Noise Solution to pilot with Child Adolescent Mental Health teams
Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) is to pilot an innovative music project, delivered by Bury St Edmunds based Social Enterprise, to re-engage troubled young people across Norfolk and Suffolk …
May 2013, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk. Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), part of Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust, is the NHS service for children in the mental health arena. The CAMHS team based in West Suffolk is to trial an innovative approach to engaging their service users in education in the Norfolk and Suffolk region. The approach, provided by Bury St Edmunds based social enterprise Noise Solution, uses music and technology to increase self confidence and re-engage hard to reach individuals with learning. If successful, it will become part of CAMHS regional toolkit…
Local Social Enterprise Noise Solution, recently named 23rd fastest growing social enterprise in the uk, has an impressive track record of engaging and improving well being in those previously seen as hard to reach. Working with CAMHS is a natural step forward following successful interventions with other services at the Trust, including Adult Mental Health Services, Early Intervention in Psychosis and the Assertive Outreach Mental Health Team. Simon Glenister, experienced youth worker, professional musician and founder of Noise Solution, explains more:
“The Noise Solution programme works on a one to one basis with the hardest to reach learners. The key outcome is increased confidence. This usually leads to re-engagement with professional or education services and, often, progression to other opportunities too. Clients learn the skills that they need to create music they view as relevant to them – it could be grime, dubstep, trance, hip hop or any genre. The key is that they learn these skills quickly, and experience and share real success - quickly. Many clients choose to undertake Arts Awards as part of the programme, gaining a meaningful qualification that they can use to build up credits towards a college place. Gaining such qualifications is often the first positive experience they have had of education.”
The pilot involves working with ten young people in one to one sessions over a period of ten weeks. During this time Noise Solution tutors will be hot housing these individuals’ skills in music and music production. The approach enables the learner to become good at something quickly. This success is then blogged about by the learner and shared with people who are important to them. These people are, in turn, encouraged to respond on the blog, creating a positive feedback loop and moving the learner from a position of ‘I can’t’ to a position of ‘I can.’
Clare Hedges, clinical team leader with CAMHS in West Suffolk is looking forward to the results of the trial.
“We are trialling this approach because the more opportunities we can offer young people the better their chances to succeed in overcoming their life difficulties. It also complements the mainstream treatments offered by specialist CAMHS, which can sometimes seem daunting. If this collaboration is successful we hope to make it an option for many more young people,”
“It’s great that the Noise Solution team is being recognised for the valuable work it does and that a local NHS Foundation Trust is working in partnership with a local social enterprise. We know this approach works with people who, for whatever reason, have chaotic life styles and very little (or zero) positive experience of the education system. We can’t wait to get started,” concludes Simon.
About Noise Solution
Noise Solution is a social enterprise. It helps people with mental health issues,challenging behaviour and chaotic lifestyles re-engage in learning. It does this by using music and technology to create self-confidence and quick - but real - successes.
Noise Solution programmes work on a one to one basis with the hardest to reach learners. The key outcome is increased confidence. Re-engagement with professional or education services, and progression to other opportunities, is often a secondary outcome. Whatever the outcome, all Noise Solution Clients learn the skills that they need to create music that they view as relevant to them, quickly, and are offered ways to share and celebrate their successes. Most clients chose to undertake Arts Awards as part of the programme, meaningful qualifications that they can use to build up credits towards a college place. For most clients, this is their first positive experience of education.
Noise Solution uses cutting edge music technology and has an absolute focus on excellence in provision. As a result Noise Solution has consistently impressive results with clients for whom there are few choices left.
Noise Solution was named 23rd fastest growing Social Enterprise in the Royal Bank of Scotland’s 2012 Social Enterprise Index.