Explore Our Passionate Tutors
Meet the Experts Behind Our Music Lessons
Music for Schools Foundation is a UK charity that makes learning an instrument affordable, enjoyable and easy to fit into family life.
Lessons take place during the school day, are taught by friendly specialist tutors and are designed to help children grow in confidence while having fun making music together.
Our Dedicated Tutors
Our team of tutors is comprised of experienced musicians with a passion for teaching. Each tutor brings a unique background and approach to music education, ensuring that every student receives a comprehensive and enjoyable learning experience.
Bev Prankard
"I teach in North Kent. I've been playing a long time and the best part is all the friends I've made through music along the way. I was once asked by a pupil if it was my real hair, and another pupil gave the excuse for not doing his homework that his dad was using his instrument. Outside of music I love driving my American muscle cars."
Emma Jaques
"I've been playing for over 40 years and currently teach in Leeds. I love playing with other people; pupils, family, Leeds Concert Band, anyone! I remember hearing Saint Saens' Carnival of the Animals in Birmingham as a young girl and this had a big impact on me. I also run my own company and have written two books."
Helen Payne
I live in Banbury and have been playing for over 45 years. Things I love include putting a smile on people's faces when I play, Italian food, the them tune to Keeping Faith and the Intermezzo from Cavelleria Rusticana. One of the funniest things a student asked was "Did you teach Henry VIII to play the recorder?"
Pat Aitken
"I teach in Oxfordshire and have been playing for over 50 years. My favourite piece of music is Galloping Home, the theme from Black Beauty. I love performing and in particular, raising money through charity concerts. Outside of music I love to play football, knit toys and cook. I currently play for the Oxford United women over 40's team."
Connected tutors, shared ideas and plenty of music!
Our tutors spend much of their time teaching in schools, but they’re never on their own. We bring the team together for tutor days, practical workshops and shared training, giving everyone the chance to learn from each other, swap ideas and enjoy making music together.
Take a look at our latest tutor day and see the MfSF team in action.
Our Mission and Vision
For over 25 years, the Music for Schools Foundation has been dedicated to providing affordable, high-quality music education to children across the UK. Our mission is to ensure every child has the opportunity to learn and enjoy music, regardless of their background. We believe in the power of music to inspire and transform lives, and we are committed to making music education accessible to all.
Join Our Team of Passionate Music Tutors
Interested in shaping the next generation of musicians? Apply now to become a tutor with the Music for Schools Foundation.
As an MfSF tutor, you may teach more than your main instrument. We support you every step of the way to build skills across brass and woodwind, helping you grow as a musician and teacher.
Our application process is straightforward: submit your application, attend an interview and showcase your teaching skills in a demo lesson. We welcome passionate educators who are eager to make a difference.
We like to speak to prospective new tutors personally first if we can, so do give us a quick call on 0345 375 2466.
Why learning something new makes you a stronger tutor
Taking on a non-principal instrument can feel like a big step. For MfSF tutor Kay Charlton, it became a rewarding way to grow in confidence, build new skills and better understand what pupils experience when they’re learning from scratch.
At MfSF, we support tutors to keep learning, because great music teaching starts with curiosity, confidence and a willingness to grow.
Vacancies
We are always on the lookout for new and enthusiastic tutors to join our scheme. We teach across the UK in many counties and welcome enquiries from anyone who plays (or has played!) any of our instruments.
Take a look through this page to learn more about our recruitment process and what being an MfSF tutor involves.
What qualifications do our tutors need?
As our tutors come from a wide variety of backgrounds, we look at each individual's musicianship on a case by case basis. We ask that you can play your principal instrument to a Grade 8 standard and ask prospective tutors to prepare a performance piece as part of our interview process.
What is the interview process?
Our tutors are a multi-talented bunch and we do ask a lot of them, so it is important to make sure you are good fit with our scheme.
The recruitment process begin usually with a chat with a member of our Head Office team. We like to have an informal conversation that allows prospective tutors to ask questions whilst giving us an idea of who you are and what sort of work you are looking for.
Once we have received an application form, and assuming we like the look of you (!), the next stage is an interview with one of our Senior Tutors. Based locally, the Senior tutor will usually to come to your house for an informal interview. We do ask for a short performance on your principal instrument or instruments (!), along with a short piece of sight reading and there is an opportunity to try some of our other instruments. The interview is relaxed and is both an opportunity for prospective tutors to find out if Music for Schools is for you as it is for us to check if you would make a good tutor.
Following a successful interview, the final stage of the recruitment process is a tutor shadow. It is vitally important that not only are our tutors great musicians, but that they are able to pass this passion and enthusiasm on to pupils. The best way to get a sense of this is to send you along to one of our schools. We will always try to arrange a shadow as local as possible, with one of our experienced current tutors on hand to guide and support you.
What training is available?
We offer complete bespoke training to each new tutor before they begin teaching, covering everything from basic instrument repair to group teaching techniques and administration. This can be either with a local Senior Tutor, an instrument specialist or a member of Head Office team. Each tutor also has a dedicated Tuition Co-ordinator at Head Office who acts as a liaison between tutors, schools and parents. They are always on hand to guide new tutors through the paperwork and administration that is essential before teaching starts. They are also responsible for sorting out timetables with schools and parents.
The training doesn't end once you start teaching. We are proud to offer continued professional development for all our tutors including exams and bespoke courses in essential skills such as conducting and group teaching. This is in addition to any ongoing required training in key areas such as safeguarding. For more information about our safeguarding requirements, please click here.
We also know that being a music tutor can be a lonely job sometimes, which is why our Senior Tutor will also make sure new tutors are put in touch with other tutors in their area. Many of our tutors use a variety of methods to stay in touch and try to meet up a couple of times a year, to talk teaching, music and all things MfSF!
Are there any costs associated with becoming a MfSF Tutor?
As with most peripatetic work, there are some essential checks and training which all tutors must complete before they can start teaching. These do come with a cost but we have worked hard to keep these to a minimum. We never ask tutors for payment for training, shadows or any other elements of the recruitment process.
What can I expect from a typical day as a MfSF tutor?
That there is no such thing! Every tutor is different, every school is different and in most cases, every pupil is different, so there is no such thing as a typical day.
We deliver 30 lessons over the course of an academic year but the rest is up to you. All our tutors are self-employed and so are free to take as much or as little work as they like. We have some tutors who teach at just one school, while others have a full Monday to Friday timetable. On the whole, you can choose when you work, the only constraint being schools often have very busy timetables and lessons sometimes have be squeezed between things like swimming and forest school. But our experienced Tuition Coordinators can be very persuasive in sorting a timetable which suits everyone!
Our tutors don't only teach their pupils in lessons. We also offer bands, ensembles, recorder clubs, enter pupils for exams and hold Fundays, so there is plenty of variety to keep tutors busy.
One thing our tutors don't have to do however is collect fees. Our Head Office team handle all of this, to allow our tutors to focus on what they do best - teaching.
Where are the current opportunities?
We teach in many counties - if you are currently in Kent, Essex, Leeds, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Staffordshire, Norfolk, Cheshire, Suffolk, Oxfordshire or Wiltshire we would love to hear from you.
You can apply on the form below!