Safety in numbers?

Julian Lloyd Webber’s recent comments about one-to-one tuition in conservatoires has ignited a debate: should small-group teaching be more widely offered as an alternative?

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The welfare of conservatoire students is paramount

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After allegations of misconduct at a UK conservatoire made headlines in October, the safeguarding protocols and complaints procedures at music colleges have once again come under scrutiny. But questions have also been raised about the safety and future of one of the bedrocks of conservatoire teaching – one-to-one tuition. In an interview with the Observer, British cellist Julian Lloyd Webber urged institutions to move away from one-to-one teaching to having group lessons with at least three students, which, he said, would provide ‘more openness and accountability’.

Speaking to The Strad, Lloyd Webber, who was principal of the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire from 2015 to 2020, says he is not calling for a ban on one-to-one teaching, but wanted to kick-start a debate. ‘I don’t think one-to-one teaching will always be seen as the sacred cow it is now,’ he said. ‘But until that day arrives we urgently need to find a way to safeguard both students and professors because allegations of misconduct are occurring all too often, and they are distressing for both. Is the answer to have CCTV in every teaching room? Maybe it is, though I’m not sure I would have liked my earliest attempts at playing a piece of music recorded for posterity.’

Lloyd Webber believes that small-group lessons have much to recommend them, from the teacher being able to share knowledge and advice immediately and more widely, to the potential for a more collegiate atmosphere in the room. ‘A small-group lesson where students listen to each other, commenting and asking questions, is certainly more of a collaborative process,’ he says, ‘and it could help alleviate the sense of extreme competition that is often felt – and even encouraged – at some music colleges.’ But some younger students could equally find a group environment more daunting than a one-to-one lesson, and feel insecure about discussing certain matters or experimenting and making mistakes in front of their peers. Cellist Guy Johnston, who teaches at the Royal Academy of Music in London and the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY, says: ‘Part of the journey of learning and growing as a student is finding out who you are and being able to talk about that. You might not feel able to do this in a lesson if you’ve got your friends there. On the other hand, a group lesson brings a new energy into the room, and everyone can feed off that energy.’

With small-group work, from chamber music coaching to studio classes, already a feature of many performance programmes, ceasing one-to-one teaching would unbalance a conservatoire’s all-round approach and limit students’ overall learning experience, argues Linda Merrick, principal of the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) in Manchester, UK, and chair of the associate body Conservatoires UK. ‘One-to-one tuition is invaluable to students to support their individual learning journeys, but it needs to come with appropriate safeguards around it,’ she says. ‘I don’t think we should jump to the conclusion that abandoning individual teaching is the right approach. It’s a balance between complementary one-to-one, small-group and large-group teaching that gives students the best possible pedagogical experience.’

‘One-to-one tuition needs to come with appropriate safeguards around it’

Beyond ensuring teaching rooms have large windows to improve external visibility, other practical measures can enhance the safeguarding aspect of one-to-one lessons as well as the learning experience for students, says Merrick. ‘Lessons at the RNCM are open so that students can have a collaborative pianist, chamber music partner or another peer attend with them. And students are actively encouraged to record their lessons.’ She also stresses the advantages of the RNCM’s team-teaching model, where students study with a range of tutors in their specialist disciplines: ‘This is useful in avoiding the power imbalances out of which many historic misconduct issues have arisen.’

For students who’ve grown up with one-to-one lessons, individual contact time with a teacher is an essential part of the conservatoire experience. Joëlla Becker, a cello student at the Eastman School of Music, says: ‘I wouldn’t apply to a conservatoire that didn’t offer one-to-one tuition. But I’d think twice about applying to a college where misconduct allegations were being investigated. Or it would make me focus much more on that institution’s group-lesson offer.’

For Merrick, the focus for conservatoires has to be on prevention and education, ‘so that students and staff understand where the boundaries are and where they can go for support’. She cites the importance of consent training and a zero-tolerance policy towards bullying and harassment, as well as mechanisms for students to report any allegations anonymously, such as the RNCM’s Raise It system. She says: ‘Students need to trust that if they’ve got concerns, that these will be dealt with through an appropriate investigation which is fair, objective and transparent.’

The induction and training of teaching staff is also important. Johnston says: ‘We have to take courses to know what the safeguarding protocols are. There have been moments when a student has been crying, or even asks for a hug, and you have to explain that it’s not appropriate and just offer a tissue. It seems a shame that it has come to this because of a small group of people.’