RW/GB
4th May 2007
Dear Parents,
We are coming to the end of the year in which your child has had an opportunity to learn a brass instrument. It has been wonderful to see how the children have developed their skills in this time. I hope you have enjoyed hearing them practise at home!
In the past we have been able to offer tuition for a further year but because of changes to the way the government funds this opportunity we shall only have enough money to fund one year group’s tuition next year.
The purpose of this letter is to canvass your views so that the governors can make a decision about what we can offer in the next school year. We are not seeking a commitment at this stage and neither are we guaranteeing that we can offer any of the options involved.
One option if for the school to fund a second year of brass lessons from the school budget. This is expensive but governors may think this is a worthwhile thing to do. An alternative is to offer lessons at a small charge to parents but pay the cost of instrument hire (currently £52.00 per child).
Somerset Music offer large and small tuition possibilities. Lessons for both last 30 minutes and involve learning alongside other people. Small group tuition involves 3 or 4 children and costs £5.80 per week. Large group tuition is for groups of about 15 and costs £1.50 per week. Instrument hire is in addition to these costs. Please note also that should a child drop out of the large group the cost to the other children would increase. In addition there are individual lessons of 30 minutes available at £18.90 per lesson.
To help us make decisions about the future of brass please complete the form attached and return to school by May 18th.
Yours sincerely,
Roger Whitewick.