We know that our projects help learners to develop in three important areas:
Relationships
The challenge of creating music from scratch requires participants to work as a team, communicate effectively and respect each other’s contribution. The shared sense of purpose, tight deadline and growing recognition of each other’s strengths forges a sense of community and develops the emotional understanding that is needed for good relationships.
“I enjoyed helping others through this process as well, and being able to be an encouraging person for them when they weren’t feeling as confident in what they were doing, and I know that is definitely something I enjoy.” – Learner, HMPYOI Bronzefield
Employment
Our courses encourage soft skills that employers look for, and participants have the chance to earn a BTEC in Supporting Employability and Personal Effectiveness, to show prospective employers their achievements in communication, teamwork, task management and reflective learning.
“It was particularly nice to observe the learners being encouraged to take ownership of their compositions, having their opinions and wishes prioritised whilst communicating amongst themselves. This was connected to employability in a very effective way and the learners have told me that their confidence and optimism has improved during the time they have spent with Finding Rhythms.” – Staff member, HMP Cardiff
Identity and self-belief
We give participants the chance to shine at something, whether that’s percussion, singing, rapping, lyric-writing or being a facilitator, and to take pride in achievement.
“When S and R talk about the song that I wrote and say how good it is, that means more to me than me knowing it’s good myself, because they have such different taste in music, but…I still recognise when their tracks are good and they still recognise when my tracks are good.” – Learner, HMYOI Feltham