Music Tutor

Music Tutor

Permanent, Full Time

£47,984 to £56,451 per annum (full time equivalent)

Location: Countywide

Working Style: Operational field-based worker

Working Pattern - School Day during term time with optional out of school hours provision

Hourly salary - £29.26 per hour

The Role

Essex Music Service has a team of over 220 music tutors who deliver music provision for young people across the county. Our tutors work with each child to enable them to realise their musical potential, alongside helping them develop their personal, social, academic and musical skills. Our tutors are able to work across the full Greater Essex Music Hub region including Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock as part of partnership working with those Music Services.

Tutors work as part of the Service, and there is no such thing as ‘being on the books’. Our amazing tutor team work tirelessly to ensure that each and every child has the best music education they can, working with schools, parents and communities as part of the support network around each children.

Our specialist tutor team includes over 220 experienced professionals who offer a wide range of genres and styles. This includes DJ, music production, traditional orchestral and keyboard instruments, voice including rap, non-Western percussion, music technology, composition, musicianship, and rock band group performance.

Our music tutors deliver music provision:

• in schools and education settings across the county of Essex,
• in our Community Music Centres in each District,
• at Saffron Centre for Young Musicians,
• for our County Youth Ensembles,
• and in youth centre venues and other location across the county.

To hear more about our business area and what we do to support and develop our young people please visit: Essex Music Service, Extraordinary Essex - Essex County Council - YouTube

Accountabilities

• Maintain professional standards and work effectively as an ambassador for the Music Service with all stakeholders in its provision.
• Maintain regular and effective communication with designated District Lead. 
• Provide effective learning experiences which maintain good order and discipline among students that enables them to meet their goals within an inclusive environment that supports all individuals. 
• Teach students (individually and/or in groups), according to each setting’s policy on instrumental tuition and provide general advice and information and promoting good practice between students, parents, settings, and Essex Music Service. 
• Assist schools in organising instrumental/vocal lessons (including through SpeedAdmin), through:

• compiling lesson timetables. 
• ensuring accurate and up-to-date record keeping, including registers (monitoring and managing absence), and other key information relating to retention, achievement and completion. 

• Attend student concerts as required and assist with the preparation and tutoring of students for external practical and/or public examination as may be reasonably required. 
• Provide constructive feedback that facilitates students' evaluation of progress and understanding of what is required to improve and offers support and guidance regarding progression routes within and outside the organisation. 
• Undertake mandatory Continuing Professional Development including regular observations of Learning, Teaching and Assessment, in making continuous improvement. This may include participating actively in any individual improvement plan and achievement of performance targets. 
• Comply with and/or operate within Music Service policies, standards and requirements, Health and Safety procedures, Safeguarding requirements, Data protection and Informational Governance (General Data Protection Regulations).
• Specific individual and shared targets and objectives are defined annually within the performance management framework. 

The Experience You Will Bring

We look for tutors who offer more than just 1-to-1 teaching as our focus includes group music learning and musicianship as part of music’s role in social, academic and personal development. Our tutors are curious learners, are self-reflective in their practice, and embed inclusion and youth voice in their practice.

We welcome applicants from non-traditional academic routes and a broad range of backgrounds and experiences as part of ensuring our workforce is representative of our young people and of our county.

We look for staff with evidence of:

• Educated to RQF level 4 or equivalent. A relevant qualification. 
• A commitment to continuing personal development, and professional and subject specialist updating. 
• Subject expertise as appropriate to the level of course to be taught. 
• Teaching and Learning in a community setting with the ability to engage young people in their musical journey through small-group teaching, ensemble, whole-class teaching.
• Wider subject knowledge to support student progression. 
• Knowledge of technology in the context of supporting learning. Competent in the use of technology to facilitate learning and data reporting.
• Building strong and collaborative working relationships inside and outside the learning environment. 
• Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written
• Offering a broad provision for young people in our county,
• Embedding inclusion and diversity at the heart of their teaching practice.

Why Essex?

As one of the largest and most dynamic UK local authorities, Essex offers a stimulating public service environment. Covering over 1,420 square miles and serving 1.8 million residents, we’re committed to transformational change and delivering better quality at lower cost. Recognised in the top three of the latest IMPOWER index for productivity, we ensure everyone matters in Everyone's Essex. With flexible working options and a focus on innovation, whether you are looking to develop your career or contribute to the local community, Essex is the ideal place for you.

In March 2026, the Government announced that councils in Greater Essex will be reorganised into five new unitary authorities from April 2028. In addition to this, Greater Essex has been accepted on to the devolution priority programme, where we will work towards establishing a Mayoral Combined County Authority. You can read more about these changes, and what this may mean for this role, on our careers site.

Essex County Council is proud to be a Disability Confident Leader. We’re committed to interview all disabled applicants who choose to apply under our Job Interview Scheme if they meet the minimum requirements of the job. Please speak to our Recruiters if you require any reasonable adjustments during the process. We’re also committed to interview all veterans and care leavers, who meet the minimum requirements of the role for which they are applying.

Once you’ve secured your role within Essex County Council you will receive many great employee benefits, including support for unpaid carers and flexible working arrangements to accommodate their needs.

At Essex County Council, we value integrity and ethical behaviour. We kindly ask that you embrace our code of conduct and the Nolan principles, including throughout the recruitment process. Your commitment to these standards helps us maintain a positive and respectful workplace for everyone.

As part of employment with Essex County Council (ECC) should your role require a DBS check you will be required to register with the DBS update service. The DBS update service ensures all registered DBS certificates are kept up to date and allows authorised parties to view the status of your certificate. This is an annual subscription, and you will be responsible for ensuring this is maintained. For further information on the DBS update service please go to https://www.gov.uk/dbs-update-service

Essex County Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults, and expects all employees and volunteers to share this commitment.

If you would like to be kept up to date on other relevant opportunities, blogs, news, events and industry related news at Essex County Council, please join The Essex Talent Community

If you have queries on this role or require anything further, please email resourcing.team@essex.gov.uk

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn. Further details can be found on our careers page.

Downloads

Pay and Reward | Our Ways of Working  | About Us  | Organisation Behaviours