Funding for the Schools’ Music Service, which provides access to music education in B&NES schools, will be maintained for the financial year 2015-16.
Cabinet member for Early Years, Children and Youth, Councillor Dine Romero, ensured that this funding was protected in the budget preparations.
Councillor Romero (Liberal Democrat, Southdown) commented: “Music education is an important part of the curriculum.
“Not only is music valuable in its own right, it has been shown that music helps children’s development in many ways, including literacy, numeracy, improving social skills and boosting self-confidence.
“B&NES has been designated as a Regional Music Hub by the government under the National Plan for Music Education.
“By maintaining this funding at £50,000 per year, we are protecting this status and ensuring that we continue to have access to the national grant of £750,000 per year for our area.
“By protecting this funding, we are playing a key role in ensuring that every child has the opportunity to experience a high quality music education regardless of where they live or their background and we are investing in the next generation of musicians and music lovers.”