We are delighted to share with you our Impact Report 2016-2017, charting our outputs and outcomes over the last season of our work - from the National Orchestra for All (NOFA) Summer Course in Leeds in July 2016 through to the National Modulo Meets in London in July 2017.
In 2016 we published our very first impact report – The First Five Years – a summary of the work and the outcomes we have delivered since founding the organisation back in 2011. From here on, we will be publishing an Impact Report on an annual basis sharing the key findings from our research into the impact of our work on young musicians, music leaders and the wider sector.
There continues to be a wealth of high quality music-making opportunities across the UK, both at local and national level – and we welcome news that the government has continued to fund the work of Music Education Hubs at their current level until 2020. However, current provision remains patchy and does not reach all young musicians. Those with complex lives are often the first to miss out. Recent national studies and surveys have also highlighted:
13% reduction in local authority spending on arts services in England and Wales since 2015-2016
81% of schools have been affected by funding cuts leading to teacher redundancies, narrowed curriculum, reduced support for SEN/D students and reduced provision of extra-curricular activities
60% of music teachers believe the introduction of the EBacc to be negatively affecting update of music in school
26% of secondary school music teacher training places left unfilled in 2015-2016
Against this backdrop of reduced support in school for music and fewer music teachers joining the profession, it is increasingly important that we continue to work with partners across the country to reach young people who would otherwise miss out on the life-changing experience of making music together.
To that end, over the course of the 2016-2017 season we have:
delivered four residential courses and weekend workshops for 95 young musicians aged 11-18 as part of the National Orchestra for All (NOFA), the UK’s only non-auditioned free of charge national youth orchestra, including young people with the broadest range of challenges to date (including young carers and those with no fixed abode) and players from Northern Ireland for the first time
worked with over 250 young musicians from 30 schools and community groups from the South East, Midlands, North West and, for the first time, Yorkshire as part of the Modulo Programme, supporting music leaders to set up and run instrumental ensembles, bringing them together for regional and national meet up days
trained eight trainee teachers in key ensemble leadership and conducting skills through our Conductors for Change (CFC) programme, as well as securing a substantial two-year grant from the Paul Hamlyn Foundation to develop face-to-face and online training to reach more teachers from 2017
This is an exciting time for Orchestras for All and marks the start of our new three-year strategy to broaden our programmes, strengthen our organisation and increase our influence in the sector. Through a range of new artistic partnerships with professional orchestras and youth music organisations, and supported by our research partner Project Oracle, we will continue to ensure that more young musicians have access to high quality consistent music-making opportunities. We would love to discuss this report with you further – and we look forward to publishing our 2017-2018 report in September 2018 to update you on our progress.
Marianna Hay, Chief Executive and Artistic Director
Visit our Impact page to download the full Impact Report 2016-2017.
