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Jersey Music Service response to the Children, Education and Home Affairs Scrutiny Panel request for comments and views.
• Demographics and Needs Assessments – p. 51 of R.146/2022
Jersey Music Service tutors were moved to permanent contracts in April 2022. This regularised their employment and recognised their service and skills, as well as improving the management of their work and their training and development. It is important that Instrumental Tutors are not only employed properly but also that their skills are constantly updated and refreshed, and that pathways for career development and advancement are accessible.
No additional funding was provided for this transition in 2022 and therefore the service is struggling to contain the increased salary costs within current budget provision, while continuing to maintain services and provision and providing training and development opportunities to Instrumental Tutors.
• Upgrade to CYPES Estate (in relation to Music Development) – p.57/58 of P.97/2022.
Jersey Music Service is currently working from two locations. Its administrative headquarters is at Mont Cantel House; a converted domestic dwelling in the grounds of Janvrin School. The Service additionally has two rooms at Fort Regent. These are used for ensemble rehearsals and teaching. This split site arrangement creates expense and logistical problems with staff having to transport instruments and equipment between sites, sometimes on a daily basis.
Neither of these sites are fit-for-purpose: The configuration and location of Mont Cantel House does not lend itself to administrative and business use, nor does it offer usable teaching or ensemble spaces. The Fort Regent rooms suffer from excessive damp and water ingress and have no natural light. Fort Regent will need to be vacated in 2023 to enable the development of that site. This will leave JMS with no rehearsal spaces and reduced teaching room capacity.
The need to prioritise a home for the service has been recognised by previous administrations and Government Plans and the capital funding has beenidentified to develop an appropriate facility.
The consolidation of CYPES capital funding into Grouped Headings could be a practical change that helps the Department manage project delays, shifting timescales etc., and therefore could prove to be a very sensible strategy. However, there is concern that the specific names of capital projects have been removed or changed. The placing of funding under one heading in order to get flexibility, should not necessitate the removing of named projects from the plan. With higher order outcomes changed the suspicion will be that the intention is to cancel some projects within the Grouped Heading without proper scrutiny, or reference to need. Therefore, it would be helpful if this change to the plan included some reference to the capital projects to be delivered under the Grouped Heading alongside an appropriate framework for scrutiny of the delivery of named projects by the States Members.