A Welsh Government minister has praised a pioneering North Wales music scheme that\u2019s transformed access to music lessons for thousands of children.<\/p>\n
Culture Minister Jack Sargeant visited Ysgol Esgob in St Asaph to mark the 10th<\/sup> anniversary of the North Wales Music Cooperative that\u2019s saved the music service in three counties.<\/p>\n The organisation, which operates in Wrexham, Denbighshire and Conwy, ensures every child can learn to play instrument \u2013 whatever their background.<\/p>\n Mr Sargeant joined Year 3 pupils for a lively \u201cFirst Experiences\u201d session, watching them master their first notes on bright plastic pBuzz brass instruments under the guidance of tutor Katy Ellis.<\/p>\n The minister said the visit showed how the cooperative\u2019s work is \u201cchanging lives\u201d, giving children from all backgrounds the same opportunity to experience the joy of making music.<\/p>\n The service was set up by music teacher Heather Powell and her colleagues in 2015 after funding for peripatetic lessons in Denbighshire was axed.<\/p>\n Two years later history repeated itself in Wrexham and since September the cooperative has also been providing lessons in Conwy<\/p>\n Ms Powell, now the organisation\u2019s Head of Service, said the scheme was built on a simple belief that talent and not family income should determine who gets to learn music.<\/p>\n The cooperative now teaches more than 1,600 pupils on free school meals every week.<\/p>\n Mr Sargeant said: \u201cI thought the music session was great and it was wonderful to see how the children were all fully engaged.<\/p>\n \u201cTo have that first experience of the pBuzz was great for me and for them too and we are very proud of the programme and all the work that is happening here and across North Wales.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat I have seen today is a very positive experience and each individual experience across Wales will be different and it\u2019s right local communities have a say in what that provision looks like.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are very proud of our National Music Service as a government and the cooperative does some great work here in North Wales, and it\u2019s something we can all be proud of.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I took the job as Culture Minister, one of the first things we were trying to do is get the Priorities for Culture over the line.<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the most important topics within that is access, particularly for those children from working class backgrounds.\u201d<\/p>\n Ysgol Esgob Morgan headteacher Tim Redgrave said he admired what\u00a0 Heather Powell and her team had achieved.<\/p>\n He said: \u201cThanks to that drive and passion, all our Year 3 children can have their first experience of music lessons, and that costs them nothing.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd that\u2019s really beneficial, because without the cooperative, learning a musical instrument could become for only those who can afford it, and those who can\u2019t will go by the wayside.<\/p>\n \u201cSo that first music experience is absolutely essential for us, and without the music cooperative, I don\u2019t think that would have happened.<\/p>\n \u201cI think music tuition would have been lost to those children who need to express themselves.<\/p>\n \u201cWatching our children express themselves with an instrument is just a joy, and without the cooperative, they would not have had that experience.<\/p>\n \u201cI have seen a child who started with the music service and it shaped their future and they have gone on to a music degree.<\/p>\n \u201cIt changes lives.\u201d<\/p>\n Heather Powell said: \u201cThe good thing about the First Experiences programme is that it\u2019s equitable for every child.<\/p>\n \u201cEverybody gets six sessions a year, they all get the opportunity.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have got a whole First Experiences team and they are all qualified teachers.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are now over 100 people in the cooperative, it\u2019s just grown and grown over 10 years.<\/p>\n \u201cAlthough we work with authorities who have cut the music service, we still have positive working relationships with those authorities and we have still got funding from all three of them for the most vulnerable kids.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s 1,600 free school meals children having lessons through us per week, which is great, otherwise those opportunities would have been lost.<\/p>\n Cooperative chair Cllr Mark Young, a member of Denbighshire County Council, told Mr Sargeant that ensuring the survival of music lessons was vital for Welsh culture.<\/p>\n He said: \u201cWithout the work of the cooperative, you lose our culture.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is the foundation, everyone is included from all backgrounds, which is great.<\/p>\n \u201cI must say that the journey we have had since Covid, without the support of the Welsh Government, we would not have got there.<\/p>\n \u201cThe cooperative shows what we can do when we work together.\u201d<\/p>\n