A school music initiative in Bangor supported by the Steve Morgan Foundation has revealed a hugely positive report on the difference their charity has made within the local community.

The Codi’r To Music (Raise the Roof) schools music programme in North Wales is a scheme which aims to engage and develop children through access to music which would otherwise be beyond their reach.

The Sistema Cymru initiative has received support from the Steve Morgan Foundation towards the salary of a permanent tutor over a three-year period.

The charity recently enlisted Bangor University to carry out a survey into the Social Return of the funding they have received, a method of research which measures the wide value of a programme across a range of different stakeholders.

In the example of Codi’r To Music, currently working in two different schools, this would include the pupils who participate, family members, the wider school, the community, and the charity itself.

The report identified the following benefits to stakeholders.

*Pupils gained confidence, behaved better with peers, and are engaged with music.

*Family members had a better relationship with the school and felt part of the community

*The wider school saw better classroom behaviour and pupil harmony

*The community had better relationships between the adults and the children

The research then calculates a monetary value on those benefits using accepted financial proxies, and concluded that for every £1 invested in the charity, a social value of £6.69 is created.

“We were delighted to hear that our grant awarded to Codi’r to Music has enjoyed such a significant social value,” says the Steve Morgan Foundation’s Regional Grants Director, Jane Harris.

“I visited the Ysgol Glancegin School in Bangor when we received their funding application, and it was fascinating to see how the children were drawn in to the musical activities delivered by the tutors.

“The charity is a student and community regeneration project which adopts the world renowned El Sistema teaching method using music as a vehicle to tackle deprivation and educational under-achievement.

“Musical education is embedded into the daily school routine offering each child the opportunity to learn and play an instrument which, otherwise, they would not be able to enjoy.

“Outside of school there are also weekly samba workshops, community concerts, and a ‘take a musician home to tea’ initiative when the most disadvantaged children perform a small concert with the musicians in their homes.

“The extra-curricular activities in the community are a vital part of the programme, providing an opportunity for the school to engage with parents who are often wary of involvement with authorities; there is also a marked improvement in school attendance.

“Hundreds of children have been engaged by Codi’r To Music, and we are really pleased that the charity continues to make such a positive impact in their local community.”