What is Exchanging Notes?

Exchanging Notes will establish effective models of partnership-working between schools and specialist music education providers in order to:

• Enable young people at risk of low attainment, disengagement or educational exclusion to achieve the best musical, educational and wider outcomes
• Promote a collective understanding of high quality music education, stimulating fresh thinking in music and education practice.

In 2011 the National Foundation for Youth Music commissioned the Institute of Education to research the experiences of learners in music education settings outside school, and in particular how this related to experiences of in-school music (read the Communities of Music Education report). The practice observed within the study was characterised by a teaching style that had at its heart an equal focus on personal and social outcomes as well as musical outcomes, bringing about extended benefits for young people which could support their educational engagement and attainment.

In addition, the findings of the research indicated that partnership-working between schools and other specialist music organisations was a positive and valuable process with practitioners recognising strengths in different methods of delivery, learning from one another, and giving young people a wider variety of ways of working with music to capitalise on their interests and passions.

Through Exchanging Notes, we are seeking to fund 10 projects across England comprising partnerships between schools and specialist music education providers. These partnerships will be funded to develop their music and education practice and activities to support young people at risk of low attainment, disengagement or exclusion from mainstream education to achieve the best musical, educational and wider outcomes.

Up to £30,000 per year (for up to four years) is available to projects that can demonstrate ambition and innovation in their approach.

The work delivered through Exchanging Notes will be subject to an independent longitudinal evaluation, coordinated and funded by Youth Music.

Read more about the Exchanging Notes module.

Who can apply?

Each project must be a partnership between a school (or partnership of schools) and an external music organisation/provider. The lead applicant can be a school or another organisation.

How do I apply?

Applications should be made through Youth Music’s online application form. To access the form and ensure that you are eligible for funding, you should first complete our online eligibility checklist.

The deadline for completed applications is 5pm on Monday 10 February 2014.

Please note that this module falls outside of the normal Youth Music’s grants programme (specifically, it has a different application form and application deadline), due to the timescales involved in setting up the work in time to begin in September 2014.

For more information and application forms click here.

Dv8 Sussex offers Level 1,2 & 3 courses in Music Production at both our Brighton and Bexhill campus’s.