Wider Opportunities: Creating Chances for Making Music

This research tells the experiences of 13 pilot programmes, seven funded by Youth Music and six by the Department for Education and Skills, in which each explored different ways of providing primary school children with opportunities to learn a range of musical instruments.

‘Creating Chances for Making Music’ illustrates how this work can be linked into the National Curriculum and includes exemplary materials and a guide, which can be used or adapted for this purpose. 

Over 1,000 children in 49 primary schools, including six special schools, benefited from the programme that enabled whole classes to make music with their class teacher, together with musicians from the Music Service and from the local community.

Wider Opportunities grew out of the Government's pledge that: "Over time, every primary school child that wants to, should have the opportunity of learning a musical instrument." The programme has had a significant impact on pupils’ musical achievements and on their attainment and attitudes to learning across the curriculum.