Youth Music Programme Final Evaluation Narrative Report

Organisation Name SEND Project

Name of person completing form Leanne Sutton, Moon Chester & Jim Shorthose

Email address for queries leanne@sendproject.com

Reporting Period From: September 2013 to: August 2014

Guidance

Youth Music asks all grant holders to report against the activity outlined in their application. The reporting requirements are governed by the size and duration of the grant. Your funding agreement contains the details of all your reporting requirements and submission details, so please refer back to it if you are unsure. The purpose of this report is to see how you progressed towards meeting the outcomes set at the beginning of your project, to provide an opportunity to share with Youth Music any obstacles you may have faced and how you overcame them. Once you have submitted the report and the required supporting information, and it has been approved by our Grants and Learning Team, your final grant instalment will be released. You are required to:

Answer the questions on each page of the report (please note word limits represent a maximum, rather than an expected amount)

Download the other attachments needed (integrated budget form, declaration form) – available from the grant holders section of our website), complete them, and upload them with this form.

You also have the option to upload photographs, video and audio. Please only upload photographs if you have the appropriate consent forms for public use, and have ticked the box on the declaration form to confirm this.

Case studies:

Also available to download from the grant holders section of our website is a case study template – if you would like to provide us with a case study, the template should help you to write it. Unless otherwise stated, it will be assumed that the case study can be published externally.

Completing Your Form: Whilst completing this form, you will need to refer back to your:

Stage One and Stage Two Application forms

Budget Form (submitted with your Stage Two application)

Risk Analysis form (submitted with your Stage Two application)

Milestone Reports and Budget Forms (submitted with your reports) Youth Music gathers this information for a number of reasons:

To monitor our funded projects and ensure that grants are used to deliver high quality music-making projects to achieve suitable outcomes for children and young people

To develop a body of evidence of the reach and impact of Youth Music’s funded work and to prove the value of the work we do to external stakeholders

To inform programme development. By analysing the data we receive back from our funded partners, we are able to identify gaps in the reach and impact of our work and develop appropriate modules

To provide a baseline for more in-depth evaluation

To support the monitoring of progress towards our organisational goals

To identify areas of good practice that could support other organisations we fund. Thank you for taking the time to complete this report. Once it has been submitted, we will endeavour to review the information and, if necessary, release your next payment within 20 working days. Should the process be delayed for any reason, we will be in touch to let you know why. Payments and expenditure Please note that prior to releasing your next payment, we expect you to have spent the full grant and any match funding. If this is not the case, please contact grants@youthmusic.org.uk to discuss your options.

Youth Music Programme – Final Evaluation Narrative Report

The Youth Music Final Evaluation Narrative Report provides an opportunity for you to reflect on what your programme of work has achieved at the end of delivery, and present evidence to Youth Music in support of your findings. We are keen to hear about both the successes and challenges you have encountered throughout your project, and the key learning you have taken away as a result.

Please tell us about your experiences in meeting the intended outcomes you specified at the beginning of your project (no word limit)

Context surrounding our Year 2 evaluation and its research A programme of evaluative research was initiated to assess the degree of SEND’s success in meeting its evaluation outcomes, which used a variety of research methods. Quantitative research methods were used to collect data in certain contexts. These are:

Weekly monitoring of attendance and progression by individual learners

Questionnaire responses from partner organisations Qualitative research methods, including consultations and open-ended interviews were used to collect data in other contexts to supplement the quantitative data. The use of qualitative research methods were used to:

provide a space in which individual learners could express their opinions in their own ways, on issues which they felt should be brought up

provide a space in which the parents/carers of individual learners could

express their opinions in their own terms

conduct interviews with the members of the SEND Delivery Team to allow them to bring up issues important and necessary to them

conduct a round of consultations with referring agencies and partner

organisations and capture input from Advisory Group meetings that brought both SEND team members & partners together to review the project once every 6 - 8 weeks

The qualitative research was conducted by an independent researcher (Dr Jim Shorthose) who was introduced into the SEND delivery team over a period of time so as to become a recognised face before the research was carried out with the learners. This was felt to be necessary to encourage a trusting attitude on the part of the learners towards the researcher, and as such enable authentic and sensitive engagements between them and the researcher. In presenting evidence gathered through open-ended discussions with stakeholders, we have allowed Dr Shorthose to offer summary findings for inclusion in the body of

the narrative report, selecting a representative quote or individual response to highlight these where appropriate.

Research Findings Outcome 1 - Quality and Standards of Delivery

Evaluation research into the quality and standards of SEND's delivery has shown a positive reception on the part of referring partner organisations, delivery team members, learners and parents/carers.

“The SEND project always goes above and beyond the call of duty”

(Tracey Keeling – Nottingham Academy) Partner (end of project) Questionnaire Feedback The feedback from partner organisations that refer learners to SEND comprises of regular Advisory Group meetings, questionnaire feedback and a round of consultations with the independent researcher. The Advisory Group meetings provided a regular space for feedback concerning the quality and standards of the Sound and Vision programme, the relationships and working practices between the SEND team and the partner organisations, and the progression of individual learners. The SEND team has regularly acted upon this feedback. The four key referring partner organisations were asked to complete a questionnaire with questions that focused on the project’s outcomes. The feedback from those questions relating to the standards and quality of the project is as follows:

Q1) How would you rate the referral process of ease of use and sustainability for your organisations?

Two rated us as excellent, one as very good and one as average Q2) How would you rate the accompanying literature (posters, project briefs etc)? (e.g. were they pitched right for both you as the referrer and the young person)

One rated us as excellent and three as very good Q3) How would you rate the level of communication and correspondence from the project?

Three rated us as excellent and one as very good Q4) How would you rate the programmes flexibility and responsiveness to student's needs?

Three rated us as excellent and one as average* *the ‘average’ response related to the fact that SEND were not able to offer regular additional sessions outside of those scheduled in the programme.

Q8) Are you/your organisation happy to work with/refer someone onto the programme again?

Four rated this very likely Open-ended questionnaire feedback from the referring partner organisations “(SEND) Staff are friendly, supportive and committed to helping young people

develop their skills and improve both musically and personally. Excellent provision”

“SEND are very responsive to the needs of the young person but also for our organisation” Having also conducted consultations with all of SEND's referring partner organisations, the independent researcher found SEND to have an existing reputation for high quality and standards of delivery. All the referring partner organisations also expressed a positive response to the mentoring capacities of the SEND delivery team, in addition to their delivery of music related skills provisions. SEND Delivery Team Feedback on Quality and Standards of Project

“The management of the SEND project has got so much better since it (Sound & Vision Project) started. I think we have learned a lot and got much more streamlined.” (Tutor within the SEND delivery team)

Consultation between the SEND delivery team members and the independent researcher has clearly shown a high degree of satisfaction with:

the way the programme is run and the structured clarity of its day-to-day operations

the way the project management continues to respond to the professional development needs of delivery team members

the provision of accredited training courses in appropriate professional

development courses

on-going strategies to improve its quality and flexibility of provision Overall the team felt that a shift towards regular joint planning, review & strategy meetings enabled them to work more closely and be more creative in how they responded to the needs of all the learners. This replaced the need for the tutors to complete individual session reflection forms & created a more responsive, dynamic group reflection. Learners Feedback on Quality and Standards of Project

“When I first came here, I thought it was gonna be rubbish, but now I think it is alright” (SH – Sound and Vision day group participant)

“We get structured workshops, which is good, but also the flexibility to try out new things like learning new instruments and working with new people” (FL – Sound and Vision evening group participant)

“As well as doing the music, I enjoyed doing the filming and getting out and about. That was a good thing about the project lately”

(KS – Sound and Vision day group member)

“Yes, the tutors do give us lots of support by showing us stuff. But I also like having the space to play. That's good as well”

(DK – Sound and Vision evening group member)

Open-ended interviews conducted by the independent research with current SEND learners have revealed a clearly positive response to the quality, structured nature and flexibility of SEND's music delivery.

The delivery team found that the creative, flexible environment enabled the project to support learners in their development, whichever way they chose to turn musically. We felt that that when young people know this flexibility exists, then the ‘pressure’ is off and they tend to find their musical passion more readily. Many of our Sound & Vision learners expressed appreciation of how refreshing they found this approach and commented on how they wished music was delivered like this at school.

Being able to respond in this fashion requires a high level of behind the scenes work and requires a high tutor-to-learner ratio (perhaps explaining why this is not the model used in schools). Increasing our use of this model in year 2, we adopted a task-based approach to learning; the young people would identify something they wanted to achieve and they would be supported in identifying what skills or techniques would be needed to accomplish that task. In this way the direction of their learning was determined by the learners and not by the music leaders.

Attainment and Musical Quality

In comparison to year 1 of the project, year 2 saw 13 successful accreditations being achieved, (6 Bronze & 7 Silver Arts Awards) as opposed to 5 (Bronze Arts Awards) last year. This progress reflects the improvement in the quality and standards of music delivery within this programme, not just by the attainment of higher level qualifications, but also by the associated quality of the music produced by the young people.

During the team evaluation meeting all tutors & mentors expressed that they felt that the standard of the musical content and activities included in this years’ programme had vastly improved when compared with the first year. Similarly, all felt that this was evidenced through the direct improvements in accreditation as well as being clearly evident from the quality and variety of the musical products that the learners produced (see question 5 for links).

CPD of Music Leaders

Throughout the course of the Sound & Vision programme each music leader and wider musical team (other mentors, specialist session tutors & coordinators) attained a Level 3 Award in Education and Training. As a direct result, one of the music leaders chose to undertake a level 3 qualification in Team Leadership and the project manager completed a level 3 Management qualification.

Other external training focused on music delivery and working with young people facing challenging circumstances, most of which was found through the Youth Music Network, SoundLINCS and Nottingham Music Hub.

Team members attended the following training events (each delivered by Phil Mullen):

Readipop: Music Based Mentoring

SoundPROFOUND: Understanding Children in Challenging Circumstances

Music Facilitation and Workshop Techniques for those Working with Children from Challenging Backgrounds - Behaviour Management and Reflective Practice

"The great thing about a training session with Phil Mullen is the sheer unpredictable nature of the thing. One minute you're singing songs designed to calm or bond or energise a group of young people, the next you're gaining valuable insights into effective mentoring with teenagers who have disengaged from most other contact in their lives. His responsive, flexible approach allows the group's collective mind to tackle the most challenging of issues, supported by his own wealth of experience and learning. We took several nuggets away from this day. Some were practical, some more strategic; all improved our practice."

(Moon Chester – SEND Project Director)

At the beginning of the programme, the team participated in a number of internal workforce development sessions. These included arts award delivery planning, curriculum development, professional boundaries, mentoring and practical music-based skill sharing. In addition there were refresher training sessions on safeguarding, lone working and professional boundaries at regular intervals in the last two years.

As a result of this CPD programme, we are delighted with the increase in the skills and confidence of our music leader team and the variety demonstrated in their individual creative approaches to music leadership and mentoring.

“The whole team tightened up their delivery and worked better together. [Sessions] being inclusive and looking at the individual needs of learners worked really well – sharing where each young person was at and how we could work together to support them.”

(lead mentor on Sound & Vision evening sessions)

“It worked well having have a plan A and a plan B (and often a plan C)”

(Sound & Vision Music leader lyrics & performance)

Outcome 2 - Embedding Learning and Effective Practice in Host and Partner Organisations and Shared Practice Beyond the Project

“It’s so good what SEND has done for SH. I'm not sure what would have happened without it” (Karen Eaves – Nottingham City Targeted Support & Priority Families Education Coordinator)

The independent research has provided clear evidence that embedding effective practice in the host & partner organisations has been a key factor in the success of this project. Evidence found included the following:

Joint team planning has led to the shared recognition of the importance of joint reflexive practice and planning and thus embedding of reflective practice into core project methodology. This has led to the team agreeing and implementing fundamental changes to the structure and content of the programme in year 2.

Representatives from referring partner organizations demonstrated their

intention to continue to demand a continuation of SEND's activities based on their participation in the advisory group

Open-ended interviews with learners have clearly shown that;

Learners continue to appreciate the musical areas within which they are currently working with the SEND delivery team.

Learners have expressed a very positive response to the flexibility of provision offered by SEND

In addition to the programme’s contribution to musical skills development the mentoring element is improving self-esteem and confidence – further evidence of this is referred to in connection with outcome 3 and 4 below

Music leaders’ capacity has been enhanced, highlighted in their reflections

upon their development and practice, especially in the context of taking learners through to Silver Arts Awards – further aspects of this are referred to below in connection with outcome 3

Parents expressed appreciation of the project’s capacity to provide a

learning environment that was both structured and challenging for their child, whilst at the same time was flexible and open-ended enough to allow their child to explore their interests in a way that was different enough from the structures of traditional school methods

“I think (FL) enjoyed it here because it challenged her, but in a way that was not like the pressurized school exam situation” (FL's mother – evening group participant)

There is clear evidence that partners have shared in and shaped the programme refinements. Whilst there was an initial goal to also involve parents in this process, it became clear that the Advisory Group was not the correct forum to involve parents as many of our learners’ challenges stemmed from chaotic family relationships & therefore our priority was to safeguard our learners, not to exacerbate any unpredictable / fragile situations. After all, our aim was to provide a safe environment which our learners took ownership of, without fear of parents becoming too close to the team (as discussed in the first milestone report). More often contact & inclusion was ensured through regular phone conversations during which parents and carers were updated on the progress of their child and feedback was received by the project manager. More details on this can be found in question 3. Some key outputs of the project (some of which will continue past the life of this project) have shown how the SEND team and their partners are constantly working together to share their knowledge and expertise (from across a variety of fields) around what works and what doesn’t. To demonstrate, below are some examples that evidence the range & breadth of the embedding & sharing of good practice that has been occurring. SEND Management and a 'Learning Organisation’

“…anyone who has spent time with any variety of organisation, or worked in more than two or three, will have been struck by the differing atmospheres, the differing ways of doing things, the differing levels of energy, of individual freedom, of kinds of personality…”

(Gareth Morgan)

The best organisations routinely value these differences and reflect back upon them to include them to become 'learning organisations'. The independent research has revealed SEND's capacity to develop a self-reflexive approach to its own strategic developments. Independent research observations of delivery team meetings between management and tutors have shown management as very keen to offer a supportive environment for staff and a capacity to constantly reflect upon their processes to sustain their organisational learning.

Open-ended interviews with delivery team staff have shown that both they and management are aware of the sources of potential project ineffectiveness elicited by tensions between:

the need for regularised and predictable workshop planning on the one hand, and creative freedom and flexibility on the other

the need to emotionally invest in the programme and the young learners on the one hand, and the fact that many of the SEND delivery team do not have full time jobs on the other, which sometimes has implications for the amount

of time they can offer given their responsibilities for other things, and for the retention of staff members

the need for organisational procedures to be clear and predictable on the one hand, and the fact that some of the delivery team are going through some processes (e.g. supporting Silver Arts Awards) for the first time

The fortnightly team planning meetings have enabled the management to provide regular opportunities for team reflection and the sharing of good practice in a way which has enabled the team to minimise the potential for the above to occur and instead has enabled them to work together to overcome any problems or difficulties.

This has led to more creative planning amongst the delivery team which has brought the team together enabling more innovative, effective and productive sessions. In many cases this has empowered the music leaders to take more ownership of the music delivery & the project. In particular, the Music Leadership section within the evaluation of outcome 3 outlined below shows facets of this, as members of the delivery team have reflected upon their experiences of supporting learners through to their Silver Art Award.

Our strongest example of sharing best practice is demonstrated through our project being showcased as a shining example of best practice at a Nottingham City Council Priority Families conference in April 2014. SEND were asked to share how we had worked with a particular young man that had been referred by the Priority Families Team in October 2013. The audience of around 100 people consisted of a wide range of education, healthcare and wellbeing professionals and organisations. SEND made a 45 minute presentation showcasing our ethos and methods of working as an example of best practice. The young man in question (SH), though not present, was awarded the inaugural Priority Families Star Award for the transformation he had achieved in the past few months. Many of the audience were moved to tears when they watched the music video he had produced on the Sound & Vision programme, asking where they could buy the track! Several organisations who were present at the conference have subsequently contacted us to seek advice on working with young people in their care.

SEND has attended several other creative and voluntary community sector events in which we have showcased our work through the Sound & Vision programme; in particular:

Area 6 Children and Young People’s Worker Forum – A forum for representatives of organisations working for or with young people in the Sneinton, Mapperly and St Anns areas of Nottingham

CYPPN (Children and Young People’s Partnership Network) - Citywide network as above

Sneinton: Your Voice - A day-long conference bringing together community organisers (local & national), volunteers, local project leaders, community activists, elected representatives, essential services and providers of employment and training. This was a learning and networking event for

delegates who want to make a difference and share a vision for future society.

Over the course of the programme, the external CPD sessions also gave the music leaders and project coordinator a platform to share their findings and experiences and learn from others. Increasingly we noticed a shift from exclusively making notes and thinking of how we might incorporate others’ successful ways of working, to contributing with confidence in discussions around effective practice. It certainly highlighted to our music leaders how far they had developed both personally and as a team. Phil Mullen commented after our final CPD session with him that, apart from the fact that he thought we were stalking him, he felt there was little else that we could learn from him on our chosen area and we should continue doing what we were doing with confidence. Renewing the Referral Process Through consultations with referring partner organisations and developing discussions within Advisory Group meetings between these organisations and the delivery team, SEND management have been actively seeking new ideas with which to improve their interactions with the organisations which make up the referral process. Referring partner organisations reported the following generic problems with the process of referring young people to creative projects that are alternative to the traditional educational / vocational routes (be they accessible in the day time or evening). These are:

the lack of a sufficiently up to date and exhaustive database means that some projects are insufficiently visible to the referring organisations

the lack of choice this lead to often means that the young person in question feels they have had insufficient choice if (for example) they are on a compulsory court order and they have not been consulted in the referral

this militates against feelings of pro-activity and engagement on the part of

the young person in question

“... the whole thing sometimes feels like we are just sending them down a pipe, and they don't really have much choice in it. We can't really expect them to be fully engaged when it is like this.” (Kay Carter of Nottinghamshire Targeted Support and Youth Justice Services)

The SEND team have been active in working with referring partner organisations to envisage a new type of referral system. Although this is an on-going process, is much broader than the SEND project itself, and would require co-developments across the alternative educational ecology of referring agencies and creative projects as a whole, SEND's vision is to:

ensure organisations that offer project alternatives to traditional educational / vocational routes are more visible to the formal organisations which seek to refer young people

develop more regular and vital networking between and across the official or traditional referring organisations, the creative project providers and the freelance creative people who often make up and deliver such programmes

bring a broader range of creative businesses and freelance practitioners into

these networking events to improve the capacity of creative project providers by offering 'next step' progression opportunities for post-16 young people in professional and business developments and career building

So rather than the 'pipe' referred to by Kay Carter, SEND are working with others within the city to animate something more akin to an ecology of interconnecting networks between the referring organisations, the creative project delivery teams, creative individuals and businesses. This can then be offered as a matrix of pathways to young people in a way which opens up more opportunities for them, makes proactive engagement more viable, offers more authentic forms of progression and leads to a sustained legacy of potential positive engagements both during and after formal engagement with the creative projects as such. Encouraging Sustained Progression through Creative Networks

A further form of embedding learning and developing effective practice being developed by the SEND team (as already alluded to within the Renewing the Referral Process section above) is to develop and consolidate working links with the broader professional creative network in Nottingham. This more recent development has come about through the SEND management & the independent researcher sharing ideas & knowledge about how to introduce wider creative opportunities for future SEND learners.

In order to achieve this all parties (including the Advisory Group partners) have agreed that exploring the potential for bringing industry professionals as 'guest lecturers' within the project delivery space as well as brokering working relationships between post-project learners and a variety of industry professionals within the 'creative ecology' as a whole. Given his links & expertise in this area this has become part of the independent researcher’s role and has been on-going for the last couple of months.

It is hoped that such a sharing of industry specific knowledge and experience will complement any existing and future creative and / or mentoring based projects. This should build self-esteem and confidence as well as broaden learners visions of what developing musical skills can lead to in terms of career development.

As a result of discussions that have taken place during the Advisory Group meetings, representatives from some of our referring partner organisations have already started to attend outside creative networking events. The creative networking events will enable them to meet other creative projects, individual creative practitioners and people from other facets of the creative ecology, with a view to

using such networking for renewing the referral process and helping to sustain progression routes within creative projects such as SEND.

Outcome 3 - Increasing the local provision of high quality, meaningful educational music-making opportunities for CYP from challenged circumstances to increase the instance in which these learners are engaged in empowering experiences, making key decisions about their own learning and developmental path The feedback from the referring partner organisations on those questions relating to the young peoples’ own choices around learning and development is as follows: Q6) Has there been any improvement in their attendance in any type of educations provision (including Sound and Vision)?

Three rated us as contributing to quite an improvement and one as no change

Q7) Has there been any improvement in their ability to make better choices about their learning and personal development?

One rated us as contributing to quite an improvement and two as no change, 1 was not able to answer this question.

Learner attendance & achievement Attendance percentages (including punctuality) have been excellent throughout the 2nd year of the project. The table below provides the attendance figures for all those that completed their programme (be it Bronze, Silver or Both)

Student Code # of weeks on programme

attendance % lateness %

D: KS07 35 91% 24%

E: AS16 35 97% 48%

E: DK17 35 92% 9%

E: RR14 17 71% 20%

D: SH21 32 94% 8%

D: MB22 32 82% 21%

E: FL24 19 100% 0%

D: LR25 16 96% 4%

E: LD26 16 100% 0%

Figure 1. Attendance data for young people completing programme

As you can see the vast majority of our year 2 learners in both groups (D = day group & E = evening group) had outstanding levels of attendance, which is a direct indicator of how positively the learners viewed what they were able to engage in and achieve during their time on the programme. For full statistics on attendance (including those who did not complete the programme) please see appendix 3. Our 9 learners this year achieved a total of 13 arts award accreditations. The format of the arts award accreditation enables the learners to take the lead on choosing and developing the musical direction of their projects. This enables our delivery team to

ensure they are consistently being empowered through making positive decisions about their creative and educational choices; clearly demonstrated through their individual action plans which can be viewed via the Glogster (digital portfolio) account links listed in Question 5. A further indicator of our success with this outcome is the session plans themselves. They demonstrate that our inclusive delivery model ensured that each learner’s individual (creative and pastoral) needs were catered for in all sessions. Additionally, all project meetings (team review, planning, advisory group) regularly reflected on and ensured that being continually responsive to the learners needs was a key priority of the project. This is demonstrated through a vast amount of meeting minutes recorded over the last two years. They demonstrate that the whole team goes to great lengths to ensure that each learner is provided with a unique, tailored opportunity which considers their needs, interests and ability levels. This has included:

structured learning blocks with option to extend learning empowered learners to make creative choices

using the Arts Award platform to allow learners to plan key aspects of their musical development within a clear framework for reflection on progress and critical (peer review) evaluation of their work

visits to music events as an audience member which have been an invaluable

inspirational experience for many of our learners. Often this was their first ‘proper gig’ (and thus experience of the atmosphere, the crowds, the noise, the energy, the lightshow and theatrics, even the smells and the heat and the surges of a densely packed audience)

In further support of this point, open-ended interviews with learners conducted by the independent researcher concerning the meaningfulness of SEND's current provision has elicited expressions of positive receptions for their mix of activities, In particular, these include:

the ability to focus upon and support through high quality training in musical genres appropriate for the learners

providing flexible learner access for the exploration of new avenues of musical development (e.g. writing lyrics, learning new instruments, understanding digital production techniques, using new media platforms etc.)

developing opportunities for public performance where appropriate on a

case by case basis with a realistic assessment of 'public readiness' and 'quality control'

the mixing of musical training with the development of associated digital

media

on-going discussions with learners to broaden ideas about transferring new musical skills into new perspectives about professional development and the possibilities of careers within the creative industries

on-going explorations of potential for volunteering for 'real world' musical

projects and related initiatives by bringing professionals into the project space and thereby the building of sustained working relationships

The individual case studies and responses to open-ended interviews found within Appendix 1 show that most learners felt that the workshops sessions were relevant for their musical goals, both in terms of musical genre, area and the balance between structured support and the space for flexibility and experimentation.

Music Leadership - Reflections on Silver Art Award Process by Delivery Team Members

“The experience of taking learners through the Silver Arts Award has led to new learning opportunities for both the project delivery team and the learners themselves”. (Music leader – Digital Production & Mentor)

The independent researcher conducted a series of interviews with delivery team members involved in working with learners to complete work for the Silver Arts Award. Whilst there was some concern on the part of the tutors that the step-up required from Bronze level work to Silver level work, in terms of commitment and motivation, might prove too challenging for some of the learners, the delivery team saw most of the learners rise to these challenges. Reflecting upon this facet of the broader delivery process and the insights gained within open-ended interviews with the independent research, the following detailed points were made by members of the delivery team:

the whole SEND team contributed to generating a positive atmosphere which supported both the learners and tutors through the Silver Award process, which was new to most of them.

the step-up from Bronze to Silver Award work requires more experimentation on the part of the learners and as such requires more active engagements on the part of tutor with the personalised agendas of the learners. Because both parties saw the need for more creative interaction, both parties were able to grasp these situations to forge more dynamic and creative relationships.

given that these situations required greater self-efficacy, greater time commitments and self-directed research, the support provided by tutors led in more general terms to the generation of closer creative working interactions between learners and tutors, and more trusting relationships; a bit of ‘tough love’ was called for

this closer, more dynamic creative interaction between learners and tutors helped to generate a more responsible and respectful attitude on the part of some learners, both towards tutors and other learners, and so had implied consequences for issues relevant for outcome 4

with support from tutors, the learners were able to engage with the workshop leadership demands asked of them by Silver Award level work - they dealt the resulting public responsibilities well, which also had implied consequences for issues relevant for outcome 4

incentives for learners (trips to live events, food provided during breaks) were seen by tutors as a vital component of the success in guiding learners through to Silver Awards. Because the process is relatively long and levels of commitment asked of learners with less personal history of self-efficacy (given their challenging circumstance) was relatively high, incentives were seen as vital by tutors so as to “keep the energy levels up”

tutors expressed the need for developments in the way that the portfolio work necessary for Silver Award work could be developed by the learners and recorded / archived for the project. It was suggested that portfolio work coming from learners could be uploaded by learners onto an on-going digital scrap-book or blog-space (e.g. Pinterest / Glogster), so that learners could up-date their portfolio more in real-time; allowing it to feel more “real”, and be kept in a format that was more useable for final Silver Award work. NB: Arts Award launched their Artsbox digital portfolio midway through the final year of the programme which made it an unusable resource for this cohort.

Progression as an indicator of young people making key decisions about their own learning and development Of the nine young people completing the programme in year 2, five were NEET. Of this five, three have moved into some form of further education and one has found employment. Appendix 2 shows detailed individual progression information.

Outcome 4: To improve young peoples' self-esteem, confidence, social and psychological wellbeing by providing embedded holistic mentor support. Increase young peoples' motivation to engage in education and training to ensure that we improve both learners and tutors knowledge of positive educational and developmental music-making opportunities in their locality

The feedback from the referring partner organisations on the question relating to self-efficacy of the young people referred is as follows: Q5) Have there been any changes in their level of self-esteem, confidence and self-efficacy?

Two rated us as contributing to significant improvement and two as quite an improvement

“You have never seen what I am like when I really kick off, because I have never felt the need to kick off when I am here. I'm not sugar coating things; it’s just really good here”

(AS – Sound and Vision evening group participant).

Although a little more difficult to elicit, there are clear indications that SEND's mentoring has had, and continues to have a positive impact upon the self-esteem and confidence of learners. Open-ended interviews with learners and parents / carers conducted by the independent researcher have revealed the following aspects of SEND's success in building self-esteem, confidence and social and psychological wellbeing;

building rapport and high levels of trust between learners and delivery team members

sensitivity to external factors within the lives of learners beyond the confines

of the sessions themselves

developing sensitive and personalised responses to the needs of learners

initiating new positive attitudes towards collaborative working between learners

The qualitative research findings presented in Appendix 1 outlines individual responses to these facets by each learner in turn. Attendance and Punctuality – Improvement of Self-efficacy As attendance and punctuality are commonly used as some of the key indicators of improvements in self-efficacy, we have included here a graph (Figure 2 below; data taken from our register) which evidences the percentage of attendance and lateness of each of our learners. As previously mentioned, on the whole the attendance percentages were very high (also see Figure 1; outcome 3).

Prior to starting this project the day group learners had not been attending any appropriate education, training or employment for anywhere between 1 and 4 years. Our evening group attendees were all entirely voluntary and although some were attending school regularly, all were experiencing a number of challenging circumstances. As such, we feel that attendance levels are a clear indicator of improved self-efficacy on the part of learners, and as such evidence of success in terms of meeting outcome 4.

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

D: KS07 E: AS16 E: DK17 E: RR14 D: SH21 D: MB22 E: FL24 D: LR25 E: LD26

Lateness

Attendance

Figure 2. Graph of learner attendance and punctuality As figure 2 shows, 7 of the 9 young people completing the programme had attendances above 90%; a clear indication of their high motivation to engage. Feedback from Referring Partner Organisations Of the four partner organisation, two have reported seeing a significant improvement in the self-esteem and confidence of their referred learners.

Evidence from Holistic Scale Monitoring:

Learners Area

KS SH MB LR DK AS FL LD RR

Level 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 Thinking & Behaviour

Perception of self & others

Communication

Connection to community

Social Skills

Figure 3. Summary of learners’ holistic development

Figure 3 shows a table summarising how each young person was observed to develop by their mentor. The summary covers each key area of the holistic monitoring and is split for each young person into two periods; ‘baseline to completing bronze’ (level 1) and ‘end of bronze to completing silver’ (level 2). For those young people only completing the Silver Arts Award, the level 2 period represents baseline to completing Silver. With the exception of KS and RR, each learner responded positively to the challenges presented both creatively and educationally by the Silver Arts Award (level 2). Not all learners attempted both awards and, as expected, there are ups and downs in their functional, social and emotional skills / wellbeing throughout the programme. On the whole, however, only one learner showed any overall decrease in these key areas over the duration of the programme; a short case study accompanies the graphs in Appendix 1 for each learner which helps to explain the data further by giving it some context. Our recent reflections upon this holistic evaluation model suggest that this system of evidence gathering could still be improved. For example, ensuring that the same tutor / mentor completes the forms at the same interval for their learner would make the scoring more consistent. Also, whilst this method does provide much needed quantitative data for an area that is traditionally difficult to measure, stark fluctuations can be misinterpreted or become misleading. In future we feel it would be beneficial to collect data more often to avoid such problems and propose to conduct holistic monitoring every two weeks rather than the 4-6 week intervals used during this programme. Appendix 4 shows a copy of the scale monitoring form used on the programme.

Overall Decrease

Overall Increase

No change overall

KEY

Qualitative observations on changes in social maturity and confidence There were numerous examples of shifts in these key areas. Our first event trip in November took the entire group to see a contemporary performance fusing hip-hop and classical music with high energy street dance and performance art (Nobulus: Out of the Shadow). Being part of an audience in an unfamiliar setting and from a mixed socio economic background proved challenging for several young people and this manifested in inappropriate language and behaviour. Our visit to see two hip hop acts from the 90s (Ugly Duckling and Jurassic 5) in June had no such issues despite the intensity and unfamiliarity of the occasion. We were proud of the group’s behaviour and engagement with the event. In the more familiar learning environment of the music studio, SH walked out of a session at a key stage in the Silver Arts Award such that it was seriously jeopardising his prospects of completing the award and the programme itself. MB asked to be allowed to follow SH in an attempt to talk him round and bring him back. A month prior to this MB had himself left a session half way through and not returned. After some discussion amongst the delivery team he was encouraged to go. Sure enough ten minutes later he returned with a much less agitated SH who completed the session. SH then went on to deliver rapping workshops to a group of children and young people at a local youth session & consequently did complete his Silver Award. MB demonstrated a great level of maturity & showed pride in ‘saving’ his fellow comrade & receiving the praise from the team; this was a real turning point for both MB & SH. It also reiterated to the team the need for showing trust in order to allow the young people to develop. LD was another young person whose music leadership epitomised her development. She joined the programme with clear issues of serious self-harm and low self-esteem. A key period in her personal challenge was her leadership project; working 121 on a series of drumming lessons with a young man who had special education needs. Her confidence grew as each session progressed and her calmness, musical knowledge and emotional intelligence really shone through. She has since gone on to apply for and be accepted onto a work experience programme at a school in Ethiopia next year, which both her mum, her granddad & LD herself commented was unlikely to ever have happened prior to joining the Sound & Vision project. On a more musical note, DK came to us with a desire to become a rapper but with little or no experience. Whilst he clearly enjoyed the social aspect of the Bronze award it is fair to say he did not excel or show drive to develop this much beyond the minimum to appease his mentor. After a very candid discussion with the project manager and his mentor, DK committed to the Silver phase with promises & assurances of significant improvement. To the whole team’s delight and to his credit, he went on to write prolifically and pushed himself in his performance of his lyrics. He rounded off the programme by performing on the main stage of two local music festivals over the summer.

Outcome 5 - Improving community Integration and Supporting Young People in Transitional and New Emerging Communities (NECs)

The first year of the programme saw significantly more learners from the NECs join the programme than in year 2 (6 to 2). Two of the young people who did not complete the programme in year 1 asked for a place in year 2 but we felt obliged to offer those places to others who had not had the opportunity.

In year 1 we found that the format of the programme did not work well with the learners from NECs (length of commitment, having a core curriculum) and we only retained 2 learners for more than 10 weeks. However, the knock-on effects were that we had built a relationship with the relevant NEC, and this carried on outside the formal parameters of the programme and into our wider community work. Several of those who did not persist with the programme went on to volunteer with our open youth sessions.

Casual ‘in the street’ communication increased between those learners who participated in the programme and the extended friendship circles of some of these learners were seen to interact through other activities during open youth sessions. Sound and vision had essentially acted as a social suture.

There were no behaviour management issues that related to cultural or racial issues during the second year of the programme, though we only had one learner from the NEC on the programme for any length of time. We did receive enquiries from two friends of this learner attending the evening sessions but we did not feel these were genuine and would have created a repetition of the previous year’s issues where less committed members of the group would derail or undermine the progress of those with more focus. The young man in question actually agreed with this viewpoint and supported our decision to turn down their application to join the group.

One of the creative products from the evening group in year 2 was a group track in which each young person contributed an element to the final piece. They decided to cover ‘Ready or Not’ by The Fugees. The young man from the Czech Republic voiced one of Wyclef Jean’s verses in his native Czech and the other in English, giving the track a really unique twist. His confidence as a performer and a lyricist has really grown and he now volunteers with us in the studio when we open it up during our open youth sessions.

One of our other evening group learners (DK) commented that working with RR (who is of a Czech Republic / Roma origin) had led to a better understanding of his culture and community (see Appendix 1).

Despite the celebration events being a success with parents, carers, siblings and support workers coming together to acknowledge the creativity and endeavour of the young people on the Sound & Vision programme, not a single family member of young people from a NEC attended. It is our belief that this was because we were not able to contact the parents / family directly and had to rely on the young people to convey the invitation. All our communication with NEC families was by necessity through the young people because of the language barrier. In many families the children and young people are the first generation to speak English.

To finish on a positive note, we have already received enquiries from 2 young people from NECs about our next music mentoring project and although we will not strive to include such large numbers of participants from a NEC this next time round, we know that we have learnt how to include & support young people from this group without it resulting in an unhealthy & unproductive group dynamic (as with year 1).

Please describe any problems or challenges in the period covered by this report, and what steps you have taken to address them (500 words)

Challenges indicated on original Risk Analysis Form (headings not included in word count) 1) Learner Recruitment & Retention We completed the project with

29 potential learners interviewed

25 starters

19 successful learners (target was 20). Ideally we would have had double the referrals so as to ensure we had young people on a reserve list to cover any drop off. As previously discussed the Advisory Group identified the need to redefine our referral process & promote the project amongst the wider creative networks of Nottingham. Consequently SEND continues to work closely with partners to re-examine the referral process to include a broader creative ecology and widen referral links through multi-agency conferences. New emerging community (NEC) recruitment / retention As discussed in Q1 (O5), although we recruited ample learners from the NEC in year 1, productivity and commitment was poor & sporadic. Despite receiving 4-5 requests for places this year, previous learning ensured we were more selective & we therefore only provided two places to NEC applicants this year. See Q1 (O5) for more details on the above mentioned learners. Although referral & retention figures for this target group (this year) were not as high as we’d hoped, we prioritised better group dynamics & individual productivity & commitment over volume of learners from one of our target groups. 2) Continuous Engagement of Partners Overall the engagement of major partners has been good. Some core partners contributed to the project throughout the two years & there were also transitions (dependant on referrals at any given time). This is a realistically positive outcome for continuous engagement of partners over the full two years. 4) External Finances Apart from a short funding gap last year (universal youth session), we were able to maintain our regular major income sources. Some smaller, more irregular sources

(bespoke projects from new organisations) did drop off over year 2. We believe this was partially due to the high workload the management team had during this period; leaving us less time to seek out these project opportunities. Budget cuts also left some organisations unable to bring in external provision. To clarify, our income remained steady and the above fluctuating factors didn’t detrimentally affect our overall turnover. Additional challenge Unpredictability in learner’s external issues & the consequential impact on themselves & the wider group Our learners chaotic lives meant they often arrived presenting various issues / needs (e.g. hungry / stoned / without sleep / family conflict / gang issues) which all directly affected the group chemistry. The changing nature of these challenges meant the groups could be difficult to manage. Self-led learning was difficult to sustain which led to a need for a consistently high staff-learner ratio and a flexible delivery model. Through effectively responding to & solving these challenges our team improved their strategies & skills. Solutions ranged from using incentive schemes, breakout spaces, creative differentiation of activities, providing food & delivering in different environments. We believe this developed the learner’s abilities to respond more appropriately in a variety of situations.

Please describe how your project engaged with local services and the community (500 words)

Complementing other local projects and initiatives SEND regularly work in collaboration with local projects (e.g. CRS - Community Recording Studio, YMCA Digital & Nottingham Music Hub). Collaborating on various local initiatives (e.g. Area 6 Targeted Support & Musical Inclusion) ensures SEND regularly exchange project information, avoid duplication and share examples of best practice. YMCA team members have also been specialist deliverers on several SEND projects, including this one. This helped both organisations share and learn from each other and strengthen links and opportunities for young people and music leaders across the city. Our wider networks continue to ensure we are positioned to compliment other local projects. Any local links that you have developed to help you deliver your project As mentioned above, a key local link developed is the closer partnership with the YMCA digital team. These collaborations have directly supported the delivery of this project. Our closer links with the Nottingham Music Hub (as mentioned above in connection with CPD) have increased the knowledge, skills & practical resources of our team. The relationship with independent researcher Dr Jim Shorthose has led directly to us exploring how to build and consolidate wider links with the professional creative industries. Any challenges or successes and what you would do differently next time Our referral system is being redefined as discussed. To recruit the most appropriate learners we will adopt a creative approach, giving increased opportunity for the team to get a flavour of each prospective learner’s real interest / passion for music making. We believe 30 minutes practical exploration of their declared interest will be a telling indicator of passion and likely commitment. The changes (year 1 to 2) to the structure of evening session were discussed at length in 1st milestone report. In brief, we:

Identified the need for a flexible core curriculum and adopted a more tailored approach to individual needs.

Created a block by block progression to reduce commitment anxiety

As mentioned in Q1 (O4), in order to increase confidence and accuracy, holistic monitoring data would be collected more frequently. How parents/carers/usual adults got involved in any of the project activities Parents / carers were not involved in any activities themselves. The project manager ensured that they understood the required effort and commitment and supported their child. Parents also attended the end of year Celebration Event to see the work and achievements of their children. Our independent researcher conducted open-ended interviews with the parents concerning the impact of the programme (see appendix 1). How the local community got involved with the project Two referrals were self-referrals from the local community. 5 had local connections & were referred through local services. Staff at the community centre (where studio is based) were hugely supportive & regularly provided us extra rooms which enabled us to expand our delivery options. There were frequent good natured interactions between our elderly day care neighbours and learners. Silver learners also provided multiple workshops to local young people who attended the community centre universal evening sessions. The diversity of the young people they worked with made them think about their communication & responses to others. As a result some of our learners have gone onto volunteer & become regular young leaders who support SEND & other local youth sessions. One of our learners performed at two local festivals.

What legacy has your project created? (500 words) How music making activities with children and young people will or might continue This project has enabled us to refine & develop our model of music making which will continue through our new youth music project (October 2014). The exercises developed in Sound & Vision have already been used successfully in our open drop-in sessions. How the CPD opportunities for your project staff will support further music-making in your area SEND deliver a variety of projects in a wide range of settings. The CPD will be carried forward into all that we do; particularly the concepts of ‘building the group’ and ‘working with what they like’. Training has consolidated our reflective practice and self-reflexive delivery approach and this ultimately means we continue to have a strong responsive approach to the needs of the young people in the area. We have grown collectively and are confident in our ability to support young people in developing their ideas. How your project supported and directed participants on to further music-making activities Independent research of the current learners showed a positive attitude to continuing musical work and development. With support from the SEND mentors & referral partners & parents many of our learners are progressing on to further music-making activities be they formal and academic or through new found friendships and increased access to music-making resources. See appendix 2 for full progression data. How music resources, instruments and equipment purchased for your project will be used to continue music-making Software tools, activity plans, Djembe, keyboard, studio monitors, APC 20 midi controller all get used on a variety of sessions, including the weekly drop in session which provides access to (on average) 60 – 70 local young people per week. How you have identified, developed and shared elements of good practice (good ideas or models of practice that may be beneficial for other music projects) Regular Team planning meetings have enabled our whole team to work more effectively & productively together to: overcome any timescale issues, find ways to make the learners goals and tasks more manageable, work together to problem solve behavioural issues, ensure the sessions were productive & above all meet the needs of each individual learner. This type of working platform enabled us to be more creative and find new and interesting delivery methods that helped team members play to their strengths. All

agreed that whilst we made many improvements in year 2, the introduction of the planning meetings made it possible for us to achieve our goals. Advisory Group has enabled SEND to identify issues around traditional referrals systems and work together to re-develop the stagnant traditional processes, allowing for a system that enables SEND (and the wider network of creative projects and organisations) to increase statutory and private sectors awareness and reach a wider audiences. Responsiveness is critical to our successful working. Recruiting and nurturing a variety of personalities who have the capacity to respond to change has proved essential. We have achieved this through supportive management, robust CPD and good communication with similar organisations. How your organisation developed networks and partnerships to support music-making in your area As part of its commitment to the development of wider youth practice, SEND is a key voice in local and citywide VCS forums. We continue to be advocates for the creative engagement of young people. SEND have begun to get more actively involved in developing citywide networks. An example is the local Pecha Kucha creative networking event & promoting this to the wider 3rd Sector Children & Young People’s provider’s networks across Nottingham.

Please provide a list of links to audio, video and other resources you may have

created in the period covered by this report (no word limit)

Youth Music is particularly keen to see links to work that present supporting evidence of your progress so far.

Learners Tracks

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-L2n4_40_joH58-R145xXA On this you tube channel you will find all of our learners main tracks. Whilst some weren’t completely happy with the final pieces (as they ran out of time) this gives a snap shot of what learners from both of our groups have produced over the course of the last 9 months. There is a mix between audio tracks & tracks with accompanying music videos. As there are quite a few we would like to draw your attention to the following:

DK Ordinary Freestyle & his live performance

Suffy Sra - Nottingham

Burkey - Productions Matrix

Scotty - Insight of an Outsider https://soundcloud.com/send-project Glogster: Silver Portfolio’s MB Portfolio http://daburkey.edu.glogster.com/silver-arts-award-title-page/ http://daburkey.edu.glogster.com/arts-challenge-planning/ http://daburkey.edu.glogster.com/arts-challenge-interim-review-b/ http://daburkey.edu.glogster.com/arts-challenge-review-b/ http://daburkey.edu.glogster.com/arts-pathways-cd/ SH Portfolio http://suffysra.edu.glogster.com/suffy-silver-arts-award/ http://suffysra.edu.glogster.com/arts-challenge-review/ http://suffysra.edu.glogster.com/arts-pathways/ AS Portfolio http://scotty3.edu.glogster.com/arts-challenge-review/ FL Portfolio http://www.glogster.com/fay212/silver-arts-award-title-page-by-fay212/g-6jrp7772fh7737ddp816ib7 DK Portfolio http://www.glogster.com/declank98/declan-kennedy-silver-arts-award-title-page/g-6jrp2tqh39mtsatm37bv346

Tips for getting the most out of viewing these pages

Click on the full screen box on the top right hand corner of each page

For MB, SH & AS click on the paper clip in the top right hand corner to see their accompanying documents

For FL & DK click next glog to view each page in portfolio

Hover over pictures to enlarge them (All)

For FL & DK hover over scanned in worksheets to enlarge them

Click the video’s & audio track play buttons to listen to their tracks

Appendix 1: Detailed Individual Monitoring, Feedback and Contextual Narratives

Learner 1 – RR

SEND Delivery Team Reflections on RR

RR was with us for a much shorter time & although he completed the Bronze award, he did some of this as part of the evening group & some of this through 1:1 support with his mentor. It's fair to say that although RR did not struggle being part of the evening group, he would have preferred to have

someone who he could vibe off with regards his musical culture & would have liked to have someone from his friendship

group present.

Having got a pretty full group & knowing that a lot of his mates were not interested in really progressing in their musical

skills (or in achieving the arts award) we felt that it was better (both for RR & the rest of the evening group) that we

enable him to complete some of his musical goals through 1:1 support & via another (large open drop in) SEND session

where he could collaborate with his friends, which he did.

RR technically completed his Bronze award & exited the course in February. However, he has become one of the key

young leaders on the wider SEND youth session & often gives the studio engineer additional support in the studio. He

also accesses the musical opportunities on offer & improves his musical skills on a weekly basis. Most significantly, he

has turned his leadership skills into a positive & tries to encourage his peers to steer away from anti-social behaviour &

make music instead.

It's fair to say that this project was very much the beginning vessel that enabled the SEND team to build a trusting relationship with RR which has supported him in working on his communication skills; including improving his English language skills (he has now had the confidence to go to college to do an ESOL course), as well as significantly improve his attitude & behaviour both in the studio & in the community. He now has a strong affiliation & respect for the project & the team & feels that he is part of something important that he feels proud of. From being someone who used his Alpha status within his cultural community in a negative way he is now a key positive leader in the community & tries to encourage many of his peer group to improve their attitude & their own aspirations.

RR left the Sound and Vision programme before an open-ended interview with the independent researcher could take place.

Learner 2 – KS

KS started out really well on the project.

He began slightly earlier than the others, which gave him time to build a really good relationship with the

team, in particular his lyrics mentor.

When the rest of the group joined there was a slight adjustment period for KS, but quickly built positive

relationships with the other members of the group & was really getting involved in the group projects &

increasing in confidence in getting in the vocal booth etc.

Unfortunately KS went through a really difficult time & his behaviour, attitude & attendance all really dipped

off post March.

This coincided with him starting to take ADHD medication, which he himself reported to be making him feel

out of sorts.

Despite the efforts of his mentor & the rest of the team KS failed to attend some key sessions which resulted

in him not being able to achieve complete his musical goals or achieve his Silver Arts award. He had already

achieved his Bronze some time ago so this it was a shame for him that this difficult time coincided with a

crucial point on this project.

By the time of the moderation day he really regretted this following a good chat with his mentor & the

project manager it has been agreed that he will return in September & get some 1:1 support from his SEND

mentor to enable him to complete his Silver award & get some additional support.

SEND Delivery Team Reflections on KS

Independent Open-ended Interview with KS

During his 1-1 mentoring session KS (somewhat grudgingly) expressed satisfaction in the progress he had made on developing his tracks, and with his collaborative work with SH.

He had enjoyed the film-making work he had just completed and in 'being out and about', but perhaps would have picked other places than the ones on offer.

KS felt that the best things about being on the programme was 'just being able to do my music', whilst the worst was playing instruments, which 'is just not my thing'. He felt he would like to learn more about the digital editing and production software instead, and in using the sound booth to perfect his lyrics.

He was keen to learn more about using cameras and related software to develop the visual aspects of his work, but enjoyed writing lyrics with his tutor (Micky) the most.

He expressed some improvement in his confidence levels when it came to performing, and implied that greater self-esteem was in part behind this. His break dancing was the main vehicle for this greater confidence in performing. He expressed some feelings of 'being in a good place' at the time of the interview.

“Yes, I've have seen a change in (KS's) behaviour since he has been coming here. And he seems to be doing more of his own stuff when he is not here as well, which is good” (KS's Father)

Learner 3 - SH

Independent Open-ended Interview with SH

SH felt when he first joined the Sound and Vision programme that it was 'going to be boring', and had a 'community centre' feel about it. He was not expecting much because he felt that he had 'been sent here'. Now however, he was happy to say that it was 'really good', and that he had benefited from being part of it.

At the time of the interview, SH expressed confidence in terms of his self-directed learning, and was looking forward to the challenge of his Silver Award

He felt that he could achieve new, bigger goals given his recent success (of winning an award), both in terms of the scale and scope of his musical production, and in terms of professional development which might lead him to a career in the music industry

In terms of issues of self-esteem, SH clearly expressed the feeling that he had recently proved something to himself and others, had a new self-esteem, and was very receptive to ideas about his future development

SH expressed his aspirations to 'get out there' and become a regular, paid artist

Open-ended Interview with SH's Mother During an open-ended Interview with SH's mother, she expressed the following opinions,

She did not have any criticisms of the programme and its provisions She felt it had been very beneficial for SH, and had seen an improvement in SH's behaviour and

confidence. She also felt this had helped her too

SEND Delivery Team Reflections on SH

SH showed great Initial passion & talent really showed at the start.

The Bronze stage of his project went incredibly well & his musical development & confidence soared as he came

out of his shell.

At the end of this phase his advances had been noticed by his external support workers (Nottingham Priority

Families & SENCO) who nominated him for an award, which he won at the Priority Family’s conference in February.

This was a really significant marker of how far he'd come in such a short space of time & clearly SH felt proud of this

achievement, especially as the professionals at the conference were asking where & how they could buy his track.

Unfortunately as time went on the team got to see some of SH's more negative behaviours ; nothing ever serious,

he did have the potential to be a bit of a ring leader of mischief but mainly he would lose focus & motivation,

especially when being asked to engage in tasks that were not picked by him (planning & reviewing).

However, with persistence all round SH still contributed & produced some fantastic pieces of work, improved his

basic & functional skills as well as achieved both his Bronze & Silver arts award.

Whilst the team had higher hopes for SH just being on the project & wanting to complete his goals (deep down)

ensured he didn't go completely off the rails at a time when this was clearly possible & could have been the easier

route for him, given the home & social environments he is exposed too.

Going from someone who had not attended any kind of positive activities or education for 3 years he completed his

awards & is now going to college in September.

Learner 4 - MB

MB was one of the more difficult members of the group in terms of attitude & behaviour.

His communication & social skills were very poor & he did not cope well with being asked to play his part on the

project & being committed to attending, this especially dipped once his Youth offending order finished at the end

of December.

However, despite not having to attend he clearly cared about not losing his place & just about kept his attendance

consistent enough to stay on the project. There was bit of a turning point for MB after he'd received a written

warning & he then realised how much it meant to him to complete his projects, goals & see the project through to

the end.

This saw a rocky but steady increase in MB's commitment, attitude, communication skills & behaviour, although

this graph does not reflect this, which we believe is down to the points at which the information was gathered (i.e.

MB might have had a difficult session, which was not uncommon).

Whilst the (holistic) progress was slow the team feel that MB was perhaps the person from the day group that (in

the end) had travelled the furthest as he was a much politer, humble & warmer character with more aspirations

by the time he completed the project.

Independent Open-ended Interview with MB

MB felt that the best thing about the programme was being able to learning new digital programmes given the access it afforded to the IT equipment.

He also expressed that he valued meeting new people and felt he had made new friends.

His expectations of the programme before he came to it were not high, but he now feels much more positive about the programme and what he has gained from participating in it.

When encouraged to give constructive criticisms, he had no big issues. He expressed that he felt the tutors were 'cool', but did feel that better IT equipment and space to work in would make things better.

MB was looking towards his next steps, which he hope would take him onto further college courses and/or training at Confetti. He expressed a great deal of interest in the idea of bringing professional creatives (music and/or other related sub-sectors) into the programme to offer insights into working in the profession.

“I think it is obvious that he has really enjoyed it here. I don't really have any criticisms of it all” “It’s because of this course that he’s gone to an interview at Confetti *creative media college+. I think he’s a lot better prepared than a year ago.” (MB's Mother).

SEND Delivery Team Reflections on MB

Learner 5 – LR

LR left the Sound and Vision programme before an open-ended interview could be carried out.

SEND Delivery Team Reflections on LR

LR joined the day & evening group sessions at the end of March when he found out about the opportunity to come

& get some time in the studio as well as get a qualification.

As a slightly older young person (18) who had been known to the SEND team for a little while we could see the

leadership potential in LR & therefore made this a focus of his action plan, along with helping him develop his

passion for music.

LR got off to a flying start & whilst there was some work needed in terms of developing his social & functional

skills, really he had come a long way since some of the team first met him 10 years ago.

Despite this progress he had not found a suitable education or employment pathway & certainly hadn't realised his

potential. This was a perfect opportunity to support LR whilst his aspirations were higher than they ever had been

& the music course was a vessel to do that.

LR excelled in his musical development & showed great care for his goals to begin with. He also embraced the

responsibility of being a role model to the younger learners in the day group, helping to encourage a more mature

approach to some aspects of their lives. He also got a lot of additional support with employability skills as he really

needed & wanted to find some part-time work to support himself. With lots of support in this area LR successfully

gained a Business Admin apprenticeship with Nottingham City Council in June.

This obviously impacted on his ability to attend the rest of the course as the apprenticeship was full time. His

scores evidence a dip as his communication became poor when his commitment to the programme had to drop off.

However, in reality LR not only started work but also still just managed to complete his Silver arts award, which was

important to him.

This was a great success & achievement for LR & his mentor who worked particularly hard & remained very patient

& understanding throughout.

Learner 6 - DK

Independent Open-ended Interview with DK

DK felt that the project workshops helped him very much in providing high quality workshops in music training and that the tutors worked to a high standard. He intends to do more workshops with SEND given his experiences of the project so far.

He felt more able to take what he had learned from the project into other situations, and work independently, although he had no firm plans at the time of the interview

He welcomed his experiences of collaborative working, both with the tutors, and with the other learners within the group as a valuable part of his learning and practice.

In particular, he cited working with RR (of Czech origin) as leading to a better understanding of his culture and community.

He reported that the space to play, which the project had provided, as well as the right balance between a structured course experience and a flexible approach had enhanced his abilities. As such, he agreed that the project had provided a meaningful experience that was relevant to his needs.

DK appeared to have few problems with confidence and self-esteem (at least within the project environs), and he agreed that the tutors had provided emotional support as well as a high quality music learning experience.

Whilst being pushed for constructive criticisms and ideas about what the programme could do better, DK had no such criticisms and continued to suggest that the programme was in all ways a very meaningful and beneficial experience for him.

SEND Delivery Team Reflections DK

DK was our most enigmatic learner.

Joining our evening group right at the start of the project he clearly relished in the social side of the project, which

was great for him as by all accounts this is not the case in other areas of his life.

However, he really struggled to get on board with any of his musical goals & despite his mentor & a number of

other team members really supporting him with this he failed to complete much work & was really unproductive in

the sessions. This led to an honest discussion with him at the end of the Bronze about whether he should continue

onto the Silver stage of the project, making it clear the increased level of ownership DK would have to take to

continue into this phase.

He begged to stay on the project (literally) & stated he would buck his ideas up & get writing some lyrics & thinking

hard about realistic Silver goals that he would share with the team when he returned after the Christmas break on

the agreement that if the team were happy he would continue & keep his place on the course.

To everyone's surprise but also delight, He did come back having writing some fantastic & thoughtful lyrics as well

as had a rough idea of his Silver arts challenge. We therefore agreed to give DK a place on the Silver phase of the

project.

From this point on he (mostly) excelled. He still had unproductive sessions at times but his attitude towards his

work & the project really shifted. He came to help out on other sessions down at the studio & even went on to

perform at two local festivals, his confidence soared & he had the biggest turn around the team has ever seen.

DK now volunteers for SEND and helps out in the studio during our open youth sessions.

Learner 7 - AS

Independent Open-ended Interview with AS

AS came to the SEND project (evening group) voluntarily because she wanted the space and time away from home to focus upon her music without any distractions. She felt this gave her a more focussed approach and 'permission' to take it more seriously.

AS expressed that she valued the S and V programme because it gave her the freedom and flexibility to explore her own agenda, to try out new ideas whilst still getting hep from the tutors.

Her personal goals included the next step of going to college, although she is not especially satisfied with the choice on offer from formal FE provision. She expressed the feeling that the programme had helped her to consider choices about the future, and start to plan things (such as going to Confetti in 2 years after doing some A levels at NCN).

She agreed that learning to share space and time with others during the programme, given the common ground she had with others had led her to being less hostile and develop a more tolerant attitude. She felt this had come, in part, from the trust she felt she had built with the SEND tutors, which had led her to develop these new personal and social skills.

She felt that the most important musical thing she had learned was lyric writing, whilst the most important social skill learned was better interactions with others and learning not to 'dislike people so much'. She felt the relaxed, less hierarchical atmosphere within the SEND team had helped her in this, (her dislike of clumsy hierarchies at school had been a problem for her).

Her musical goals were to become more comfortable about performing and to general improve the standards of her music. She felt to be able to 'put herself out there' she would need to develop more self-confidence still, but that she was making progress on that front.

SEND Delivery Team Reflections AS

AS is an extremely talented & mature young lady who from that start demonstrated significant emotional issues, in

particular extremely low self-esteem & sense of self-worth as well as serious self-harm.

AS clearly needed to additional support & it was clear that her reasons for coming to the project were mainly

influenced because of this holistic support, this did pose an issue when it was almost impossible to encourage her

to develop her incredible musical talent & her lack of confidence was a real barrier to recording her bars / vocals,

which were incredible.

Both her female mentor & male lyrics mentor worked incredibly hard to support AS in her progression & as they

turned up the pressure a little it did result in her struggling with the commitment, especially as she was struggling

with the pressure of her GCSE's. The team did their best to judge it right & to ensure that she did get the help she

needed to achieve her goals but also recognised when she just needed a safe space to come & talk.

This made for an erratic journey & although she just about managed her Bronze & Silver arts award it was the

persistence & support of the team that enabled her to scrape through. It's fair to say that musically she did not

achieve her goals or reach her potential; clearly she was not in the right place to do that. A mitigating factor to this

feeling of an opportunity lost must be the consideration of her extreme lack of self-confidence. She had never

dared share her lyrics with anyone, let alone speak or perform them publicly. To then progress to recording those

to music must be seen as a very large step in the right direction.

AS has forged lasting relationships with the team & we are looking at finding ways for her to still attend 1:1

mentoring sessions at the studio so that she can continue to get both the creative & holistic support.

Learner 8 - FL

Independent Open-ended Interview with FL

The joint interview with FL (and LD) clearly showed that they had built up a great rapport whilst on the programme, having met due to their coming to the programme (evening voluntary group).

They both expressed the view that learning the experiment with new instruments so as to develop their existing passion was the best musical thing about the programme. So very much welcomed being able to try out new things whilst being supported by staff tutors.

They expressed a great deal of satisfaction with the staff, their existing skills and knowledge, and also the fact that if they did not know how to show them something 'they would go away and learn it so they could show us'.

They felt there was a good balance between a structured programme on the one hand, and flexibility to explore and experiment on the other. They also welcomed the opportunities to meet new people and collaborate which being on the programme had brought.

They both felt that the 'real worldness' of the programme encouraged their enthusiasm and helped increase their motivation.

They felt that the ILP was an opportunity for positive goal setting rather than a chore, and generally felt positive about the space which the programme offered outside and beyond the more restricted spaces to learn within school.

Their future plans involved continuing to work together to form a band, to develop their work to start to perform outside the programme space, and develop the range of professional skills over and above musical skills per se to start to get their work out there.

Criticisms of the programme were mostly about the resources and access to them. They felt more time in sound proofed spaces and more live music equipment would have been beneficial. They would have also welcomed more time and access to mixing equipment.

SEND Delivery Team Reflections on FL

FL was a very quiet young lady who was very low on self-confidence but had a real passion & talent for music.

She joined the group in February & having got some musical skill & demonstrating she could work at the Silver

level & was really keen & so was supported in joining the project at this stage.

FL was fine to start with & created a fantastic plan with her mentor as well as flourishing with her musical skills

when working 1:1 (singing & playing the keyboard).

FL's behaviour dipped a little when another young female around the same age joined the group. The team felt

that much of their silliness came from not only their age but also through the joy of finding another like-minded

girl that she got on with who also had a passion for music.

Whilst the team had to re-enforce a positive & productive creative environment their friendship & musical

partnership was encouraged & we talked to their parents about supporting them in meeting up for 'band practice'

outside of the sessions as this was clearly really therapeutic & fun for the girls, who really deserved a nice friend &

some happiness.

FL may have had a few unproductive sessions, with a bit of silliness but her social skills & confidence soared & so

holistically she clearly greatly benefitted, not to mention the growth of her musical skills & talent, & achieving the

Silver award to a really high standard.

Through the celebration event we were able to bring both girls families together & both are very supportive of

finding ways to enable them to continue to pursue the development of their band.

Open-ended Interview with FL's Mother During an open-ended interview with FL's mother, she expressed the following opinions, “It is obvious she has really enjoyed it” (FL's Mother) Because FL used to do music-making all the time when she was younger, so FL's mother felt it was great to find the SEND project which could help her develop and sustain this passion again. It has help FL to revive and consolidate this passion and keep it going She felt that FL had enjoyed the fact that the programme had challenged her, but in a way that is different from the more pressurized school exam situation

Learner 9 - LD

Independent Open-ended Interview with LD

The joint interview with LD (and FL) clearly showed that they had built up a great rapport whilst

on the programme, having met due to their coming to the programme (evening voluntary group).

They both expressed the view that learning through experimenting with new instruments so as to develop their existing passion was the best musical thing about the programme. They very much welcomed being able to try out new things whilst being supported by staff tutors.

They expressed a great deal of satisfaction with the staff, their existing skills and knowledge, and also the fact that if they did not know how to show them something 'they would go away and learn it so they could show us'.

They felt there was a good balance between a structured programme on the one hand, and flexibility to explore and experiment on the other. They also welcomed the opportunities to meet new people and collaborate, which being on the programme had brought.

They both felt that the 'real worldness' of the programme encouraged their enthusiasm and helped increase their motivation.

They felt that the ILP was an opportunity for positive goal setting rather than a chore, and generally felt positive about the space which the programme offered outside and beyond the more restricted spaces to learn within school.

Their future plans involved continuing to work together to form a band, to develop their work to start to perform outside the programme space, and develop the range of professional skills over and above musical skills per se to start to get their work out there.

Criticisms of the programme were mostly about the resources and access to them. They felt more time in sound proofed spaces and more live music equipment would have been beneficial. They would have also welcomed more time and access to mixing equipment.

SEND Delivery Team Reflections on LD

LD joined the project in March after finding out about the opportunity at one of SEND's half-term activity

sessions. LD quickly demonstrated her musical talent & passion & given her emotional state she fit the criteria &

so was given a space on the evening Silver phase.

LD quickly made good friends with the other young female on the project & whilst they both excelled in their

musical ability & improved their social skills, in particular their confidence & sense of self-worth, their friendship

also amounted to a little too much silliness & a bit of time wasting, which left them with little to show in terms of

end musical product.

However, when reflecting on what LD needed in terms of her holistic development, as the graph shows she clearly

excelled & overcame a lot of personal barriers.

LD achieved her Silver award goals with little trouble, although we clearly noted some underlying literacy

difficulties, which have now been fed back (with LD's permission) to her mum who will be talking to the school

about getting some extra support as of September.

LD & her fellow 'band' partner have made a fantastic musical connection & have solidified a lovely friendship that

they were both lacking. This in turn has given them the confidence to pursue a musical dream by forming a band

together, a journey which they have both just begun.

LD has confirmed that she would love to return to support our new Youth Music funded music mentoring

programme (starting October 2014) as a young music leader.

Open-ended Interview with LD's Mother

During and open-ended interview with LD's mother and grandfather, the following points were expressed.

“I don't think (LD) could have found a better place” (LD's mother)

LD's mother had found it hard to find something which could support LD's interest in developing her passion for music, so she was very welcoming of SENDs provision when she found it

She was very complimentary of the high quality of the provision, in particular the tutors, the supervision and the content of what LD had learnt

LD's mother had felt participation had improved LD's abilities in expressing herself

She expressed a lot of support for the idea of developing more capacity for training in professional development and/or industry-readiness

Appendix 2: Post Project Progression

Learner Arts Award Level achieved

Progression Route Additional Notes

KS Bronze Silver to be completed between September & December 2014

Back on school hybrid timetable; accessing new alternative provision opportunities – Construction / mechanics Will also return to SEND in September to get 1:1 mentoring to support in completing & achieving Silver award.

KS has gone from not attending anything to re-engaging with internal school based alternative provision which he will start in September 2014.

SH Bronze & Silver Engineering at New Basford Hall – Full-time FE course

After three years of not accessing any education or positive activities with support all round (SEND, Futures, Priority Families) SH raised his aspirations & enrolled in a college course that will start in September. He did want to carry on & do music but Confetti did not accept him this time around. SEND have therefore offered him open access to the studio to support him in continuing his music–making until such time that he does get into Confetti.

MB Bronze & Silver level 1 Introduction to the Creative Industries at Confetti Institute of Creative Technologies.

MB was reluctant to believe that he could access college or have any serious aspirations to continue doing anything in particular. Towards the very end of the project he realised that he did not want to leave without having something positive to spend his time on. He is therefore continuing to work with his Sound & Vision mentor to identify & apply for an appropriate progression opportunity. He has started to look at FE opportunities within Gaming & Media. Update 09.9.14: MB has applied & been accepted on a level 1 Introduction to the Creative Industries at Confetti Institute of Creative Technologies.

LR Silver Full – time apprenticeship with Nottingham City Council – Business Admin in the Adult Social Care team.

LR worked closely with his Sound & Vision mentor to identify, apply & access this opportunity. He was successful in gaining the position on June 2014 but worked around his new role to complete his Sound & Vision project with SEND & therefore still managed to achieve his Silver Arts Award LR has also become a young leader with the SEND team & helps out in the music studio on a weekly basis. Now that LR has completed the programme he has started the process to enrol as a fully-fledged SEND volunteer.

AS Bronze & Silver Visual Arts at NCN AS is keen to continue meeting with her SEND mentor as all parties recognise the importance that the holistic support has for her. Whether this is weekly or fortnightly will be reviewed once she has settled into her new FE course.

DK Bronze & Silver Digital media at NCN DK has also become a young leader who helps out on a fortnightly basis supporting other local children & young people in accessing the music studio. DK is also keen to be one of the key young leaders that support any future cohorts of arts award learners at SEND.

FL Silver Mainstream school timetable FL has gone on to continue forming & developing the band that she started with her fellow Sound & Vision learner. Both of whom are keen to return to SEND to be young leaders & continue accessing music – making opportunities available at the studio.

LD Silver As above As above LD has also applied & successfully gained a placement on a volunteer trip to Ethiopia which she will participate in in Sep 2015. Both LD & her family (Mum & Granddad) made comment that she would not have had the confidence to even apply for this prior to getting involved in the Sound & Vision project; specifically she reference the arts leadership aspect of her course that really helped her recognise her leadership qualities. LD will be supporting the SEND team on our new Music Mentoring programme (starting October 2014) as a young music leader.

RR Bronze ESOL Course (level 2) at Central College RR has also become a key young leader who gets involved in supporting other local children & young people in accessing wider SEND provision (Thursday evenings). RR is rapidly growing into a key positive figure & role model within the local Czech Roma community & now tries to help his peers steer away from negative ASB activities.

Appendix 3: Attendance data Young people not completing the programme

Student Code Age /gender

# of weeks on programme Reason for exiting programme

D: WM15 14 (M) 3 Inappropriate referral - serious behavioural issues & low interest in music

E: KIS18 13 (F) 11 Sectioned into mental health care

D: KJ19 16 (M) 9 Did not return – staff at semi-supported accommodation withdrew support after he failed to stick to his support agreement. His lifestyle became too chaotic and he failed to return to the programme.

D: TD23 14 (M) 13 Removed from area by social care

Young people completing the programme

Student Code Age / gender # of weeks on programme

attendance % lateness %

D: KS07 15 (M) 35 91% 24%

E: AS16 15 (F) 35 97% 48%

E: DK17 15 (M) 35 92% 9%

E: RR14 16 (M) 17 71% 20%

D: SH21 15 (M) 32 94% 8%

D: MB22 16(M) 32 82% 21%

E: FL24 13 (F) 19 100% 0%

D: LR25 18 (M) 16 96% 4%

E: LD26 14 (F) 16 100% 0%

Sound & Vision Learner Scale Monitoring

General Behaviour & Holistic Progress

Name: Mentor: Date:

Thinking & Behaviour 1 Poor

2 3 Average or N/A

4 5 Excellent

Can accept discipline without arguing or sulking

Can accept changes to plans or disappointments with an even temper

Shows some self-discipline when others try to encourage deviation

Will abide by accepted ground rules in group work

Controls emotions appropriately when faced with difficulties (e.g. get verbally or physically aggressive, run away or hide etc)

Score / 25

Perception of self/others

Shows empathy for peers/others

Can accept responsibility for his/her actions without denial

States feelings about self (e.g. angry, sad, happy etc)

Accepts praise

Shows pride in achievements

Can make positive statements about him/herself

Confident to try new things/challenge him/her self

Score / 35

Communication

Can listen without interrupting/talking over others

Able to ‘say’ what he/she ‘heard’

Gets involved in topics of conversation

Comfortable asking questions

Reacts to non-verbal communication

Score /25

Connection to Community Able to give ideas/suggestions to help reach a shared goal

Shows consideration of others and surroundings

Confident to make friends/meet new people

Score /15

Social Skills

Can cope in a group situation

Can take turns

Can work as part of a team

Interacts and plays positively with peers

Can listen to instructions & attempt to act upon them

Score /25

Any areas of serious concern:

Keys areas for improvement:

Appendix 4: Scale monitoring form