Earlier this year Marianne Scahill-Pape, Learning and Outreach Manager, and Hannah Pillai, Programme Coordinator, were commissioned by Youth Music to consult with IYAP families through creative gallery sessions. Their contribution has been featured throughout Youth Music’s new research; ‘Excluded by Design? Mapping inequalities in the arts for Disabled children and young people’.
Youth Music is a national charity that believes every young person should have the chance to change their life through music. Their insights, influence and investments in grassroot organisations and to young people themselves means that more 0–25-year-olds can make, learn and earn in music. This new piece of research that our Learning Team contributed to is an important benchmark for the current state of play, and highlights what needs to happen to equalise creative outcomes for Disabled young people. You can access the research on the Youth Music website, which is also available as large print and audio versions.
Our Learning Team aided in this research through consulting with IYAP families in various settings. The ‘Inclusive Youth Arts Programme’ provides much needed opportunities for children and young people with complex needs and disabilities to be creative outside of school, promoting their wellbeing and enjoyment of being with others. Children on our programme experience a range of disabilities that without additional support, make it difficult for them to participate in the arts: including but not limited to PMLD (Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulties), Autism, ADHD (Attention Deficiency Hyperactive Disorder), Auditory, speech and visual impairments, Down’s Syndrome and Global Developmental Delay.
Youth Music has also announced their new fund, ‘Shift the Scene’, which is a one-off fund to improve creative opportunities for Disabled young people, pushing for genuine inclusion, ambition and accessibility. Grants will be made to organisations for work that is sustained over a 3 to 4 year period. To learn more and apply, visit the Youth Music website.