The Music Service Consultation closed on 26 June 2009.

On 24 September 2009 the Lewisham Schools Forum endorsed in full our plan for change following the Review and Consultation which took place earlier this year.

The changes we will put in place will enable us to provide music making opportunities for many more children in the borough’s schools as well as sustaining and developing the high quality tuition classes and ensembles that many young people have enjoyed in our Music Centres over recent years.

We are grateful to those who provided feedback during the Consultation. We have made some amendments to the original proposals which we hope will be welcome to those of you who are likely to be most affected by the changes.

	To download the Music Service Consultation Report, please click here
	To download the revised charges for After School and Saturday programmes, please click here

Evening Classes at The Albany and After School Ensembles

From January 2010, we are reducing the space we hire from The Albany to the ground floor only. The Evening Class programme has already been re-structured to accommodate this change and current classes will be unaffected. But please note from January we will not have space for parents/carers or younger siblings who are waiting for children who are having lessons – please use the public spaces in The Albany instead.

Charges for after school classes and ensembles have been revised and will apply from September 2009 (ensembles) January 2010 (tuition).

Woodwind ensembles and Lewisham Youth Choir have already moved to school premises - to Tidemill and Edmund Waller Schools respectively. The Lewisham Schools Brass Band will continue to rehearse at Prendergast Hilly Fields College. We wish, over time, to develop our programmes in other parts of the borough and improve the geographical spread of our work.

Entry Criteria

Lewisham Music Service After School and Saturday programmes are available to all children and young people aged between 7 and 18 who attend Lewisham maintained schools and academies and/or are resident in the borough of Lewisham. New applicants will need to conform to these criteria from September 2009. All new applicants must complete an application form which includes a school recommendation, and proof of address may be required.

Children already in our After School and Saturday programmes will be unaffected by the changes.

Where places are limited and where entry criteria have been met, priority will be given by order of listing as follows:

1. children and young people on Free School Meals and Looked After children resident in the borough of Lewisham
2. children and young people attending Lewisham maintained schools and academies
3. children and young people resident in the borough of Lewisham

Please note, there are minimum levels of attainment necessary for entry to some ensembles, and for others entry is by audition.

Saturday Centres - Deptford Music Centre (DMC) and Lewisham Centre for Young Musicians (LCYM)

DMC and LCYM will merge from January 2010 and move to a new site – Prendergast Ladywell Fields College, Manwood Rd, London SE4 1SA. The new Centre will be able to provide extended ensemble and musicianship opportunities and we are very excited by the opportunities the new premises will offer us. We expect the Centre to be open for 10 Saturdays per term from 9.30am to lunchtime. Students will need to sign up to programmes for the period of at least one term. Some existing DMC and LCYM ensembles will be combined. We are currently working on the new timetable of programmes – details will depend on pupil uptake and staff availability and will be available later in the Autumn term. As the Centre becomes more established and we are able to recruit more children, so more programmes will be offered.

Children and young people who currently receive tuition on a Saturday will be able to access instrumental lessons at The Albany on weekday evenings, or some may wish to make alternative arrangements at their schools or elsewhere. A questionnaire has been distributed to all Saturday students so that we can plan for future provision. There will be transition charging arrangements in place for children who currently receive tuition on a Saturday and wish to continue on the evenings – 50% of the new tuition charges payable Spring term 2010, 75% in the Summer term 2010, full fees from September 2010. Please see the charges document for more details on lesson costs (see above if you wish to download the document from our website).

Saturday Centre pupils will be charged according to the ensemble and/or musicianship programmes they are following, pro rata. The charges will be the same as the other ensembles we run during the week – this equates to a charge of £15 per hour per term. Saturday Centre chamber groups of less than 10 pupils will be timetabled, where possible, to rehearse at the same time so that pupils can benefit from a shared tutor as well as working independently. This facility will be for advanced students only and will be available at the standard ensemble rate.

Thank you for your patience during the period of consultation and change. Please be reassured that we do want to work with all our users and stakeholders to see through these changes. We strongly believe that this process will strengthen the impact of the Music Service’s work in the borough and help us in reaching our local and national access and inclusion targets.

Peter Hayward
Head of Lewisham Music Service