In 2023, Arts Council announced a national retender for Hub leads and included a reduction to 43 Hub areas nationally and, from 1st September 2024, the Leeds LA area will fall into a wider Music Hub covering all of West Yorkshire and encompassing Bradford, Wakefield, Calderdale and Kirklees.

A rigorous application process opened in summer 2023 for interested parties to apply to be the new hubs leads, of which ArtForms along with Bradford Music and Arts Service, Calderdale Music Trust, Musica Kirklees and Wakefield Music Services worked relentlessly to propose a strong West Yorkshire Hub model to secure ongoing funding and to further increase opportunities in each area that both addressed the needs of each locality, as well as achieving the aims and ambition of the new National Plan for Music Education.

Following a national announcement from Arts Council England in May, we are excited to announce that the strategic consortium group of ArtForms, Bradford Music & Arts Service (representing the group as named Lead Organisation), Calderdale Music Trust, Musica Kirklees and Wakefield Music Services have secured ongoing £3.5million of annual funding into the region and a further £1.2m for refreshing Music Instrument resource.  You can read the Arts Council release here Arts Council England announces new Music Hub Lead Organisations | Arts Council England.

We look forward to being able to not only continue our exciting range of opportunities for Leeds but also to developing it further for West Yorkshire by:

• appointing a range of Lead Schools to share good practice (information to be released in 2024-25)
• increased progression routes for children
• collaborative activities with a range of local, regional and national partner organisations
• increased support and opportunities for Musical Inclusion
• secure more funding streams to support high quality music experiences for children
• and so much more!

From September, look for information from both ArtForms AND the West Yorkshire Music Hub!

You can find out about all cashback and bursary offers for schools in Leeds here.

From September 2024 the West Yorkshire Music Hub replaces LMEP.

Although this funding goes some way to supporting extra music provision, we recognise that for some schools budgets are still very tight and more funding is needed to help deliver quality musical experiences. With this in mind, we have conducted a funding review to direct schools to find external funding streams. This is now on our website Funding Review (artformsleeds.co.uk)

We hope you find this information useful and feel encouraged to apply for further resources to enhance you music opportunities in school.

Please check the links to each website for further details of eligibility and how to apply, checking for any changes that may be made after publication of this report. West Yorkshire Music Hub cannot accept responsibility for any errors or changes made to the funds further to publication of this report.

Sarah Truscott – Assistant Head, ArtForms (WYMH)

Around a year ago it was announced that 5 current nearby hub areas (Leeds, Bradford, Wakefield, Kirklees and Calderdale) would be combining to form one large West Yorkshire Music Hub. Organisations were invited to tender to be the new Hub leads and the 5 current area hub leads worked together to submit a joint bid in the Autumn. Currently, we are still waiting to hear whether that bid has been successful and we expect to find out in April according to the government’s timeframe.

What this means for us in practice is that until we receive word that we have been successful in our bid, we are unable to be 100% sure about our LMEP offer for schools for next year. Usually by now, we would have released our LMEP offer for 24/25. We hope and expect that it will stay the same, retaining current levels of cashback subsidies but until we receive that final confirmation, we are unable to publish it in the usual timeframe.

For now, we ask that schools go ahead and book music provision on Leeds for Learning as usual for next year based on current levels of cashback and bursaries. We will then issue a quote as usual for the work based on next academic year’s prices. In the highly unlikely event that there is a change in the cashback levels for next year following the announcement in April, we would then contact all schools and they would have the option to adjust their booking as necessary. Thank you to all for your understanding in this matter, we will keep you updated as and when we hear any new information.

Lee Muncaster, Senior Curriculum Leader, ArtForms

A case study about providing opportunities for children to play music together

At 3pm on a wet Tuesday afternoon, 20 KS2 children gathered excitedly with their instruments – violin, viola, cello, recorder, fife, clarinet, glockenspiel and untuned percussion – to play together for the first time, all whilst being filmed and in front of their parents. The pressure was on but, as children do, they rose to the occasion magnificently, playing confidently, enthusiastically and musically. On the day I had the pleasure of working with some Year 5 children who have only been playing clarinet for a few weeks, learning with the rest of their class as part of the whole class instrumental programme. They asked if they could play in the orchestra every week, they enjoyed it so much!

The idea for this orchestra project was sparked following an Arts club that Leeds Music Education Partnership funded through its Innovative Activity Programme. Although all genres were explored in the club, the children expressed a real desire to learn to play musical instruments together and so the next challenge was how to fund this. Jane Hurst, Music Leader from Middleton Primary heard about Music for All through a Primary Music Leaders Network meeting and, following a successful application, was granted funding to pay for instruments and specialist tuition. This is enabling the school to provide whole class and small group teaching and funding the ensemble leader for the year.

Music for All are delighted to be able to offer financial awards as well as donations of instruments for a variety of groups providing music education or music-making opportunities in certain categories. Their current round of funding is open and applications should be made by 8am on Monday 18th December. Find out more.

Paula Brookes, Head of Service, ArtForms Music

While it’s certainly good to learn and improve, art and music are also about having fun and expressing yourself, and having an outlet for your feelings. An evidence review from the Arts Council in the role of arts and culture in health and wellbeing found that “Arts engagement can diminish anxiety, depression and stress, and increase self-esteem, confidence and purpose.” Meanwhile, a study from the British Association of Sound Therapists found that you don’t need to play an instrument to get the benefits of music – listening to music for less than 15 minutes per day could help you feel more relaxed, release sadness, and lift your mood. The Cultural Learning Alliance says “Study after study has found that subjective wellbeing is improved by taking part in arts activities.”

So if you’re learning new skills, or practising your art or music every day, keep it up! If you are looking for inspiration, our Arts and Music home learning resources have lots of accessible activities and suggestions suitable for non-specialists.

If you’re finding it a struggle though, remember you’re not alone, and that simply listening to music, watching your favourite dances, or taking five minutes to do a quick doodle or write a few words about how you’re feeling can make a difference to your mental health and wellbeing. Now more than ever it is important to prioritise this.

If you need some extra help, Leeds City Council are working with Voluntary Action Leeds to make sure that we can all get what we need – whether that’s somebody to run to the shops, help putting the bins out for collection, or even a friendly voice checking in over the phone. If you’d like to request any extra support during this time, please call 0113 378 1877. You don’t need to wait until it’s urgent.

Keep well, everyone!

Each of the networks follow a similar format and they meet three times a year.  The first session is a full day and will provide a strategic overview of the subject, the role of the subject leader and a focus on curriculum, assessment and progression.  Sessions two and three, will hone in on specific aspects of the Art, Design and Technology or Dance programmes of study.

The Primary Art Leader Network will include:

• Session 1, Autumn: Primary Art, Craft and Design
• Session 2, Spring: Excellent Design in Art
• Session 3, Summer: Excellent Craft in Art

The Primary Design and Technology Leader Network will include:

• Session 1, Autumn: Primary Design and Technology
• Session 2, Spring: Practical Design and Technology (mechanical systems)
• Session 3, Summer: Textiles Through Design and Technology

The Primary Dance Leader Network will include:

• Session 1, Autumn: Primary Dance
• Session 2, Spring: Let’s Dance (after school)
• Session 3, Summer: Inspired Dance

To book a place on any of these networks, please visit Leeds for Learning where they are available as ArtForms Arts Development ‘packages’.   If you have any questions about the networks or how to book, please contact jane.zanzottera@leeds.gov.uk .

If you are considering going for Artsmark and your development plan includes Music, ArtForms Music offer an Artsmark Registration Subsidy.  Please click here for further information or contact jo.richardson@leeds.gov.uk.

ArtForms Arts Development and ArtForms Music are both Artsmark partners.  We can help you through the Artsmark process.   If you wish to discuss this further, please contact jane.zanzottera@leeds.gov.uk

If you work in a primary school and are the subject leader for Art and/or Design and Technology, our networks might be just the thing for you.

Both of the networks will meet three times a year: one half day each term.  Each session will have a themed focus and will also include national and local updates, including up to date research.

The Primary Art Leaders Network sessions are:
25th September 2018, 1pm – 4pm: Practical approaches to Art Assessment
22nd January 2019, 1pm – 4pm: Developing oracy through Art
8th May 2019, 1pm – 4pm: Planning and progression in Art

The Primary Design and Technology Leaders Network sessions are:
23rd October 2018, 9am – 4pm, Craft Development Day (This will be delivered in partnership with the University of Leeds and Leeds Arts University.)
14th March 2019, 1pm – 4pm: D&T -Mechanical Systems Made Simple
13th June 2019, 1pm – 4pm: Structures Made Simple

For further information, please contact jane.zanzottera@leeds.gov.uk or visit the ArtForms Arts Development service page on Leeds for Learning.