Foster carers, and indeed parents should be interested in the following: several years ago, an engaging classically trained pianist and TV presenter, James Rhodes, launched a musical instrument ‘amnesty’. The idea was to encourage people across the land to donate unwanted musical instruments to their local schools. A Music teacher at the time of the initiative, Amanda Mitchell, opened her school music cupboard for inspection. The cupboard, if not exactly bare, was hardly inspirational. It housed a broken cello, a trumpet, a few recorders and some tubular bells made from copper piping. The budget for musical education stood at £2.20 per child: and the year? 2014. On the 10th July 2014, under the 2101 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government, Michael Gove, then Secretary of State for Education addressed the first Education Reform Summit in London:
“Because everyone here is united by more than just a professional commitment to improving education. We all share a moral purpose – liberating individuals from ignorance, democratising access to knowledge, making opportunity more equal, giving every child an equal chance to succeed.”
This rhetoric is not easily squared with an inspection of Amanda Mitchell’s music cupboard.
The Secretary of State then referred to the fact that:
“More than a fifth of Children left primary school without reaching a basic level of literacy and numeracy; two-fifths finished full-time education without even the bare minimum qualifications that most employers and universities demand.”
The argument has raged back and forth about standards and basic levels of accomplishment for years. Has much been changed over all this time? We certainly don’t have an educational system that delivers the results achieved in Finland. And we seem not to be able to learn from their methods either – despite the army of ‘experts’ we have. Things do not seem to have improved greatly: only 6 percent of care leavers in England now are in higher education at the age of 19 – as compared with 38 per cent of the general population. Absorbing this stark fact rather negates over pre-occupation with the flurry of statistics and opinion that will be ‘grist to the mill’ of the national fostering stocktake. There is just no skirting the uncomfortable truth that only 6% of care leaver’s progress to higher education. At this point, one can picture a car broken down on the hard shoulder: the bonnet is up with a crowd of experts all giving competing and contrary analyses about the complexities of the engine and what might be wrong – then to the rear, we notice the car has a flat tyre. Not exactly a musical metaphor, but it will suffice: fixing a problem can often be a lot simpler than imagined, or often presented. We need to do far more to excite the interests of all our young people. The answer could be very simple. One thing that virtually all youngsters have is a deep interest in music. Such a passion can provide a lifelong interest which can shape a person’s values. Perhaps we need to start thinking about what kinds of things make for a rounded life. This can quickly degenerate into arguments about ‘Quality of Life’ and here there are few absolutes. But music is an exception.
Foster children need exposure to the benefits music offers
The passion for making music accessible to all children that James Rhodes exhibits, is certainly that of a determined paladin:
“Study after study shows [music’s] impact on self-esteem, confidence, discipline, behavioural problems and teamwork. I can guarantee you, if you get instruments into the hands of kids who want to learn it, and you provide a place for them and the means for them to learn it, you will see an undeniable impact in every other area of their lives,” said James Rhodes.
His zeal is perhaps best understood when it is realised that he experienced a troubled childhood. During his early life, he struggled with addiction and spent time in various psychiatric institutions. It was playing the piano that he felt “turned around” his life. He is convinced that music has the power to change children’s lives very much for the better. Rhodes was keen to point out that music education is very good in some state schools, but in others it seems hardly to exist or the provision is uncertain and inconsistent. This is disappointing as a national music plan had been launched earlier in 2011 which had followed the Henley review of music education. This review determined that the quality of music education provision in England was “patchy”. It then failed in its main aspiration to offer all children the chance to learn a musical instrument.
The problem has been that when schools do manage to get some extra cash – via the pupil premium as an example – the money simply gets diverted to other areas. The mantra that Rhodes always found being repeated was, due to the pressure of league tables, resources had to be allocated to ‘literacy and numeracy’. And he wasn’t wrong since this chimed with what the Secretary of State the sentiments expressed by the Secretary of State for Education at that first Education Reform Summit in London; Michael Gove referred to “More than a fifth of children left primary school without reaching a basic level of literacy and numeracy; two-fifths finished full-time education without even the bare minimum qualifications that most employers and universities demand.”
Foster fresh thinking about the benefits of musical opportunities
Some may think James Rhodes and his followers are making a fuss about nothing. But we do not have to look too far to discover where the value of an excellent musical education is certainly appreciated; more than that, often regarded as indispensable. And where have we directed our gaze? To the independent sector. Such schools, moreover, make a noise as loud as an entire brass section ‘talking up’ their provision and the opportunities they provide. They have a keen awareness of the benefits a solid musical education can confer. By contrast, Rhodes explored the “shocking state” of music education in many schools in England. What is developing is a kind of musical ‘apartheid’: this is unacceptable as all children will respond to music, it is merely a matter of ensuring that they are exposed to it. This should not be predicated on income and background. And it does not just mean turning on a radio, television or laptop. Their tastes have to be guided and context provided. Rhodes was given the opportunity to produce a two part programme aired on Channel 4. He was featured working with twenty two year 5 children who were provided with musical instruments as well as free tuition. Importantly, they were given opportunities to hear the kind of live music that they probably would not have had the chance to experience. In the first programme, when the children have gathered for school assembly, they are then introduced to the Southbank Sinfonia. Rhodes was moved to comment: “You see their faces, literally hands to their mouths, just stood there being assaulted by this music – and they sit down, some of them are crying, their mouths open.” He continued…”I remember thinking, ‘Within a couple of weeks, you guys will be doing the same thing (making music) – you will be playing in assembly, in an orchestra.’ And they didn’t believe it, the teachers didn’t believe it, the parents didn’t believe it…17 days later, they played Beethoven in assembly.”
Such an experience can be transformative for children and young people. The paradox is, that in prison great efforts are made; (as well as expenses incurred) to get offenders into education. The costs of free music tuition in schools begins to look like a sound investment. And it has to be remembered that a great many young people are not finding something in life to inspire and provide direction for them. In 2015 the Prison Reform Trust thought that the following figures could be an underestimate, as many care leavers choose not to reveal that they used to be looked after children. These were that 31% of women and 24% of men in the adult prison population came from a background in the care system. If the proportions are indeed higher, then the financial costs are huge. These would then need to be added to the costs borne by the NHS in caring for many care leavers who need the support on mental health services. The costs of having perhaps more than a third of women and a quarter of men in prison, begin to make putting cellos, trumpets and clarinets into music cupboards look like a cheaper option.
Rainbow now offers a musical experience for our foster children
At Rainbow foster care, we are determined to do our best to provide musical opportunities for the Foster Children in our care. This year, we have been running a series of ‘musical workshops’ held at our offices. Here, our foster children have been provided with the opportunity to get first-hand experience of digital music production. There are also further opportunities for those that are interested in singing to develop their talents. Rainbow are committed to the idea of supporting the educational ambitions of all the foster children in our charge. The course is run weekly and all our children are welcome to attend.
Our ‘Rainbow Foster Rewards’ should be investigated
At Rainbow Fostering, seek to meet people who have given long and serious thought to fostering children. It may be that some people have a preference for fostering babies or sibling groups – but many teenagers need foster homes. We provide high quality advice, as well as support twenty four hours a day 365 days a year. We will pay you £500 if you refer someone to Rainbow Fostering: the bonus will be paid once that person has been approved, and received their first placement from our agency. Any approved foster carer wanting to transfer over to Rainbow Fostering Services, may also be eligible to receive a generous bonus. We make transferring a smooth and efficiently handled experience. Our foster care recruitment team on 020 8427 3355 is on hand to inform you about the benefits of joining our Rainbow community. If you live locally, we would be delighted to invite you to our offices for a friendly chat about foster care opportunities with us over a coffee.
Read our latest foster care news
Charities for foster children and care leavers calls for training for teachers
August 10th, 2017
Become and Voices from Care are charities that representing the interests of foster children, children in care and young care leavers (cont) http://bit.ly/2e8PrIK
And the good news at the end of our summer rainbow…four more birthdays to celebrate this week! Happy Birthday to our foster children!
Foster a love of music
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