by Author Wendy Doyle

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Shields Steel

Laygate Primary School - journey towards Youth Music funding 

We didn't consider ourselves to be experts in music at Laygate Primary School.  But we did consider our staff team to be willing, enthusiastic and ready to give new things a go.  We had an enthusiastic music-coordinator who started working with musicians on short-term or one-off opportunities for our children in the few years prior to submitting our Youth Music application.  She also developed a relationship with Sage Gateshead, a music centre local to us.  And we were sharing these opportunities with two other primary schools locally.  For instance, we engaged with taster steel pan activities and started a school choir. 

Through these various activities we were able to find out what appealed to our children, what appealed to our families and therefore what we'd like to do more of.  We also developed our confidence in managing relationships with external professionals.  And we felt we could really make a difference to the lives of our children by being more musical.  And so we decided to submit an application to Youth Music to enable us to provide music-making opportunities for children across three primary schools in the early evenings, and for early years music making to take place during daytimes, and to have an element of teacher training to ensure that the project could have a legacy - and we were successful.

The opportunities created by the Youth Music funding over the past 2 years have meant that our children have had access to music-making where otherwise this probably wouldn't have been the case, that our children have grown in confidence, that we have increased our links with external organizations and have signposted our children onto other opportunities, that many of our children have achieved an Arts Award and that teachers are now using hand chimes and other instruments confidently and creatively in the classroom.  

If you are considering making a first time application to Youth Music, find out who your local existing grant holders are, reach out to them for advice, look on the Youth Music Network for advice, form partnerships with like-minded organizations and individuals, and go for it! 

Author, Wendy Doyle on behalf of school