Awards for Young Musicians begin the search for new Hub partners
Applications are now open to become one of five new Hubs joining Awards for Young Musicians (AYM) Furthering Talent programme in 2020. AYM have been developing Furthering Talent since 2009 and it’s currently being delivered in partnership with ten Hubs: Bradford, Brighton & Hove, Manchester City, Greater Manchester, Hull, Leicestershire, The Music Partnership (North West Midlands), Nottinghamshire, Sheffield and Wiltshire. Nationally, the programme has already supported over 450 talented children from low income families.
This is a wonderful opportunity for Hubs to get involved with an innovative programme that has inclusive practice at its heart, develops the workforce’s toolkit and gives individual support to young people who face substantial barriers to their musical progression.
The programme’s main funder is Youth Music who, along with AYM and 12 other Fund C organisations, make up the founder members of the Alliance for a Musically Inclusive England (AMIE)
(https://network.youthmusic.org.uk/alliance-musically-inclusive-england).
Furthering Talent’s continued evolution has drawn on findings from the Musical Progressions Roundtable (MPR), hosted by AYM and involving over 300 colleagues and young people working across music education. The MPR identified a series of key principles needed for a successful progression environment which the Furthering Talent model addresses in a range of ways including:
Personalised learning: each young person has an Individual Learning Plan (ILP). Technical goals are taken as a given, so the ILP focuses on musical and personal development, widening musical horizons and identifying diverse progression opportunities. The young person and their instrumental teacher collaborate to set three goals per school term, giving the student more ownership of their own musical journey. AYM will fund 2 years, individual tuition for 30 students joining the programme.
Personal progression budget: each child has a bursary of £150 per year to use to help them achieve their goals. It could be used for gig tickets, exam books or a visit to a recording studio for example.
Building communities of support: each Hub holds a termly Get Together which is an opportunity for all Furthering Talent students and their parents or carers to come together for a performance, workshop or other musical opportunity. This really helps families to become involved with their child’s music making and helps to encourage ongoing support outside lessons. Teachers’ Forums are also held termly where Furthering Talent teachers are paid to come together to discuss their students’ progress and develop their inclusive practice, supported by external speakers and facilitators.
Diverse musical journeys: AYM fund a Local Furthering Talent Coordinator in each Hub who liaises with the learners, families, teachers and wider Hub network to maximise the musical opportunities in each area and make best possible use of the richness of Hub partners’ musical resources to support and sustain each student’s progress
This holistic approach to support and engagement led to a continuation rate of 83% in the previous phase of the programme.
AYM would like to offer all Music Education Hubs the opportunity to apply to be part of this exciting next phase of Furthering Talent. Applications close on Friday 31 January 2020. For an application pack or to find out more please contact Programme Manager Neil Phillips on 07711953866 or neil.phillips@a-y-m.org.uk
