Awesome to welcome the birth of a new group in Highfields this evening. At this time of year its important to offer safe activities for young people, so thanks again to the Well Doncaster team at DMBC for their continued support.
We are proud to welcome our latest volunteer, Emily from Doncaster University Health and Social care. Providing opportunities for young people to develop through leadership is an important part of our ethos.
It’s not always easy to make the connection between health and music. The health benefits of social development around music can be life changing. We add the value of being experienced industry professionals with a strong awareness of current healthcare practices, which we are proud to pass on to the next generation.
We have also been back at Bentley Myplace where we have been finding out about young people’s aspirations and sharing our thoughts on how using music technology equipment could support essential skills for their future.
We will be back on Wednesday Highfields from 4.45pm and Bentley from 7pm
We have been supporting the young people of North Doncaster over the last few weeks.
We began our journey supporting young people nearly 10 years ago at Myplace, which sparked the idea of 90minutemusic. It has been an arduous journey from initial personal adversity, through curiosity about the watermark of potential for marginalised groups, to extensive research and expertise gained which was honoured in 2021 with the proud presentation of the UK Youth quality mark.
We will be offering FREE sessions on Wednesday evenings from 7pm, and a special workshop from 12pm on Friday the 28th of October at Bentley Myplace.
Back at the New York Stadium. Great effort from the morning group with respect and confidence building throughout. It gives us massive confidence in our working practice when we return and see the development in action.
Thanks to Jonathan Allen and the staff at New York Stadium for providing a safe environment for young people to develop and learn new skills.
Recent results on the pitch outline the dedication of the sporting staff, the same ambition is mirrored in the way that the trust engage with the community.
A privilege for us to be asked to return and play our part, looking forward to seeing you again soon.
Another milestone for us as we surpassed our previous weekly delivery record with attendance of over 250 young people.
Our philosophy is to make music as accessible as possible from the first moment, then show a pathway to progression into the more challenging elements of Music Production and DJing.
We saw many new faces who were introduced to the start of their 90minutemusic journey, while those returning, went on to take part in playing music from around the world to support the commonwealth games.
An overall highlight, was having a group that I had not worked with for a year remind me of what they remembered from the previous session together and went on to produce their own quality track, experimenting with FX and mixing.
Over the course of the Summer camp we had visits from Pro photographer Gavin Joynt, Lindsy James from Active Fusion and MP Nick Fletcher, who all got hands on and joined in on the sessions.
As usual thanks to the staff from Active Fusion and all the caretakers and school staff who allowed us to work alongside them as they prepare for the new school year ahead.
I’ve loved it today and I would really like to do this again. E. B. age 8
Over 150 session attendances over the past week. Great to be teaming up with Active Fusion again.
Creating partnerships is vital for the work we do in the community and it is a special feeling to be able to support our local area.
One of the children today stated that he didn’t like music before the session began, but went on to contribute well with the group and engaged well with technology.
We have encountered this a few times over the years and showing young people that they can do things that they don’t feel confident about is important to us.
We are not going to pass on 24 years of experience in a short period of time, but we can show them that there is a place for them in the world of music.
Returning to join up with Active Fusion has given us the opportunity to build on the foundations of our previous work on communication and respect. We moved on to exploring music from around the world to coincide with the commonwealth games. The young people benefitted from being allowed to experiment with instruments from far and wide which in many cases they are experiencing for the first time. We believe in giving opportunity by removing barriers of cost and geographic location.
We will be back supporting Active Fusion again soon, big thanks to the staff as always for making me feel part of the team and thanks to the young people for their effort and enthusiasm.
Hey!! Where are you going? Or who do you think you are?
You have probably been asked these questions, but maybe not in a compassionate way. In the context of our work with young people we don’t ask these questions directly but the answers to them are vital to support positive mental health and development.
Our widespread culture of digital connections centre on watching others go in a “direction” while being exposed to a myriad of “identities”
We offer a unique way of reinforcing who we are by focusing on our positive habits while challenging our negative ones. Being able to accept our mistakes is also a courageous step towards good mental health.
We passionately advocate young people finding their way and following the things that they want to do, while offering advice as to how it can become reality.
Not all young people know exactly what they want to do when they become older, but having conversations and tying ambitions with current interests has a value in itself.
People say to me “I can’t do that.” …. My reply is usually a challenge, “how do you know?” or I may agree “you can’t do that today, but this is the path to be able to do it tomorrow”
In 90 Minute Music we don’t give you anything you don’t already have, we just remind you where it is.
We hold the UK Youth quality mark for working with young people and will be at :
Myplace Bentley from 6.00pm on Wednesdays and Bullcroft Memorial Hall from 4.00pm on Thursdays.
Another busy week with focus on collaboration and inclusion.
After a chance meeting with Sam Siddall MBE, who was awarded her honour for community work, we were Invited to Edlington and were given a warm welcome by Lynn and the team.
We enjoyed an energetic jamming session with a wide age range as mum’s enthusiastically supported their children. It is a always a pleasure to work with children who have additional needs, especially in mixed groups as it adds value to all who attend on a social development level. Great to see lots of smiles and we look forward to seeing you all again.
Myplace Bentley was a little different this week as we decided to write a song based on the positive messages which are artistically written all over the youth hub walls. This presented a couple of challenges which were overcome with some creative collaboration. As always the timing of introducing challenges is crucial to build confidence and develop essential skills. Once again it was the girls who took the lead and proved that music technology is not a male only environment.
Carcroft this week was all about communication and Jamming. We had an increase in numbers due to a bit of canvassing outside the local school. We also welcomed attendees from across town who whole heartedly contributed.
Thanks again to Well Doncaster and Director of Public Health, Rupert Suckling who we met with this week. We look forward to sharing some more detail of our recent success stories.
Bentley Myplace from 6.00pm Wednesdays
Carcroft Bullcroft Memorial Hall from 4.00pm Thursdays.
Recently we have completed a 6 week programme in Askern.
The dynamic of families engaging together has been so valuable. We have been supported by Well Doncaster to provide our sessions free for the participants.
It was rewarding to experience parents getting involved in jamming, songwriting and DJing. At first some were a little bit reluctant to get involved, but after some gentle encouragement they began to flow with ideas and we explored what we liked about the local area, later discussing what we would like to see to develop it.
Although our sessions are about fun, we are able to provide them for free through support from Well Doncaster. They have recognised our focus on health and development through our partnerships with Active Fusion and EXPECT Youth.
Personally it was good to further engage with the homeschooling community. After working with young people for the past 9 years we have come to understand being a teacher and a mum or dad must be a challenge.
Over the course of the 6 weeks we had a couple of real success stories. One of which was one of the mums who had started a new job, received training and was pumping ideas out about growing fruit in the community to support wellbeing.
Thanks to all who attended and Thanks to Isiasha who is passionate about rebuilding the community and is prepared to stand up for local residents.
If you are interested in boosting prospects, promoting wellbeing, and learning skills, We are welcoming young people to our groups at Bentley Myplace on Wednesday from 6.00pm and Carcroft Bullcroft Memorial Hall on Thursdays from 4.00pm
Working alongside Young People in Central Doncaster
Introduction
After Speaking with Fran Lightfoot of Astrea Academies, we became aware of a need to help young people in the most disadvantaged area of Doncaster, which is as it stands is the 2nd most disadvantaged area in the country. The School is host to 24 different nationalities and is very culturally diverse.
We worked with a group of 5 Young people age 8 years in the form of an after-school club. They were chosen specifically as they were identified as in need of additional support.
We joined them for six weeks for what they affectionately called “Music Club”
Foundation
On day one It was obvious that there were Children with ADHD or ADD or possibly mild ASD. There was a huge difficulty in focusing and little respect for the feelings of others, they all seemed to jostle and fight when they wanted something, rather than speaking and listening. The young people engaged well, but it was clear that they needed not only our support, but an awareness of the support they were able to offer each other.
Addressing challenges
One of the challenges when presented with a group containing individuals with a hyper focus is getting them to understand that the others in the group can add value to them.
We adopt an incredibly simple method of achieving this through simple counting beats and using our “speak to me session”
We used Acoustic instruments and actively explored the building blocks of music, including Tempo, Dynamics and Melody.
The teachers came in during the second session and took photographs and commented that good progress was being made.
What we did
After 6 weeks of working together, we played together as a band, used Synthesizers and Samplers. We explored world music from India, South America and Africa, taking the opportunity to play genuine instruments from those areas.
We created music from things we had found (Including a shopping trolley and a Tape measure) We used our voices creatively and sang. We used microphones, created DJ mash-ups, and free-styled versions of songs that the children knew. We also composed beats and simple melodies which we recorded.
Data Collection
Collecting data for these young people had to be empirical and qualitative in its nature. I conducted short video interviews which although weren’t in depth, they showed some of the character of the children. We found it useful to collect valuable feedback from the class teachers (below)
What the teachers said about 90 Minute Music.
Over the course of the music sessions, Simon has been fantastic. He has been understanding of the different needs and cultural issues that our school faces. He has also had brilliant communication with not only me but with the children and created a strong bond with them. Each child that has attended has progressed in themselves. (We have added in italic our own 90 Minute Music notes regarding each child)
What the teachers said about the Young Peoples development
GM –
He is a shy young boy who wants attention from all adults he comes into contact with. Over the music sessions he has become more resilient and understanding of other people’s thoughts and feelings. GM has also shown a love for music and asks every day ‘When is music club?’- GM has started to communicate with other people that he wouldn’t normally, and is using vocabulary that he has heard from adult interaction. GMs mum has also expressed how happy she is that GM has found a love and talent for something.
GM was initially shy, but quickly engaged and was very stimulated by the music equipment. He had a clear picture in his mind of how the music should sound and managed to convey it well. He had a strong will for doing things his way and his way only, which we had to work on. He was always happy to join us and after a couple of incidents of pushing and pulling, he showed increasing respect for other members of the group.
BG-
Before BG started music club he had difficulty with concentration and staying in his seat. Since music club has started, he has become more focused in class and will sit down for a longer period of time. This is a big improvement for him. BG has had an improved attitude and behaviour towards learning and school.
(BG) Has really made the most tangible progress, he has a passionate interest in using synthesizers to sculpt sounds and shows great communication skills and empathy. He has taken on a Zen like calmness and shows a lot more patience with others in the group
AR-
AR has poor attendance in school. Since the music club, AR has increased his attendance and has become excited to come to school for music club. AR also struggles with anger. Since the club, he has become calm and able to communicate how he is feeling and when he needs time to calm down.
(AR) Initially Seemed very competitive and reflected a negative attitude towards the only girl in the group. After dealing with a couple of small incidents he became more relaxed and apologised to the others. He showed a more compassionate side in the later sessions and was an enthusiastic member of the group.
DD-
DD has low self-esteem and confidence. The club and Simon have been able to build on this and have welcomed her with open arms. DD is now smiling a lot more and is willing to talk to a mixture of different people that she comes into contact with. This has also impacted her communication.
(DD) was timid and quiet at the beginning, she gave the impression that she needed an environment which was less chaotic and competitive than the one in which we started, we were able to offer that, she thrived, became more talkative and was always smiling.
TS-
TS has struggled with communication and interaction with other peers. Since going to the club he has started to communicate with peers in his class and some from other classes. He has also started to use stronger vocabulary when interacting with adults. We have seen an increase in his participation in conversations and class activities.
(TS) began quite introverted and felt uncomfortable engaging in the hustle and bustle of the first session. He went on to create his own space within the group and favoured the log-drum which is a type of marimba. Using the instruments allowed him to find a voice.
Quotes:
‘I love using the drums and making loud noises’ AR
‘The equipment is brilliant. I want to do more music with Simon.’ BG
‘Making new sounds is great. I like using all the buttons and microphone.’ GM
Impact
The impact after 6 weekly sessions has been truly life changing for these young people. They communicate better, are more resilient, they have a real love of music, and they flourished in an environment where they didn’t have to fight back or bunker down, giving them healthier routes to conflict resolution.
Although it wasn’t a typical teaching environment, for these children it was a catalyst for learning and development. The children were able to retain a lot of the things we did in previous weeks and were always repeating the one rule of 90 Minute Music “We don’t waste our time”
All the children wanted to do more 90 Minute Music and we have discussed with teachers the possibility of doing this as they would like to roll it out across the School.
Thanks to our funders.
The impact of this investment goes far beyond positively changing the lives of the young people. It transcends to a more positive family life and has led to integrating and celebration of cultural differences creating stronger more resilient communities.
As a company the funding has offered us an opportunity to be sustainable after coming through the Covid-19 Pandemic. Over the past year we have built capacity supporting over 1700 young people.
Thanks again to Isla Foundation and Well Doncaster.
Thanks to the Staff at Astrea Atlas Primary for inviting us into their School and for making us feel welcome.
90minutemusic.co.uk 