New funding model, the Youth Music Programme, to launch in November 2011

Posted: 17 August 2011

Youth Music’s new funding model will now be launched in November 2011 following the publication of the National Plan for Music Education. The Youth Music Programme will be focused on developing high quality music provision for children and young people.

Aligning the launch of the new programme with the implementation of the National Plan for Music Education will give organisations the opportunity to consider the full range of funding options being made available and plan accordingly.

The launch date was decided following discussions with the Department for Education, Arts Council England, and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

The new Youth Music Programme will consist of three elements:

• A modular structure:

Youth Music's funding will be structured around modules rather than programmes. Each module will focus on an issue or group of children and young people that, through research and evaluation, we have identified are in need of support. Applicants will be eligible to apply for funding for multiple modules.

This new system will allow organisations to apply for financial support for areas of work which are priorities for their communities of children and young people. It will also allow applicants to seek funding that is relevant to their organisational strengths, priorities and partnerships.

The modular structure will offer more flexibility and responsiveness to developments within the music education sector including delivery of the National Plan for Music Education.

• An outcomes approach:

As part of Youth Music’s continued commitment to raising the quality of music provision for children and young people, the outcomes approach will be central to the new Youth Music Programme.

Focusing on changes, benefits and learning, it ensures that planning, implementation and evaluation is concentrated on the difference and impact that is being achieved.

To support this aspect of the Youth Music Programme, we will be providing online resources and training events for organisations that wish to apply for funding.

• Youth Music online:

Youth Music will be providing online support for music education providers to share practice, collaborate and network. Users will be able to add information about their work, join in discussion and find out about funding from a range of sources.

As well as sharing evidence and learning we have collected, we will be encouraging comments and feedback on the Youth Music Programme. We will use the issues raised to support the development of our work to ensure we are an increasingly effective, efficient and supportive funder.

Launch events

To support the launch of the Youth Music Programme, we will be hosting events across England to provide potential applicants with advice and guidance. This will include more information about the new structure, details of the specific modules available and demonstration of the online resources. The events will be free to attend.

The launch events will take place in four locations across England during November 2011. We will announce further details, including dates and booking information, in September 2011. The new funding process will also open in November 2011, with application forms and guidelines being made available online.

The new Youth Music Programme is a simplified, efficient approach to grant giving, focusing our funding where it is most needed and responding to local need. It draws together and replaces all previous individual funding programmes including Open Programmes, Youth Music Action Zones (YMAZ) and MusicLeader. The National Youth Music Organisations fund will remain, as it is supported by a different funding stream.

The current YMAZ and MusicLeader host organisations will be able to apply for funding for similar and related work under the new modular grant structure. These organisations will also receive transition funding, enabling them to complete current programmes of work up to the end of August 2012.

As well as being aligned to the National Plan for Music Education, the new Youth Music Programme has also been developed to support Arts Council England’s goals and priorities for the development of arts opportunities for children and young people (Achieving Great Art for Everyone, November 2010). It also ensures that the work we support can be responsive to local, regional and national need, including working alongside Arts Council England’s new Bridge organisations to ensure greater co-ordination of arts and cultural opportunities for children and young people.

The launch of the new funding model follows 12 months of evaluation and planning, when the need to review Youth Music's grant making process was first identified. Whilst our grant-making process is updated, our vision, mission and goal areas remain unchanged. Continuing our commitment to partnership working, we also want to ensure we work even more effectively with others, highlighting the strengths and capabilities of all concerned and enable effective joined up approaches and collaborations.

At the heart of the new Youth Music Programme is the need to give children and young people, especially those in challenging circumstances, access to high quality music provision. At a time of austerity, we must ensure that we can still reach those who will otherwise miss out.

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