Musical Futures is not a scheme of work. It is a series of models and approaches that can be personalised by teachers, practitioners and others. It is based on the belief that music learning is most effective when young people are engaged in making music, and when their existing passion for music is acknowledged, reflected on and built-upon in the classroom.

The Musical Futures journey began in 2003 when the Paul Hamlyn Foundation, an independent grant making foundation, instigated an initiative to find new and imaginative ways of engaging all young people, aged 11-18, in meaningful music activities. The starting point for Musical Futures was to try to understand the factors affecting the disengagement of young people with sustained music-making activities, at a time in their lives when we know music is not only a passion for many young people, but plays a big part in shaping their social identity.

Read the full background to Musical Futures here.

At its heart is a commitment to:

• Find ways of engaging all young people in the 11-18 age range in meaningful, sustainable musical activities
  
  
• Make music learning relevant to young people, and connect their in-school and out-of school interests and experiences
  
  
• Enable young people to experience practical music making, to understand the processes of music making, and for music making to contribute to their overall social, educational and personal development.

This tends to happen in Musical Futures by:

• Students working through a variety of non-formal and informal teaching and learning styles, ensuring that their individual learning needs are met
  
  
• Valuing students personal musical interests
  
  
• Motivating students first, before moving them onto other musical and learning styles
  
  
• Making use of aural learning, that fully integrates listening with practical music making, improvising and composing
  
  
• Teachers and practitioners flexing their teaching and learning styles to act as facilitators and through ‘showing’ rather than ‘telling’, guiding and modelling rather than instructing
  
  
• Students acting as peer leaders
  
  
• Technique, notation, and other forms of written instruction being part of the process, but are rarely the starting point.

Recent independent research indicates that Musical Futures:

• Increases student motivation for and enjoyment of school music
  
  
• Engages all students in music participation
  
  
• Helps students to become more confident with music making and raises self-esteem
  
  
• Engages previously disinterested pupils
  
  
• Enables students to develop musical (particularly listening) and leadership skills
  
  
• Develops independent learning skills
  
  
• Enables students to demonstrate their musical potential
  
  
• Supports student progression in music
  
  
• Improves behaviour, focus and attendance and has a positive impact on students’ attitudes towards music in school
  
  
• Improves performance skills and develops student understanding of a range of musical genres 
  
  
• Increases numbers of students electing to continue with music making outside the classroom
  
  
• Improves take up of GCSE/Key Stage 4 music
  
  
• Improves student attainment at Key Stage 3
  
  
• Has long-term and sustainable impact on teachers own practice, and often changes the way teachers deliver music learning in the classroom.

Read the full report on Musical Futures by the Institute of Education.