We have just held our first Staff training event for everyone involved in the Equal Access to Music Programme and have test driven our first draft Workforce Development Questionnaire!

Whilst we understand that obtaining the  data that enables monitoring and tracking  is vital, the process of capturing relevant data is often a challenge. 
We've been working on developing a questionnaire that we think,  is more relevant to our needs and approaches.

This first stage in this process  is to agree a language that:
- defines what we need it to
- can be shared with others 
- works with other existing frameworks (such as YM Quality Framework and Sounds of intent)

The Workforce Development Questionnaire will provide a tool for supporting a conversation to define the existing skills and development needs of individuals within the Equal Access to Music Workforce. 

Our aim is  to create a comprehensive development route that:

- values complexity without pandering to professionalism

- is critical, kind, generous and respectful

- not only uses Social Model language, but also demonstrates a Social Model approach

- encourages the spontaneous and experimental.

- sets out to develop a workforce of competent individuals, each working in their own way

- builds a workforce of individuals that are both aware of where they are on their own personal journey and believe that they can continue to travel.


The Inclusive Music Facilitator will know that "professionalism" and "expertise" are demonstrated through a confidence to share openly your own lack of certainty.

Does this make for true #inclusive practice?

Written by Jane Williams, Published by Dom Palfreman

#EveningThinking: The Art of The Possible

I was out on my bike this weekend enjoying the first signs that Spring is just around the corner and doing my Sunday Morning thinking - It’s my time for clearing my head, noodling with ideas, taking the experiences of my week and looking for the patterns, seeing what crystallises.

I’m an eternal optimist when it comes to human nature; I prefer to believe that most people do their best, most of the time, but I’d be being less than honest if I didn’t acknowledge that I’m surprised how often my Sunday morning bike ride result in the same conundrums crystallising.

So what’s happening?
 
I believe that, in an enabling environment, everything is possible and each of us can achieve anything we really want to. The Turning Tides Project always seeks to demonstrate the application of that principle. If you underline the important bits of the sentence (like you were planning a piece of homework) the issues become clear:
In an enabling environment, everything is possible and each of us can achieve anything we really want to. 
…there’s lots of important bits in this sentence. That’s why it’s easy to say and more of a challenge to realise.

Enabling Environment - Often the barriers we encounter at TTTP are about the attitudes and expectations of people without a ‘learning disability’ or ‘autism’ label.  Mostly these attitudes and expectations are well intentioned and seek to protect those with labels from failure, disappointment, danger, looking foolish, making the ‘wrong’ choice. This desire to protect denies access to opportunity; it disables.

Achieving an enabling environment built on inclusion and equal access requires us all to ask ourselves some questions about the barriers we, as individuals, create and sustain:
What are they?
Why are we doing it?
What do we each need to change about ME to make that different?

Each of us can achieve anything we really want to -  If the barriers that deny opportunity are removed, there might be some personal ones to tackle.
What do we each ‘really want to’ achieve? 
Have we all been given equal access to the opportunity to decide?

Achievement isn’t a gift - Whoever you are, achieving the things you aspire to achieve is the result of effort, commitment, focus and tenacity.
Are we all encouraged to develop those characteristics?
Do we all have access to honest feedback?

I’m not sure it is complicated really is it? It’s simply a question of treating others the way you’d like to be treated yourself and that, for me, is the definition of RESPECT.

Written by Jane Williams, Published by Dom Palfreman

It’s the same old story every year. You’ve consumed a mountain of mince pies, Christmas and New Years Eve has happened and so much gets thrown away, you get things you don’t want or need and you have no idea what to do with any of it.
 
Welcome to Junkuary!
 
To tackle some of these January blues The Turning Tides Project will be out in the community beach combing and litter picking to gather supplies and shift some Christmas tummy.
 
Every year so much is wasted and thrown straight into the bin, because who really keeps anything from a Christmas cracker? Do you properly recycle all the packaging that comes along with what you have been given? What do you do with any leftover food? The purpose of Junkuary is to help people create new things out of the old, to reuse and upcycle things that would ordinarily be thrown away.
 
Can you create art from and toys that may be thrown away?
 
Baubles from old wrapping paper?
 
Can you use newspaper instead of wrapping paper and jazz it up with some paint or glitter?
 
How many things can you make from a jumper?
 
What can you build from driftwood?
 
Did you manage to find any sea glass?
 
What new recipes can you come up with from leftover food?
 
Can you make a vegetable or meat stock from veg peelings and bones?
 
Have a ponder and see what new things you can create. If you come up with something that you think people will like, then share it to one of our social media platforms for a chance to win our competition:
 
https://twitter.com/TurningTidesCIC
 
https://www.facebook.com/TheTurningTidesProjectCIC
 
https://www.instagram.com/turningtidescic/?hl=en
 
Or use the hashtag #junkuary and we will find your pictures.
 
At the end of January, TTTP will create a poll where people can vote for their favourite project. In February, we will make your creation and sell it on our shop along with all the stuff we make during January. There may also be some other prizes for the winner.
 
So, put your creative caps on and see what you can up-cycle during Junkuary.
 
Written and Edited by Abi Innocent, Robert Newnham and Jennifer Baines, Published by Dom Palfreman
 
#tttp #inclusive #junkuary #upcycle #beachcombing #blog #recycle #repurpose #competition #building #inspo #inspiration #cic #communityinterest #labels #learningdisabilitylabels #learningdisability #create #somethingnew #somethingold #exciting #toomanybrusselsprouts #christmas #january #healthy