Sound Connections has officially launched its Training and Professional Development programme for 2024-25, aimed at empowering those working with children and young people! Offering a range of opportunities including funding, mentorship, training, and shadowing placements, the programme is designed to support professionals and organisations in enhancing their practice, no matter your level of experience.

With four unique initiatives— Activate, Innovate, an Emerging Music Leader Scheme, and a Mentoring Programme— Sound Connections is dedicated to fostering creativity, professional growth, and youth engagement in the music and arts sector.

Activate is Sound Connections’ investment programme for Music Hubs across England to develop or deliver action-focussed work, with their young people. We are keen to support and invest in Hubs that already have a demonstrable commitment to, and practice of, youth voice and participation.

The scheme offers:
£1,750 towards your project (we have 4 x grants available)
Termly mentoring sessions with a Sound Connections team member specialising in youth voice and participation
2 x free places on youth voice training and network sessions in the 24-25 academic year
A supported process throughout the lifespan of the investment cycle
Deadline for applications – Monday 15 July, 9am.

Innovate
Are you a creative innovator or trail-blazing organisation working with children and young people? Do you have a spark of an idea and need funding and support in realising your ambition? Then Innovate is for you!

The scheme offers:
Grants of up to £2,000 are available to individuals and organisations with an annual turnover of less than £100k for projects and ideas that will:
Test a new idea or innovative way of working for you or your organisation.
Provide a new or innovative activity for young people aged 0-25 who would not normally have access to such activity.
Enable practitioners to reflect on the process that you, your organisation and the children/young people have experienced, and offer models of best practice which can be shared across the music sector and beyond.
Projects can take place across England. Projects that will take place in Levelling Up for Culture Places or Priority Places as defined by Arts Council England are strongly encouraged.

The Innovate funding can support projects that take place between September 2024 – March 2025. Deadline for applications – Monday 15 July, 9am.

Emerging Music Leader Scheme (Early Childhood Music)
If you want to work in the fascinating and thought-provoking world of music-making with children aged 0-5 then this opportunity is for you. Music with young children is enormously diverse and varied – we work with different musical styles and genres; different instruments, soundmakers, voices, bodies; sing, play, listen, move, improvise and compose; play with sand, play-doh, ipads, books, climbing frames and much, much more!

The scheme offers:
Three training sessions
Paid shadowing placement in an Early Years setting
1 to 1 coaching sessions
The programme takes place in London and online, from September 2024 – June 2025.
Deadline for applications: Monday 15 July 2024, 9am.

Mentoring Programme

Mentoring provides an opportunity to explore your professional needs and interests, and reflect on your practice in a safe and inclusive space with support from a mentor who will be experienced in your area of interest.

This programme is open to anyone who wishes to develop and deepen their work with children and young people. It is particularly relevant to musicians, music leaders, workshop leaders, teachers, creative practitioners, producers or managers who work with children and young people through music and the arts. This programme is open to anyone across England.

The scheme offers:
Each mentee will be matched with a mentor with relevant knowledge and experience to help them learn, explore and reflect on their practice and career goals.
Each mentee will receive up to three hours of mentoring from their mentor, online or in person, between September 2024 – March 2025.
Deadline for applications – Ongoing / Rolling opportunity.

For more information visit www.sound-connections.org.uk/news/sound-connections-training-and-professional-development-programme-2024-25-has-launched/