The core of our work is about improving health using music. We were asked to return to the children’s ward to support young people and their families who are in difficult and challenging situations.
As a parent who has had to deal with having a couple of children in hospital over the years I have an understanding of how distressing it can be.
Music can help with reducing anxiety when operations and procedures are on the horizon.
Music making can play a key part in building friendships and can help cure the boredom of being stuck in hospital.
Music can in some cases aid in pain reduction by up to 40%, although a degree of knowledge and experience is needed to be successful.
The video above is of staff members experiencing a taste of what the kids had done, it is so fulfilling to see smiles on faces.
Thanks to Jill Edwards for inviting us back and we are looking forward to seeing you again on the 6th of December.
Back at Adwick Primary today and a proud moment for us as Volunteer Matt finally got his chance to shine.
Loads of creative conversation about swimming with pigs and visiting far off lands as we discussed what the future might hold.
We have learnt a lot about each other and also focused on the importance of discipline and communication, we are all looking forward to getting stuck in with the technical equipment next week.
Thanks again to Miss Jenkins for leaving us a fantastic review on our Facebook page and for posing for the pic above.
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.
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.
Awesome to be asked to return to support Active Fusion on their Easter camps across Doncaster. We delivered to over 350 young people and it was personally rewarding to hear some, who I had worked with last summer relaying information which they had retained from our previous session.
We gave the young people with previous experience a chance to pass on their knowledge, which empowers them and supports confidence building, it was also good to see the Active Fusion staff rewarding this supportive behaviour.
We worked on communication, discipline and explored music from India and South America. 100% engagement. Well done to all who took Part, special thanks to the staff and volunteers who got hands on to make this project successful.
Great enthusiasm and expression at Atlas Academy in the heart of Doncaster this week with use of Microphones and Samplers. The students embraced the opportunity to use the technology. Although we bring with us state of the art equipment, we always encourage freedom of expression and in recent weeks we have introduced a shopping trolley, a tape measure and improvised drum kits into our music making.
Thanks to Neil the caretaker for his help, looking forward to seeing you all again next week.
For the last 10 years we have been supporting young people with our mobile provision and in that time we have often worked with young people who have become disengaged with education and training. We use our very particular set of skills to ensure they come away with a positive view of themselves through achieving bite-size challenges.
“I didn’t like 90 Minute Music – I Loved it”
L. G. WEST ROAD PRIMARY
“I can not recommend Simon and 90 minute music highly enough. He gets results and makes a difference! And always with fun and laughter.”
Clare Galliers – Tutors & Exams
90 Minute Music Hold the UK Youth Quality Mark for working with young people
90 Minute Music are members of EXPECT Youth
90 Minute Music are fully trained in Recognising Specific Learning Difficulties
Exploring what we have around us and visualising what may come in the future, recognising family, pets and pastimes as inspiration and support.
We put pen to paper to creatively explore rhythms and the building blocks of Music. The group responded well to more use of the technology this week.
Sometimes my role in 90minutemusic stems from the youth work which started the journey 9 years ago. Back then some of the kids just needed another adult around as a role model, and sometimes to remind them what is good in their lives. I think we did a little of this tonight.
Thanks again to Liz for the venue, the Parents for travelling from outlying villages, and of course the young people themselves, fantastically creative!!!
We recently attended a celebration of Doncaster Businesses. We were lucky enough to meet David Shaul, Jordan Goldsworthy and Robert Campbell from That Agency Co. They are a Creative Media company based in the Frenchgate Centre.
Great to talk to guest speaker Rik Courtney from Be More Social, who have given us business support through the CWB, along with many other wonderfully passionate and creative people. Credit to Doncaster Chamber for organising.
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