Music learning takes place in many different contexts (in school, after school, in youth and community settings, in homes, garages and online) and there is a growing acknowledgment of the benefits of a more holistic view of students’ interests, needs and achievements. Getting the fullest picture of students’ musical progression is best served by piecing together their experiences in formal (throughout the curriculum and instrumental tuition), non-formal (supervised work undertaken outside school hours), and informal (in their own time, without supervision) locations.

The essence of this guidance is to find ways of bringing together formal, non-formal and informal opportunities for learning in order to widen and deepen participation in extra-curricular provision. The process we detail here encourages schools and Music Services/other brokering agencies to work together to identify projects which could meet the personalised needs of all young people.

Download the full set of resources developed by the Leeds Pathfinders 'Personalising Music Learning for 11-18 Year Olds'.