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ACCESS TO EXCELLENCE
‘The aim of the scheme is to help identify, and assist, children
with exceptional potential, regardless of their personal circumstances,
to benefit from world-class specialist training as part of a broad and
balanced education, which will enable them, if they choose, to proceed
towards self-sustaining careers in music and dance.’
Music and Dance Scheme Advisory Group’s Report (2000/01)
The Department’s Music and Dance scheme enables almost 800 exceptionally talented children to have access to the best specialist music and dance training available alongside a good academic education.
A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE MUSIC AND DANCE
SCHEME (MDS)
Before 1973, support for pupils at schools such as those currently in
MDS schools was provided by local education authorities under discretionary
powers provided in Sections 55 and 81 of the 1944 Education Act. In
1973, the Royal Ballet (Lower) School and the Yehudi Menuhin School were
admitted to a fee remission scheme funded by the Department in recognition
of their position as Centres of Excellence for the Performing Arts. The
fee remission income scale (ie the means-test of parents) mirrored that
of the old direct grant grammar school scheme with some modification to
account for the higher costs of boarding and specialist tuition.
The Gulbenkian Report (1978) on training musicians reviewed the state
of specialist music education. It was largely as a result of the
recommendations in the report that the Music and Ballet Schools Scheme
(MBS) was set up.
Five specialist music schools in the UK were designated: Chetham's School
of Music, Wells Cathedral School, Purcell School, Yehudi Menuhin School
and St Mary's Music School (Edinburgh). Together with the Royal Ballet
School, lower and upper divisions, they were allocated Government aided
places under the Education (Grant) (Music and Ballet Schools) Regulations
1980 SI 1980/684 (or the Scottish equivalent).
The scheme was expanded in 1996 by the admission of two new schools (Elmhurst
School for Dance and Performing Arts and the Arts Educational School,
Tring), and with extra places at existing schools. In 2002, the scheme
was renamed the Music and Dance Scheme and another dance school, the Hammond
School, Chester, was admitted (from September 2002).
Rationale for the scheme
There is a need to educate and train, from an early age, children who
are exceptionally talented in the two fields of artistic endeavour - music
and dance - if Britain is to maintain a world-class pool of talent for
future generations. The need for early training, in particular the
primary development of the physical and intellectual disciplines required
of dancers and musicians, is recognised by many to be greater than for
some other forms of artistic endeavour. The MDS enables exceptionally
talented children between the ages of 8 and 19 to receive a good academic
education alongside the best specialist music and dance/ballet training
available.
There are now eight MDS schools in England with over 800 Government Aided
Pupils between them, and one similar school in Scotland. All are HMI/ISI
inspected, registered specialist independent schools. By designating
certain schools as "centres of excellence", financial and human
resources can be concentrated, which ensures that:
| * children benefit from close association with similarly gifted
children who provide the stimulus of competition and example; |
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| * by receiving support with the costs of boarding, pupils from all
over the country have access to an extended teaching day and to practice
facilities within the environment of the school; |
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| * timetabling can take account of the individual requirements of
the pupil and the need for orchestras, choirs and performances to
be integrated with other parts of the school curriculum; |
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| * distinguished practitioners can be attracted to teach and/or take masterclasses. |
Means-testing arrangements at MDS schools
There are two parental contribution scales currently in operation, one
for Aided Boarding pupils (accounting for nearly 85% of all Aided pupils)
and another for Aided Day pupils. The level of contribution towards fees
is assessed solely by reference to pre-tax family income from all sources.
No deductions are made in respect of allowances for tax purposes, specifically,
those for personal allowances, pension contributions, donations direct
to charities or covenants and no allowance is made for outgoings such
as mortgage payments and every day cost of living expenses. An allowance
is made against income for each dependent child - other than the Aided
Pupil - or other dependent relative in the household. The thresholds below
which fees are fully remitted are set deliberately low so that the least
well-off families will benefit the most. Details of the scales are set
down in the Music and Dance Scheme Administrative Arrangements and Financial
Memorandum document made pursuant to sections 14 to 17 of the Education
Act 2002 (previously the arrangements were made under the Education (Grants)
(Music, Ballet and Choir Schools) Regulations 2001).
For Aided Boarding Pupils, any pupil whose parents have a relevant income
of £11,774 (2007-08) or less is entitled to a free place. For Aided
Day Pupils, the threshold is £14,647, below which the pupil will
receive a free place. There is a sliding scale above the thresholds which
determines the size of the parental contribution towards the fees charged.
Parental contributions are determined only by reference to gross family
income and not by reference to the fees charged at the school attended.
The higher the income, the greater the contribution. The DCSF meets the
balance of the approved fees for Aided Pupils after any parental contribution.
Means-testing for choir schools mirrors that for MDS schools but is not
prescribed in detail in the legislative framework.
