Charging, Remission and Subsidy Policy
Derby & Derbyshire Music Partnership (DDMP), as lead partner of the hub, offers several subsidy schemes to assist with the costs of instrumental and vocal tuition.
Subsides and instrument loans are available to pupils in year 4 or above as standard, with exceptions made on a case by case basis for children of a younger age. Only teachers accredited to the Derby & Derbyshire Music Partnership (DDMP) are able to access financial subsidies and instruments.
Where subsidies apply, the instrumental teacher accesses the subsidised payment from Derby & Derbyshire Music Partnership and invoices parents/carers for the remaining balance of the lesson fee.
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Lesson costs without subsidies
The vast majority of instrumental and vocal teaching taking place in our city and county schools is undertaken by self-employed teachers who are accredited to the Music Partnership but who are free to determine their own fee structure and make individual arrangements for payment with parents/carers.
The Music Partnership shares with schools nationally-published rates from the Incorporated Society of Musicians (ISM). Our remission schemes are also based on these rates, and as such, virtually all teachers follow the 'going rate' of £30 per hour.
The majority of instrumental teachers are willing to teach pupils in shared lessons, up to a certain level, depending on the ability and age of the children. In this way, it is possible to share the cost of lessons.
There is much evidence to suggest that group tuition better supports initial pupil progress, but if the teacher and parents both support the idea of individual lessons, the Music Partnership feels this is also entirely appropriate.
The lesson costs for a teacher charging £30 per hour for a lesson of 20 minutes without attracting subsidies could be:
- Individual lesson (One pupil for 20 mins)
£10.00 per pupil
- Paired lesson (Two pupils at the same time for 20 mins)
£5.00 per pupil
- Trio lesson (Three pupils at the same time for 20 mins)
£3.35 per pupil
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Financial subsidies for entry-level lessons
Lesson costs are subsidised through various schemes, allowing pupils to access tuition from only £1.75 per lesson.
For entry level pupils, here are examples of the subsidies available, along with a summary of the criteria and the setting in which they are appropriate. Guideline costs per lesson per pupil are based on an hourly rate of £30 per hour.
For more information
The exact impact of subsidies on lesson costs depends on the length of the lesson and how many pupils are learning at the same time. The “going rate” of £30 per hour is used to calculate guideline costs, but as self-employed musicians, each teacher can set their own rate. Actual costs may differ.
The information below is designed to give an overview of the available subsidies, but it does not list all the criteria, and only gives a guideline to the subsidised lesson costs.
If you are a parent/carer, we suggest you have a conversation with your instrumental or vocal teacher about accessing subsidies. They will be able to give you more specific information about what is suitable for the setting of the lessons, as well as more detailed information about costs.
If you wish to see the full subsidy criteria and financial details, you can request to do so and we will arrange access.
Starter Subsidy
Available to any pupil starting instrumental lessons. For the majority of cases this will be a shared lesson with two or three pupils learning at the same time for a minimum of 15 minutes.
- Pupils could access tuition from £1.75 per lesson
E.g. a paired lesson for 20 minutes
Available for a limited number of lessons only
Post Wider Opportunities Subsidy
Available to pupils who have been part of a Wider Opportinities programme prior to instrumental lessons.
- Pupils could access tuition from £2.00 per lesson
E.g. a small group lesson for 30 minutes
Available for limited period of time
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Financial subsidies for new and existing pupils
For pupils who are already learning an instrument, here are examples of the subsidies available, along with a summary of the criteria and the setting in which they are appropriate. Guideline costs per lesson per pupil are based on an hourly rate of £30 per hour.
For more information
The exact impact of subsidies on lesson costs depends on the length of the lesson and how many pupils are learning at the same time. The “going rate” of £30 per hour is used to calculate guideline costs, but as self-employed musicians, each teacher can set their own rate. Actual costs may differ.
The information below is designed to give an overview of the available subsidies, but it does not list all the criteria, and only gives a guideline to the subsidised lesson costs.
If you are a parent/carer, we suggest you have a conversation with your instrumental or vocal teacher about accessing subsidies. They will be able to give you more specific information about what is suitable for the setting of the lessons, as well as more detailed information about costs.
If you wish to see the full subsidy criteria and financial details, you can request to do so and we will arrange access.
Assisted Bursary Scheme
Available to families in receipt of income support and other financial benefits, as well as those with Looked After Children.
For the majority of cases this will be a shared lesson with two or three pupils learning at the same time for a minimum of 15 minutes, though in exceptional circumstances, individual lessons are sometimes subsidised.
- Pupils could access tuition from £1.75 per lesson
E.g. a paired lesson for 20 minutes
Available as long as families meet the criteria
Special Educational Needs Scheme
Available to pupils whose specific needs make a shared lesson inappropriate for suitable progress to be made. This subsidy allows for the shared lesson to be converted to an individual lesson.
- Pupils could access tuition from £2.00 per lesson
E.g. individual lesson of 15 minutes
Available for as long as families can meet the evidence criteria
Minority Instrument Transfer
Available to pupils who have had previous experience of learning an instrument and are transferring to a more rarely learned instrument. Pupils can access a free ongoing loan of an instrument, depending on availability.
- Pupils could access tuition for free
E.g. an individual lesson for 20 minutes
Available for a limited number of lessons only
Higher Grade Subsidies
Available to pupils who regularly play in ensembles in and out of schools and are of grade 5+ standard. Lessons at this level are required to be a minimum of 30 minutes and are usually individual
- Pupils could access tuition from £9.75 per lesson
E.g. an individual lesson for 30 minutes
Available for as long as pupils meet the reuqired criteria
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Instrument loans
The Music Partnership charge families a one-off instrument loan fee per instrument. Pupils learning as part of a Wider Opportunities Programme, continuing to learn straight after the whole-class experience, or those accessing the Assisted Bursary Scheme are exempt from this fee.
Instrumental teachers and schools should be aware that instruments made available by the Derby & Derbyshire Music Partnership belong to Derbyshire County Council. If instruments are distributed to pupils without the appropriate fee and associated administrative procedures, this would legally be viewed as a fraud offence.
In order to give new pupils appropriate opportunity to try instruments, those who have had a loan of an instrument for over a year (with exception of minority instruments or smaller sizes of string instruments) should make every effort to obtain their own instrument after this time. Families can buy musical instruments without paying VAT if they do so through their child’s school.
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More information about instrumental teaching
Instrumental teaching during the day
Schools sometimes raise concerns about whether or not pupils are allowed out of literacy and numeracy lessons to attend an instrumental lesson. HMI have confirmed it is acceptable for pupils to attend an instrumental lesson during these times, but it is clearly better if there is a rota system so that pupils do not miss the same lesson or part of a lesson each week. It is the responsibility of the instrumental/vocal teacher to ensure they are doing their best to accommodate this.
Quality Assurance
The work of all instrumental teachers, whether employed or self-employed, and whether within Derby & Derbyshire Music Partnership or not, is quality assured on a rolling programme. This is a critical factor in raising and maintaining high standards of teaching. We value headteachers' support of this process and welcome all feedback.
Similarly, headteachers are reminded that some of the teachers who work in their school may have had their observations in other schools. Please contact the Music Partnership with the names of the teachers if you would like copies of their most recent observation(s).
Accreditation and access to subsidies
It is the decision of individual teachers whether or not to seek accreditation. A school, however, may wish to consider the range of subsidies listed in this document which would be denied to pupils taught by non-accredited teachers.
Teachers seeking accreditation are advised to complete a Pre-Accreditation application.
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