At Awards for Young Musicians (AYM) we support talented young people from low-income families, helping them to overcome financial and social barriers they face with progression. We know that due to family circumstances, culture or background, some children don’t show obvious potential due to lack of prior musical experience and opportunity.

To help redress this inequity, we’ve been developing our Identifying Musical Talent and Potential programme (ITP) for over 10 years in partnership with Lead Facilitator Hugh Nankivell. It’s closely aligned to the National Plan for Music Education’s vision to enable “all children and young people to learn to sing, play an instrument and create music together, and have the opportunity to progress their musical interests and talents, including professionally”. Through this and an inclusive classroom approach, along with our 8 Facets of Musical Potential framework, the ITP programme gives teachers and music educators a different lens through which to spot the potential that might otherwise go unnoticed.  

ITP training was relaunched in 2022 and offered free via Music Hubs with support from Arts Council England’s Hub Investment Fund.  Since then, sessions have been delivered across England – online or in-person – as part of Hub INSET days, at conferences or as twilight training sessions. They’ve been attended by peripatetic teachers, whole-class teachers, ensemble leaders, primary class teachers and secondary music specialists, music students and trainee music leaders. 

Now funded as part of AYM’s Arts Council National Portfolio Organisation funding, we’ve recently trained our 1000th teacher in this new phase. Now in 2024 we’re looking forward to working with an even greater number of teachers and music leaders who work with young people across England. This training is relevant to educators in all settings – schools, MATs (multi-academy trusts), Music Hubs and other organisations working with young people and training music leaders and teachers. 

This work can’t be delivered without the generous donations from our supporters. Your donation can make all the difference to a young person’s life by giving teachers the training to spot musical talent and nurture it. 
 
To find out more about AYM’s Identifying Musical Talent and Potential programme, or to book your free session, please visit the ITP Page.