Searching the Internet which can be a quite addictive pastime, I ended up looking at areas completely different from the original search! I came across the so called Henley review which has been looking at funding for music support services to Councils over the country. The reason I found it as there are a number of Boroughs who were looking anxiously at what would be in this report as it was promised before Christmas and delayed now so long that many music services will run out of funds at the end of March. This would include Walsall's most outstanding music service based at Forest Arts achieving such excellent results in areas of serious deprivation such as the ward I represent in Blakenall. This service which consistently receives the highest possible rating marks from their OFSTED reports. Supplying every school in Walsall this cut of a massive £850,000 , if the news due in 2 weeks is a cut as expected, is a dreadful kick in the teeth for the dedicated and talented team based at the Forest Arts Centre and to all those young people who have responded to their teaching.
I can hear the alarm bells ringing and I hope that the noise of protesting by all those thousands of pupils from every school in walsall who make music and benefit so much from that experience will be deafening to the those short sighted Philistines who seem to wish to make Walsall a cultural desert.
Prepare to mount the biggest and noisiest ever demonstration in protest seen in Walsall if those in the current Tory/ Liberal alliance down in London decide to pull the funding..
published by electronic means by Ian Robertson 87 Belvidere Rd walsall WS1 3au tel 01922 634642.
news from the barricades is that the Henley report appears to ring fence the central Government Grant for music services and recognises how important access to music is in the more disadvantaged areas. As grant has some reduction maybe 10% there will be a reduction in support but the situation is complicated. here is Walsall the Council are cutting over £100,000 from the budget by reducing staff levels which must have an impact of course.. The devil is the fine print which is a feature of many of the cuts proposed as to what exactly each means to the front line. Final details will not be available until later in February
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