Some UK primary schools have just 22 pence per pupil per year to spend on musical instruments, which seems fair enough to me. I mean, how much is a comb and a piece of grease proof paper these days? Home made kazoos rule. But I think the EMI Music Sound Foundation research that revealed that stat was hoping to demonstrate a lack of investment in music education.
The research is being published alongside the confirmation of a new £200,000 financial package from the Foundation designed to offer better training and resources in music for primary school teachers. Compiled by the Institute Of Education, the research also says that many primary school teachers had little or no training in how to teach music, and a lack of skills and confidence to deliver lessons properly. Obviously those primary schools are lacking the token musical teacher who works muchos overtime to ensure everyone in the school gets a little bit musical from time to time, you know, what like my friend Tom's mum was at my primary school.
The Foundation hope that their investment will help address the problem to a certain extent, but that it might also inspire the government to invest more in music education too. EMI chief Eric Nicoli, who is also Chairman of the Foundation, told reporters: "Disappointingly, music is still the poor relation on the curriculum in many schools across the country. This is a shame as music is an activity which genuinely engages children and helps them develop in so many positive ways. Britain is renowned as having produced some of the world's finest musical talent and we should offer all our children the chance to enrich their creativity through music".