Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Toolkit

Case Studies

• Safe spaces for young people a the Circle of Light: The ‘Circle of Light’ is a project taking place in Nottingham to provide a safe space for young people facing mental health problems and barriers to the music industry.
• Musicbuds – Doing Diversity Differently: Musicbuds provide training and resources to promote diversity, equity and inclusion for those working with Early Years and Primary-age children.
• Celebrating Cultural Diversity and Inclusion in Tower Hamlets: Tower Hamlets in East London is one of the UK’s most ethnically diverse boroughs which stretches from the City of London to the West, Canary Wharf to the South East and the Olympic Park to the East. Their Songs That Move Us and Exchanging Notes projects aimed to celebrate the borough’s diversity and provide young people with opportunities to explore and express their cultural identities.
• The Importance of Diverse Musical Voices: Musician of the Month fits alongside your primary music scheme to create a culture of musical appreciation and understanding within your school, focusing on a new musician every month. The resources were created with diversity and cultural capital at its heart. Matt Dix, Founder of Musician of the Month, explains why diverse musical voices should be taught to young people to enhance their understanding of the world.

Resources

• How to deal with online abuse or hate speech: This online toolkit from The Space is designed as a pragmatic guide for artists and cultural organisations to understand online abuse, show its impact, how to prepare and protect your organisation, and more.
• Youth Music Network Inclusion resource hub: This collection of resources from Youth Music Network contains tools and guidance, blogs and case studies to help you break down barriers to music-making.
• Talk into Action: Music Mark launched Talk into Action in 2021 to support organisations in the music education sector to achieve their EDI goals, inviting them to sign the Talk into Action pledge in which they committed to embed EDI in their work. This page is filled with resources to help guide and inspire you to achieve your EDI goals.

Events

• Bringing music to all: exploring accessible music technology, 3rd October (7pm – 8.30pm): In this session from the British Association for Music Therapy, TiME will share updates on the latest music technologies and how they can support access and inclusion. They will be joined by instrument makers, music leaders, and facilitators to share insights into how adaptive and digital instruments can be used in a range of settings.
• Taking Trauma-Informed Approaches, 9th October 2024 & 5th March 2025 (4pm – 5.15pm): Music Mark brings you this event with Diverse Educators, who provide support, training and resources around Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in education, this two-part course will support you in developing an awareness of trauma responses, expanding our understanding of how trauma relates to DEI and more. 
• Increasing Neurodiversity Awareness, 6th November 2024 & 14th May 2025 (4pm – 5.15pm): This two-part Music Mark course led by Diverse Educators will support you in understanding what neurodiversity is, thinking about your ‘Learner in Mind’, being aware of adjustments we can make in the classroom and more.
• Inclusive Practitioner Training: Diversity and Inclusion, 7th November (10am – 4pm): This training session organised by Bristol Beacon will look at the key issues and concepts of diversity and inclusion within music education, and how to ensure your work meets the needs of all young people.
• Diversifying Primary Music, 12th November (4pm – 5.30pm): This session, from Music Education Solutions and led by Kay Charlton, will explore how to use diverse and inclusive music in your primary music lessons. The session will cover how to source repertoire from a range of genres, styles and traditions, including an exploration of the repertoire suggested in the Model Music Curriculum, and how to teach this effectively across performing, composing and listening activities.
• Growing Trans & Non-Binary Awareness, 8th January 2025 & 2nd July 2025 (4pm – 5.15pm): In this Music Mark course, Diverse Educators will support you in sharing the lived educational experience of LGBT+ gender diverse people, becoming conscious of the additional barriers gender diverse young people may face in schools, growing confidence and competence in challenging transphobic language, and much more.
• Embedding Diversity in your Music Teaching, 26th February 2025 (4.45pm – 6pm): Discover more about how to embed diversity into your school’s Secondary Music teaching with Jenetta Hurst as part of our Secondary Music Teaching Series.