create wider access and more opportunities for a greater number of Jersey students.
- Enable the JMS to maintain its current level of revenue – and service – despite a reduction in budget.
- Provide more support to schools.
Charges for instrumental tuition were introduced by the majority of English local authorities during the mid 1990s. Most music authorities initially experienced a small drop in student numbers followed by increased demand as a broader provision was developed.
Supporting people on lower incomes
The level of charges will be kept to a minimum to ensure the service remains accessible. The proposed charges for JMS services compare favourably with the private sector, where current charges for tuition range between £25 and £80 per hour.
Several measures have been included in the charging structure to encourage children from lower income families to engage in music lessons.
- Access Music scheme
If a family is in receipt of Income Support there will be no charge to access the Jersey Music Service. Parents will be asked to disclose to the JMS that they are in receipt of Income Support. This will be cross-checked with the Social Security Department. This system already operates for the Nursery Education Fund and has proved to be effective.
- Sibling discounts
Fee reductions will also be available for families with more than one child learning an instrument with the JMS. These discounts are set out in the table below.
- Bursary scheme
Up to 100 bursaries will be available to assist musically talented students whose families are deterred from using the service for financial reasons. Applications for financial assistance will be considered on a case-by-case basis using assessments by the JMS with recommendations from schools or private tutors. Bursaries awarded will be reviewed annually in light of the student’s progress, commitment and other relevant factors. This is unlikely to result in additional costs to the service because bursary students will join existing tutor groups so no additional staff or premises are required. Although the cost is likely to be absorbed, some funds will be set aside to cover additional costs in the event of an initial fall in numbers. The scheme will be reviewed after one year to assess whether it meets demand.
Part 1: Charges for the new JMS Expanded Service
If the user pays proposal is adopted, it will be possible to launch an expanded provision in September 2013. The new system will enable the JMS to recruit staff to meet demands for tuition in a wider range of instruments and provide potential for extending the service to private sector schools and outside of school hours (eg. Saturday morning).
The new services will provide increased choice and opportunities for young people to learn new instruments.
Proposed charges have been set at the following level:
JMS Expanded Service | Charges per pupil | Lessons per term (30mins sessions) | Cost per term |
Guitar / drum / piano lessons | £5 per lesson | 10 lessons | £50 |
The ability to make charges and recover costs will also enable the JMS to strengthen the support it offers schools, particularly in the primary phase where teachers might not be music specialists. The services available to schools will be expanded and enhanced in a targeted way to meet the individual needs and requirements of each school.
Part 2: Charges for JMS Existing Service
It is the intention to introduce charges in September 2014 for existing services. Charges will be adjusted to take account of the cost of living (of up to 2.5%) for the first three years, and the process will be reviewed at the end of the third academic year in summer 2017. The service will continue to maintain the full range of its current provision, which includes the following:
- Instrumental tuition
- Ensembles
- Examination preparation
- Curriculum support, vocal and in-service training
- Concerts and workshops
- Music Therapy for children special educational needs
- Educational projects
- Maintenance of an instrument stock.
Charges for the existing JMS services will start at £38 per term for group and individual lessons plus £15 per term for the rental of a musical instrument. This means that for a child receiving tuition and renting an instrument the annual cost will start at £159, or £5.30p per week. This rises to £186 a year for a child receiving tuition and renting an instrument, or £6.20p per week.
Proposed charges per term for existing services:
| First Child | Second Child | Subsequent Children | Remissions | Inst. Loan[2] |
Sept 2014 | £55.00 | £50.00 | £48.00 | £0 | £18.00 |
Sept 2015 | £58.00 | £53.00 | £50.00 | £0 | £20.00 |
Sept 2016 | £61.00 | £56.00 | £53.00 | £0 | £22.00 |
The table below shows how the charges compare with music services in other jurisdictions (charges are per term):
Authority | Individual lessons | Group lessons |
Jersey | £55 | £55 |
Isle of Wight | £110 | £65/£78 |
Kent | £145 | £75 |
Brighton | £158 | £81 |
West Sussex | £160 | £74 |
The proposed charging structure, in conjunction with plans to develop new services and income streams and to streamline structures, will create additional funding each year that will enable the service to invest in the quality of the services it provides.
Income Source | Year 1 (1 term) | Year 2 (3 terms) | Year 3 (3 terms) |
Charges for instrumental teaching and instrument hire | 70,770 | 225,780 | 239,310 |
New income streams | 25000 | 59,340 | 63,380 |
Total | 95,770 | 285,120 | 302,690 |
CSR saving required | 60,000 | 180,000 | 200,000 |
Removal of Colleges’ contribution | 22,000 | 66,000 | 66,000 |
Bursaries | 3,500 | 10,000 | 10,000 |
Investment funding into services | 10,270 | 29,120 | 26,690 |
Financial and manpower implications
A total of £110,000 has already been taken from the ESC revenue budget in 2012, when the charging system was originally planned to start. The saving has been removed from future budgets for the Jersey Music Service.
The new charging scheme will be administered by the JMS and no additional staff are required. A new IT-based management system for the service has recently been introduced and will be adapted to encompass administration of the charging system. Payments will be processed by the Treasury and Resources Department and will also be managed through existing manpower resources.
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