Funded Opportunities

How will Kent Music support schools?

Our offer of Funded Opportunities for schools will give you access to Specialist Consultancy, MusicPlus, ensemble provision, routes to continuation or access to high-quality music education resource Sing Up! You will opt into this offer which will help us to have greater accountability over how the budget for schools is used.

Where can I find the Terms & Conditions for Funded Opportunities?

You can find full T&Cs for our Funded opportunities on our website here.

If we are no longer receiving money directly, are we being penalised for delivering music?

No. Our offer is designed to support schools across the county to deliver high-quality music education.

Whilst we may not be funding your school directly (except in certain circumstances) you will continue to have access to the KS2 MusicPlus offer, your allocated funding amount will be directly paid to your provider depending on who you use.

Will we still be able to buy equipment with the funding?

No. As per our T&Cs for mainstream schools the funding has never been intended for schools to purchase equipment like instruments and sheet music with the exception of financial year 21/22. This year was an exception due to circumstances surrounding the pandemic.

As with other national curriculum and core subjects, schools are tasked with providing the relevant resources that they need to deliver a curriculum.

When will we be able to access Funded Opportunities?

Schools are asked to apply during the summer term to receive a Funded Opportunity for the following academic year.

We would like to use our Funded Opportunity to support students to access 1-1 tuition. How do I do this?

We have a financial assistance programme which can be accessed by pupils to help them pay for 1-1 or small group lessons. The financial assistance budget is separate from our budget for schools. More information on our Financial Assistance can be found by clicking here.

Many schools use their pupil premium funds to help pupils access music lessons. As per our T&Cs, school funding has never been intended to pay for subsidised tuition.

What if I still want to provide MusicPlus?

You can still access MusicPlus in the same way as before, but your choice of provider will determine if you receive direct funding for your provision. Where you have a delivery partner in place to provide your MusicPlus provision your funding amount will be directed straight to them. You will be advised if this is the case for you.

What do I do if Kent Music delivers my MusicPlus programme?

You will be required to apply in the summer term for MusicPlus provision through Kent Music for the following academic year.

What should I do if a music organisation other than Kent Music delivers my MusicPlus?

You would include this information in your application so we know how to fund your school. If your delivery organisation is not a partner provider we will continue to directly fund the school.

How do I know if who delivers our provision works for a music provider?

You will need to ask the teacher if they are an independent peripatetic teacher and self employed or if they are working for a music provider and have been assigned to your school.

Can a classroom teacher or teaching assistant from our school deliver our MusicPlus?

Yes. Classroom teachers or TAs who are competent musicians able to deliver high-quality provision can deliver your project. We cannot fund these teachers for the provision, but your school is able to select a different funded opportunity in these cases.

How do I get Specialist Consultancy from Kent Music?

You can apply for Specialist Consultancy through Funded Opportunities or your school can buy Specialist Consultancy if you have selected a different funded opportunity.

I opted for Specialist Consultancy but didn’t get it. What happens now?

We have limited spaces for Specialist Consultancy each academic year, this is to ensure we can work with schools 1-1 and provide detailed support and regular visits to the schools that have signed up. We allocate spaces on a first come first served basis. If spaces are full you will be asked to select a different option.

We already have Sing Up! how will it work if we pick this as a Funded Opportunity?

Once your current membership comes to an end your renewal will be free for a year! Let us know and we can sort this for you.

We have a different online resource, can we get that instead?

No. As part of our partnership with Sing Up! we are only offering their membership as part of Funded opportunities. We believe their resources are of a high-quality and can provide all schools will a multitude of options for support.

Why have you chosen to partner with Sing Up?

Sing Up! vision and ethos aligns with ours, and we believe that a strong foundation in singing can provide pupils with outstanding opportunities for musical learning. Their resources are brilliant and can be used across the whole school, including your curriculum teaching.

An instrumental teacher delivers our ensemble, is this allowed?

Yes. Using your funded opportunity to support an ensemble leader in school is allowed. If the ensemble leader is not from a music provider and is self employed your school will be funded directly.

I am the music teacher in our school, can I be funded to deliver an ensemble?

No. As part of our terms and conditions for an ensemble to be funded it cannot be led by a classroom teacher, school teacher or TA.

We are a primary school who hires a musician to solely deliver music and ensembles, can we use the funding to support this?

Yes. Where you hire someone specifically to run an ensemble or music provision your funding can contribute towards these costs.

We run more than one ensemble, can you fund more than one?

We try to fund as many ensembles across the county as possible. We ask secondary schools to make an application for what they need but we cannot guarantee we can match this.