Grazing the Internet which can be a quite addictive pastime, ending up looking at areas completely different from the original search! I came across the so called Henley review which is a look at funding for music support services to Councils over the country. The reason I found it as there are a number of Boroughs who were looking anxiously at what would be in this report as it was promised before Christmas and delayed now so long that many music services will run out of funds at the end of March. This would include Walsall's most outstanding music service based at Forest Arts achieving such excellent results in areas of serious deprivation such as the ward I represent in Blakenall. This service which consistently receives outstanding marks from their OFSTED reports. Supplying every school in Walsall this is a dreadful kick in the teeth for the dedicated and extraordinary team based at the Forest Arts Centre and to all those young people who have responded to their teaching.
I can hear the alarm bells ringing which is starting to drown the sound of all those pupils from every school in walsall who make music and benefit so much from that experience.
Prepare to mount the biggest and noisiest ever demonstration in protest seen in Walsall if those in the current Tory/ Liberal alliance down in London decide to pull the funding..
published by electronic means by Ian Robertson 87 Belvidere Rd walsall WS1 3au tel 01922 634642.
Forest Arts Centre is an interesting case - I bet 90% of the kids who attend don't live anywhere near the site (have you seen the traffic in Station Road when the music classes end?)?
ReplyDeleteYou could base the music service anywhere - a specialist performing arts school would be a sensible choice, for example, and the Forest Community Association could be moved to Blakenall CA, just down the road.
That would leave, well, what would it leave?
It would leave a few poorly-attended, elitist events which you could easily move to Bloxwich library theatre, if you had to have them.
You could take all the equipment and install it in the town hall and make the town hall a better venue (and maybe send some to Darlaston).
Then you could sell of the site and raise loads of money from some greedy developer while keeping all the services. win-win,for a change