£531,912 in grants will pay for children's music in Islington schools this year, none of it from council tax. Here is what it funds and what classes cost.

Islington’s music lessons for children are funded for another school year. The council has signed off £531,911.57 in grants for music teaching in the borough’s schools and after-school centres, running from September 2026 to August 2027.

None of it comes from the council’s own budget. All of it is money from outside funders that the council receives and passes on. The decision was taken on 25 September by the Corporate Director of Community Wealth Building, Stephen Biggs (Islington Council, decision I033658).

Where the money comes from and where it goes

The officer report sets out three grants (officer key decision report, 25 September 2026):

Funder Amount Passed on to
Arts Council England, paid through Haringey Council £194,991.57 Guildhall School of Music & Drama
Dame Alice Owen Foundation £131,950 Guildhall School of Music & Drama
Dame Alice Owen Foundation £204,970 Music in Secondary Schools Trust

That puts £326,941.57 with the Guildhall School and £204,970 with the Music in Secondary Schools Trust, known as MiSST.

The Arts Council money arrives through Haringey because Haringey leads the North London Music Hub. That is a consortium of five boroughs, including Islington.

Schools also buy music services from the Guildhall School through the council’s traded services brochure. That income is passed straight on too. The report says it has been around £9,000 a year, and that the forecast for 2026-27 “is slightly lower due to school closures”.

Bar chart of Islington's music education grants for 2026-27: Dame Alice Owen Foundation to MiSST £204,970; Arts Council England via Haringey to Guildhall £194,992; Dame Alice Owen Foundation to Guildhall £131,950. Source: Islington Council decision I033658.
The three grants behind Islington's music education this school year. Chart by Islington Today
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Why the council kept the same two providers

Officers looked at four options. They rejected running the service in-house, because the council does not employ specialist music teachers. They rejected a for-profit provider, saying the grants are too small for anyone to make a profit.

They also rejected moving to a new charity. MiSST runs the Andrew Lloyd Webber Programme, which teaches whole year groups in secondary schools. The report says the only comparable providers in the UK are the In Harmony services in places such as Lambeth, Liverpool and Leeds.

So the council has kept the arrangement it has used since 2018. The report describes MiSST as “founded in Islington in 2013” and says it brings in about £200,000 a year of its own grant funding.

The report names three risks:

  • the Guildhall School or MiSST could pull out, on three months’ notice
  • the two providers could fail to work together
  • the Arts Council or the Dame Alice Owen Foundation could cut its grant

If a funder cuts back, the payments to the two providers fall with it. The report says the Arts Council’s offer letters describe its funding as indicative.

What it pays for

The money funds Music Education Islington, the borough’s music hub. The report describes it as a partnership the council convenes with the Guildhall School and MiSST. The hub says it works with more than 50 Islington schools each year. It says more than 11,000 people have had music education through it since 2018, and more than 6,000 have borrowed an instrument through its loan service (Guildhall School, Music Education Islington).

In school, that means whole-class instrument teaching. Out of school, it runs weekly music centres.

What it means for you

If your child wants to learn an instrument outside school, the hub’s after-school classes are running now. The autumn term started on 21 September (Guildhall School, MEI music centres):

Centre Day Venue
Music Centre North Monday Arts and Media School Islington, Turle Road, N4
Music Centre South Monday Elizabeth Garrett Anderson School, Donegal Street, N1
Music Centre Central Wednesday City of London Academy Highbury Grove, N5
Music Explorers (Reception and Year 1) Tuesday West Library, Thornhill Square, N1, and St Peter and St Paul Catholic Primary School, Compton Street, EC1V

Term fees for 2026-27 are for 10 sessions. These are the prices for children who live or go to school in Islington:

  • Music Explorers or Introduction to Music: £120
  • Musical Pathways or Jazz and Beyond: £226
  • Musical Pathways with individual lessons: £420
  • Individual lessons only: £275 (nine sessions)

There is a 10% discount for siblings. Pupils at nine named “Music Centre Schools” pay less, for example £72 for Introduction to Music.

Free places are available. Any child who qualifies for Pupil Premium and lives or goes to school in Islington can apply for a full bursary. There is a £20 annual admin fee, and the hub expects at least 80% attendance. Families who are struggling but do not qualify can ask about help case by case. Contact the hub at musiceducation.islington@gsmd.ac.uk.

The decision can still be called in by councillors until 30 September. If it is not, it takes effect on 1 October. For more to do with children in the borough, see our things to do in Islington page.

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