Devon Music Education Hub offer a subsidised instrument hire service for children and young people. Applications can be made online – please click the following link to apply:
Costs and remissions
Instrument hire is competitively priced at £33 per term from January 2024. Learning to play an instrument can be expensive, but there is support available for children and young people from low-income backgrounds – please see our charging and remissions policy for full details:
Collecting your instrument
Your application will normally take 7-10 working days to process, subject to availability. We will contact you when your instrument is ready to pick up, or if your request cannot be fulfilled at this time. If there is an instrument available, you will need to collect if from our Willand offices (or from a place agreed with us):
Devon Music Education Hub
Devon Education Services, U16-17 Blackdown Park
South View Estate
Willand
Cullompton
Devon
EX15 2FS
Please note: You will need to produce identification with your current address on collection of your instrument.
Unfortunately, we do not have the resources to deliver to or collect from schools.
Looking after your instrument
The instrument will be provided with all required accessories and cleaning materials, along with guidance on how to look after it – please ensure that you follow this guidance. All accessories and cleaning materials provided should be kept with the instrument and returned at the end of your hire.
Your teacher can probably answer any question you have about your instrument if it isn’t performing as it should, including if it needs a clean or a repair or service. If your instrument requires a repair or service, you should report this to the Hub.
As a hiring customer, you are entitled to occasional service work on your instrument. It is expected that an instrument will require a service from a technician at some stage (usually every 1-2 years). You may be invited by email to arrange this, but you are welcome to contact us at any time to enquire about service work or repair needs.
Loss or damage
It is the responsibility of the the hirer to ensure that any instrument on loan from us is fully insured against loss or damage – please check with your home insurance provider as this may already be covered. Please see below for advisory insurance values based on our standard hire instruments (or equivalent model depending on availability). Since prices fluctuate, you can obtain an exact value from any instrumental retailer, if required by your insurer.
Advisory instrument valuations
Buying an instrument
Our instrument hire service is aimed mainly at children and young people starting to learn an instrument. As your child makes progress, sooner or later you will need to think about buying them their own instrument. It is a good idea to talk to your child’s teacher about when and how to buy an instrument.
Maintained schools and academies may be able to offer the option to buy an instrument without paying VAT using the Government’s Assisted Instrument Purchase Scheme (AIPS).
Assisted Instrument Purchase Scheme (AIPS)
Please note: It is not possible to purchase instruments that have been hired from the Hub.
Returning your instrument
You will continue to be billed termly until you return the instrument to us at our Willand offices or to a place agreed with us. It is not sufficient to return the instrument to your child’s school or teacher – you must give us notice and arrange return of the instrument.