Youth Music UK is supportive of the Scottish Arts Council’s National Youth Music Strategy.  The strategy aims to develop the opportunity for every young person in Scotland to:

• Experience music-making
  
  
• Have their musical preference respected and supported
  
  
• Have access to high quality musical resources, both physical and human
  
  
• Continue to develop their music making to whatever level they aspire

Youth Music UK supports the ambitions of the strategy in its entirety and feels that it has a strong role to play in realising the ambitions of what it sets out.  In particular Youth Music UK sees its role as helping to deliver the following parts of the strategy:

• Make certain that initial music making experiences are available to all young people from the earliest age, regardless of their location, cultural background and whatever their needs and circumstances
  
  
• Broaden the range of musical styles and learning contexts available as initial music making experiences

As a partner in the What’s Going On? audit Youth Music UK is committed to acting on its findings. 

Through advising on the development of funding schemes Youth Music UK will:

• Support the development of funding schemes that seeks to act on the findings of What’s Going On?
  

• Work with the full range of providers to find imaginative ways to sustain entitlement beyond initial music making experiences
  
  
• Ensure that young people and parents have readily available advice and guidance to support further progression

Via its current programme in Scotland, Youth Music UK will help towards building an evidence base in order to secure opportunities in the long term. The series of projects supported in its initial programme will be carefully documented to present a variety of models of working with young people, and can be used as a resource to promote existing practice, encourage new activity and generally raise the profile of the role music making has in children and young people’s lives. 

Youth Music UK's Scotland Development Officer, will provide support, guidance and information for music organisations working with young people. This support will help to build the ‘voice’ for the non-formal sector whilst encouraging partnerships between formal and non-formal sector providers. 

Youth Music UK's www.soundstation.org.uk website offers support, advice and information to parents, children and young people.

Operating in an advisory capacity on the development of funding schemes Youth Music UK will:

• Support the development of monitoring and evaluation systems that will provide an evidence base in order to secure opportunities in the long term
  
  
• Support and track the emergence of new organisations delivering music making opportunities for children and young people
  

• Build a coherent framework that brings together formal, non-formal and private sector practioners and organisers
  
  
• Build the capacity of the music education sector to meet increased demand through expanding the practioner base
  
  
• Support all adults working with young musicians through continuing development programmes

Building on its work in the rest of the UK, in 2004 – 2005 Youth Music UK has begun to develop a network of the existing practioners and organisations involved in delivering music making activities for children and young people.  This network will lay the foundations for the roll out of Youth Music UK’s Learning and Skills Network for Music Leaders UK wide, a much welcomed initiative developed by Rachel Gardiner.  The network will help to share resources and practices of music leaders across Scotland and will closely partner existing resources such as the Traditional Scottish Music Training Network.

The Scotland Development Officer will enable Youth Music UK to:

• Begin to build a network of all music practioners working within Scotland
  
  
• Support and track the emergence of new practioners

• Create a culture in which access and excellence complement each other
  
  
• Encourage young people’s creativity through the promotion of composition and improvisation as well as performance
  
  
• Advocate the social, educational and cultural benefits of participation alongside young people’s artistic development
  
  
• Encourage more young people to become involved in the organisation and advocacy of their own music making
  
  
• Establish mechanisms that will ensure the identification and spread of best practice
  

As core objectives for Youth Music UK, the organisation is committed to promoting access and excellence as complementary priorities across the UK. 

Youth Music UK sees itself as an advocate for the power of music.  It has already collected evidence of the social, educational and cultural benefits of music on individuals and communities as part of its evaluation of programmes across the UK and will seek to advocate for youth music as part of its work in Scotland. 

The Scotland  Development Officer will set up of a network of practioners enabling Youth Music UK to provide a conduit for the spreading of best practice across Scotland and rest of the UK.  These functions will help towards building an evidence base in order to secure opportunities and resources in the long term.

The Scotland Development Officer will:

• Begin to build a network of practioners working within Scotland
  
  
• Spread best practice models and achievements across Scotland