The future of learning

The Musical Futures initiative has moved into a new phase of development, marked by the launch of a ‘Champion Schools’ programme in partnership with music technology company Roland UK and a forthcoming study to report on the national impact of the initiative. Musical Futures is a learning programme committed to putting young people in control of their music-making and learning. It was established by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation as a special initiative to find meaningful and sustainable ways to personalise the music-learning experience for all young people, aged 11–19. This latest announcement was made at a celebratory and Continuing Professional Development (CPD) event ‘Musical Futures – In Your Hands’ at Southbank on 30 June, marking five years of the initiative. Former Education Secretary and Paul Hamlyn Foundation Trustee, Estelle Morris, celebrated Musical Futures at the event: “It is only five years since Musical Futures was simply an idea, and to have moved in five years from idea to pilot to success, to expansion, to being embedded in hundreds of schools is a wonderful journey. Musical Futures is now on solid ground. It is firmly in teachers’ hands. They will continue to evaluate, adapt and change it. It is going to be marvellous to see where it has gone in another five years.”

Musical Futures and Roland have formed a unique partnership, dedicated to supporting teachers wanting to implement Musical Futures in their schools. The Champion Schools programme aims to acknowledge 30 schools around the country as beacons of best practice for Musical Futures innovation and Roland technology. Each Champion School will run a number of free practical CPD events surrounding Musical Futures models, issues and ideas, and also on Roland equipment, for other schools in their locality. This exciting new phase for Musical Futures is designed to encourage the ownership and development of the programme to rest firmly in the hands of the inspirational and innovative teachers who have taken on Musical Futures in their schools.

The impact of Musical Futures is currently being evaluated by the Institute of Education (University of London). Schools adapting Musical Futures around the country have provided feedback on the impact and effects both on their pupils and on their own teaching practice. Early indications from this research are that student motivation, attitude, enjoyment and skill acquisition have improved, as well as an increase in student self-esteem, confidence and numbers of students reaching their potential. There has been a dramatic rise in students electing to continue with music at Key Stage 4, as well as taking up instrumental and vocal tuition. Teachers are indicating that Musical Futures has had a long-term impact on their own teaching, with many feeling more confident and relaxed about delivering a more student-led curriculum. The full report will be available at the end of August.

Due to the overwhelming success of Musical Futures, the Paul Hamlyn Foundation has partnered with the Innovation Unit (formerly part of the Department for Children, Schools and Families) to pioneer a new initiative. ‘Learning Futures’ will explore whether the transformational results seen through Musical Futures can be transferred to other curriculum areas, and indeed across the whole school. Learning Futures is expected to focus on stimulating innovation at a system level, and has already uncovered a large number of schools who are keen to pioneer radical teaching and learning to make their student’s learning more relevant to their lives.