Youth Music publishes annual Impact Report
CEO Matt Griffiths introduces our evaluation of the 2014/15 financial year, demonstrating our investment in the growth and development of organisations across the music education sector, which in turn has led to significant outcomes for young people across the country.
I am delighted to present our latest Impact Report, which is an important opportunity to set out and reflect on the difference we have made for children in challenging circumstances and the workforce who support them.
Click here to download Youth Music's latest Impact Report.
We commissioned BOP Consulting to analyse and measure our performance in 2014/15, highlighting our successes and building our evidence base showing how music-making brings about personal, social and musical outcomes for children and young people.
Targeting investment where it’s needed most
This report analyses our progress in achieving our goal of a musically inclusive England in partnership with Arts Council England and the projects we invest in nationwide.
I was particularly pleased to see evidence in the report that our regional portfolio-balancing process - proactively targeting areas of need based on the knowledge and data we compile for each of the regions in England - continues to drive change.
One of our key beliefs is the importance of enabling young people in challenging circumstances to take part in music-making across a wide range of styles and genres wherever they live. Targeting investment using this process is essential to making sure that opportunities continue to be available where they’re needed most.
But we know there’s more to do: the number of applications we receive significantly outstrips the number of projects we are able to support. That’s why we continue to remain committed to growing our fundraising.
As a result of our outcomes approach and robust grants application process, we can be confident that our investment develops a skilled workforce with the ability to inspire young people through musically inclusive practice. I want to say a huge thank you to every passionate and dedicated individual working hard to transform young lives through music-making.
I hope you find the report an insightful and enjoyable read.
Click here to download Youth Music's latest Impact Report.
Key findings
- Twenty-eight percent of participants were reported as having ethnicities other than white British. This is higher than the national average for young people of 21%.
- Twenty-four percent of participants had special educational needs, 14% were experiencing rural isolation, 14% had English as an additional language and 14% were experiencing poor health.
- Regional investment was evenly balanced with 83% of funding outside London. We invested 67% of our funding in the most deprived local authorities in England.
- Eighty-eight percent of the organisations we supported used multiple genres in their projects, guided by the interests of young people. The most popular genres used in Youth Music projects were pop and rock (63%), hip-hop (48%), rap / MCing (47%) and dance / electronic music (45%).
Photo from 'Voyage of the Sea Dragon', an Indonesian gamelan project for young people in special education settings in Hull. This project was part of NCEM's Music4U programme supported by Youth Music.