Scuole e collegi Francia

Schools, nurseries and secondary schools in France: 51,000 institutions, a structural market

France has approximately 51,020 state and state-contracted private educational institutions covering primary and lower secondary education: nursery schools, primary schools and collèges. These institutions engage performing musicians throughout the school year in a wide range of contexts: pedagogical projects funded by DRAC (Regional Directorates for Cultural Affairs), artist residencies, vocal practice workshops, end-of-year shows, educational concerts and school fairs.

The institutional framework for these engagements is well established. Musicians working in schools can do so via:

• The DUMI scheme (Diplôme Universitaire de Musicien Intervenant), restricted to qualified holders but opening permanent positions in primary schools
• Cultural action projects (PAC) jointly funded by the DRAC and the National Education authority
• Direct commissions from school heads for a Christmas show, a school fair or a music day — with no specific qualification required

The seasonal pattern is highly readable: the September back-to-school period, December (Christmas shows), mid-year (January–February for term planning) and June (school fairs, end-of-year celebrations) are the peaks of activity and booking.

Who is this pack for?

This pack is designed for artists and professionals whose musical project is aimed at young audiences or delivered in an educational context:

• DUMI music facilitators looking to complement their existing positions or to freelance in new institutions
• Musical storytellers and young-audience performers (concert-shows for ages 3–12)
• Independent music teachers offering choral singing or music-awareness workshops
• Live performance companies with a format suitable for multi-purpose halls or school gyms
• Music therapists for education offering rhythm and language workshops in nursery schools

This pack also targets artists who want to reach school heads directly for one-off shows (Christmas, school fair) and who do not need a specialist qualification for this type of engagement.

Concrete advantages: building a stable schedule over 36 weeks

The school year represents 36 guaranteed weeks of potential engagements. A music facilitator who signs agreements with 5–8 schools in their region can achieve a very stable weekly schedule, far exceeding what concert prospecting alone can deliver. Loyalty is high: a satisfied school head renews year after year and recommends the artist to colleagues — one successful project can quickly lead to 3–5 new schools in the same area.

• Emails verified by DNS/MX lookup: institutional addresses (.ac-XXX.fr) with a very high deliverability rate
• Sources: official National Education directory (data.gouv.fr), updated 2026
• Instant delivery, 30-day guarantee

To outsource the sending of your introductory emails to school heads, check out our outreach service, which adapts the message to the school context (subject line, institutional tone, pedagogical content highlighted).

Prospecting advice: use the school calendar as your compass

Ideal contact windows

1. Late August – early September: school heads return from summer and plan the year. The best time to propose a full-year project.
2. Late October – November: for Christmas shows (December). Many heads are still looking for artists at this point.
3. January – February: for second-semester projects (February to June), including the school fair.
4. March – April: for the Fête de la Musique in June (21 June) and end-of-year celebrations.

How to write to a school head

A school head is an extremely busy professional. Your email must be short (10 lines maximum), state upfront exactly what you are offering (45-min show for ages 6–10, in-class singing workshop, educational concert), an indicative price or the phrase "DRAC funding possible", and a link to a short video. Avoid heavy unsolicited attachments.

Find adapted templates in our methodology for school prospecting.

What the delivered file contains

The Schools & Collèges France pack (51,020 institutions, €129) is delivered instantly in three formats:

• Excel file (.xlsx): filterable by département, académie, institution type (nursery / primary / collège), sector (state / state-contracted private)
• CSV file: importable into any emailing tool or database (Brevo, Notion, Google Sheets)
• Starter PDF: school prospecting guide, key-period calendar, school-head email template

Each row contains: institution name, town, département, académie, level (nursery / primary / collège), verified email, phone number when available, and status (state / state-contracted private).