Some of you may not even know Services For Education is a charity. Birmingham Music Service is part of this. They provide quality music provision in a huge range of setting.  Some work is paid for directly and some is funded and when funding stops the work stops. No matter how effective and appreciated it is. I have loved starting up projects within various settings and seeing the impact the music has but it is heartbreaking when it comes to an abrupt end. I have had children on several occasions ask if I don't like them anymore. Sadly, it is not my place when I am representing a company to explain the politics to the children but I feel like they'd have something to say about it if I did explain. 

I totally took for granted that my school growing up had multiple instruments I could choose to learn and during primary schools I attended a weekly choir, orchestra and had music lessons in class and flute lessons and recorder lessons and I think this was pretty normal. In secondary I attended 3 choirs, had flute and piano and vocal lessons, attended a flute choir, an orchestra and a wind band every week (all for free) and the only reason it wasn't more was because I couldn't fit more in. There were more options. 

Music is being pushed to the bottom of the pile. Well all the arts. I want the same opportunities for children that I had and more. I had lots of things for free but peripatetic lessons were paid for and I was extremely privileged I could have them but money shouldn't be a barrier and equally music teachers should be paid! Big salaries often go towards jobs that we consider to have had lots of training. Music teachers have trained almost their entire lives.

Everybody should have regular music as part of their education. Not to create a world of professional musicians but to create a world of happy, confident and well-rounded individuals who look back at their time in school and think that was fun! That was worthwhile! 

Inspired by my lovely brother in law, I am trying to be a bit more creative with my giving up. 

So, I will give up the following depending on how much we raise together. I will start at the beginning of lent and continue until the end of lent! If more money is raised during lent then I will continue to take the following loves of my life out of my diet until the end of lent.

If I raise...

£10 = chocolate 

£20 = chocolate and biscuits 

£30 = chocolate, biscuits and cakes 

£40 = chocolate, biscuits, cakes, sweets

£50 = chocolate, biscuits, cakes, sweets and crisps

£60 = Scott has to join in too! All of the above

£70 = All of the above and ice cream

£80 = All of the above and alcohol 

£90 = All of the above and cheese (except paneer)

£100 = All of the above and pasta

£200 = caffeine

Suggestions welcome if I go beyond this amount!

Thank you for supporting music education in Birmingham and to help spread the word that we need to shout a lot louder if we want quality music provision for everyone. Schools should not have to choose between subjects and we have got to stop talking about the arts as 'non-core' subjects. There should not be such an enormous difference between what each school is providing in terms of opportunities. 

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