The Director of Birmingham Arts School and former Associate Director of the Birmingham Rep has been appointed Independent Chair at Services For Education – which was recently announced as Music Hub Lead Organisation for Birmingham as part of an ambitious programme to enable more Birmingham children to enjoy playing music.

Dr Steve Ball has been appointed to chair the new Hub Board that will work with Services For Education’s executive team and the charity’s trustees to deliver the Government’s National Plan for Music Education – The Power of Music to Change Lives.

For Birmingham, the plan includes a multi-million-pound programme to further increase music education in the city’s schools investing up to nearly £650,000 in new music instruments, equipment and technology for children and young people including those with special educational needs and disabilities.

Dr Ball is a well-known figure in Birmingham’s creative community. During his 18 years at Birmingham Rep, Dr Ball directed and produced work for children and young people and led the theatre’s learning and participation and community engagement programmes. He was previously Head of Arts for Birmingham City Council and is the founding artistic director of Language Alive Theatre in Education. He also co-chairs the Drama and Theatre Education Alliance.

Sharon Bell, Chief Executive of Services For Education, said the role of independent chair was crucial to ensuring that the organisation exceeded the expectations of Arts Council England – which recently appointed Services For Education as one of 43 new music hubs in England.

“Steve is hugely respected, has great energy and foresight and will both inspire and challenge us as we deliver on our vision of bringing music and learning to life for the children and young people of Birmingham. We are extremely fortunate to have him as our independent chair,” said Sharon.

Dr Ball said Birmingham’s national and international reputation as a centre for music and drama, would only be maintained by providing young people with greater opportunities to enjoy music and the arts.

“Services For Education already teaches music each year to 32,000 children and their pioneering work in extending music opportunities is widely acknowledged. Their recent appointment as one of the new music hub lead organisations is an endorsement of their past work in extending music opportunities to children in the city.

“The opportunity now is to work with partners locally and nationally to enable more Birmingham children and young people to participate in music-making whilst also maximising this significant investment in music education for our city,” said Dr Ball.

Services For Education was appointed in May 2024 as one of 43 new Music Hub Lead Organisations in England by Arts Council England following a bidding process.  The 43 new hubs replace the existing 116 Music Hubs with the new structure being implemented from September 2024.

As the new Hub Lead Organisation for Birmingham, Services For Education will receive nearly £2 million from the Department for Education and up to an additional £643,663 as a capital grant over two years to invest in new music instruments, equipment and technology tailored to the needs of children and young people in Birmingham, including those with special educational needs and disabilities.

The appointment of an independent chair is in addition to the role of Chair of Trustees of Services For Education – which employs more than 200 staff delivering music tuition to children in Birmingham, and expert training and development to teaching and school support staff across the West Midlands and beyond.

ENDS

Notes to editors:
Further information on the new Music Hub Lead Organisation and the appointment of Services For Education is available at https://www.servicesforeducation.co.uk/blog/news/education-charity-appointed-music-hub-lead-for-birmingham/

About Services For Education:

An education and training charity based in Birmingham, Services For Education brings music and learning to life. Services For Education employs more than 200 staff delivering music tuition to children, and expert training and development to teaching and school support staff. It has annual income of £6.9m (Y/E August 2022). Part-funded by the Arts Council, England it also has its own fundraising and subsidised commercial operations.

• Services For Education’s Music Service, one of the largest in the country, works with 98% of Birmingham schools and each year teaches music to nearly 32,000 children – as well as running 113 free ensembles. It provides 27,000 musical instruments free-of-charge so all children have access to playing and enjoying music together and its Youth Proms at Symphony Hall give 4,000 young musicians the opportunity to perform to an audience of more than 10,000. It also runs music schools, has a world music department, provides private music tuition to all ages as well as working with partners to deliver music and choral opportunities to disadvantaged and vulnerable groups. Its award-winning Online Music Educational Resource was completed and launched free to schools in 2021 to appeal to a young IT-connected audience attracted to learning online and to complement traditional tuition.
• Services For Education’s School Support Service provides expert training and development to teaching and support staff in nearly 600 schools in the West Midlands and increasingly across England, to improve practice and ensure teachers are best equipped to respond to developments in curriculum and policy. As a leading provider of safeguarding education, Services For Education works with 400 schools delivering training in-person and on-line. It also delivers innovative programmes to support the physical and emotional health of children and young people through Health for Life and other community-based activity. servicesforeducation.co.uk

About Arts Council England:

Arts Council England is the national development agency for creativity and culture. Its strategic vision is set out in Let’s Create – that by 2030 it wants England to be a country in which the creativity of each of us is valued and given the chance to flourish and where everyone of us has access to a remarkable range of high-quality cultural experiences. Arts Council England invests public money from Government and The National Lottery to help support the sector and to deliver this vision. www.artscouncil.org.uk.

For further information:

Public and media relations for Services For Education:
David Clarke
E: david-c@clarke-associates.co.uk;
M: 07808 735255

Issued on behalf of:

Services For Education
Unit 3 Holt Court
Holt Street
Birmingham Science Park
Aston
Birmingham B7 4AX