Latest round of Youth Music grants announced
We're pleased to announced that we will be funding new music-making opportunities for children and young people with the release of over £3.4m in grants to 85 music organisations across England.
18 organisations promoting music-making for children under the age of six are included in the latest funding round.
View the full list of grants awarded.
View infographics illustrating the latest funding round.
This announcement brings the total number of projects grant-aided over the last year to 418, the highest number ever, reflecting an investment of £18,651,614 by Youth Music in grassroots music-making across England since 2012.
We reach out to more than 100,000 children and young people with least opportunity every year. These include young people at risk of exclusion, children in care, those coping with disability and young people living in urban deprivation or rural isolation.
The grants announced today are for a varied range of music projects from providing music-making opportunities for young people in isolated rural areas of Gloucestershire to deprived urban areas of Stoke on Trent.
Others include a project working with ill young patients at the Manchester Royal Children’s Hospital and another with child asylum seekers based in Croydon, South London who have become separated from their parents and families. For many participants who might not otherwise have access to music-making activities, taking part in a music project is a life-changing experience which puts them on a new path, enabling them to fulfil their potential in life.
We believe strongly in the benefits of young children starting to make music at a very early age and has awarded grants to 18 organisations around the country delivering music projects for children up to the age of six. Sessions often involve children and parents making music together and evidence suggests the benefits include improved parent-child bonding as well as enhanced communication skills and emotional development for the child.
Two of the early years projects being funded intend to work with fathers, with one organisation, Children North East in Tyne and Wear, aiming to use music to establish a bond between young children and their estranged fathers. The charity works with children and their parents living in challenging circumstances in north east England to strengthen families and improve health and wellbeing.
Jeremy Cripps, Chief Executive of Children North East said,
"Singing with children is such a natural and enjoyable thing for parents. This grant will enable many parents and little children to have fun with music. We are particularly pleased that the grant will enable fathers to engage with children through music."
Matt Griffiths, Executive Director, Youth Music says:
"We place a strong emphasis on the quality of music provision so we are delighted to fund these 85 organisations that have shown they will make a real difference to young lives – whether it’s young babies making music with their parents or teenagers discovering a new focus to their lives through music. We’re acutely aware that many organisations are feeling the impact of arts cuts on their funding streams which makes it even harder for us to turn down some applications due to our limitation on funds. However, we’re now supporting our highest number of projects ever at 418 and with our increased emphasis on fundraising, we hope to fund even more in the future."