Dorset Music Service during COVID-19
At Dorset Music Service (DMS), along with the rest of our Dorset Council colleagues, the health and wellbeing of our pupils, staff, school colleagues and the wider music education community is our highest priority.
This is a fast-changing and difficult situation for us all and we aim to support our music-making community as best we can. We thank you for your patience and understanding so far.
We're very happy that some face-to-face lessons have started again in schools that are confident to safely accommodate our team.
We're also offering online tuition for anyone who needs it.
Dorset Music Hub online tuition
Want to continue your instrument tuition online?
During the summer and autumn terms our team of music instructors delivered online lessons for a range of instruments through a secure learning platform.We want to continue this offer through the spring term for any pupils who cannot access music tuition at school.
We welcome applications from:
- existing DMS pupils
- anyone who'd like to start lessons
Online instrument tuition during the spring term
As schools are currently closed we're happy to help young people continue their learning online. We will continue our offer over the spring term. We have 2 blocks of offers for the spring term:
- 5 lessons at 20 minutes per lesson at a cost of £55
- 5 lessons at 15 minutes per lesson at a cost of £40
We recommend the 20 minute lessons to maximise your progress.
Book your online lessons
Book now to start your online lessons in the spring term.
Our music instructors will contact you directly to arrange a convenient day and time for your lesson. You can change this if your circumstances change.We'll try to accommodate as many requests as we can.Make sure you book as soon as possible; we'll take bookings on a first come, first served basis.
Instrumental lessons are carried out in most schools and provided by our team of experienced and enthusiastic instructors, or private providers depending on your child's school.
Why should I learn an instrument?
Some of the reasons for learning an instrument are that:
- 20% of children learn to play music, 70% of adults wish they had
- research suggests that early music tuition improves a child's maths skills significantly
- music is one of the few activities in life that utilises the entire brain
- trained musicians more efficiently switch from one mental task to another
How to book lessons
Tuition is available on:
- strings
- woodwind
- brass
- guitar
- piano/keyboard
- percussion
- ukelele
Contact your child's school for more information if you'd like your child to receive lessons from a member of the Dorset Music Service teaching team.
If you are a school wanting to book tuition please contact the Dorset Music Service office with details of which instrument(s) you require tuition on and for how many students. We will then be able to advise you on how much time you will require for these lessons and send you a booking form to complete your request.
Help with Dorset Music Service fees
We can offer financial help of up to 50% for:
- our instrument tuition
- our instrument hire
- county ensemble membership fees
You could get help if your child meets all of the following criteria::
- is eligible for free school meals
- attends a Dorset school or academy
- is having instrument tuition in a group or a pair
- is learning one instrument
Find out about help with music fees from Dorset Music Service and how to apply.
Benefits of using the Dorset Music Service for instrumental tuition
Tuition from Dorset Music Service comes with:
| Benefit | How this is achieved |
|---|
| Quality assurance |
Through structured performance management, which includes observations and in-service training. All our Instructors have up-to-date safeguarding training and enhanced DBS clearance. If you're looking for tuition privately please see the Private Tutors leaflet for guidance on safeguarding. |
| Communication notebooks |
All pupils taught by Dorset Music Service get a communication notebook. This provides a means of communication between pupil, instructor and parent, while providing a record of tasks, pieces studied and achievement. |
|
Progress reports
|
Instructors write a yearly pupil report at the end of the spring term. |
How we deliver music lessons
We provide lessons through Instructors who work in schools to deliver tuition on a range of instruments for 30 weeks of the academic year. Lessons are delivered depending on instructor availability and school requests before, during or at the end of the school day.
See our instrumental tuition delivery calendar for more information.
Support with cost
You can apply for support with tuition costs by applying to: