 An acronym that quite a lot of you would have heard thrown around recently. It stands for ‘General Data Protection Regulation’ and applies to all businesses in the EU from 25th May 2018. Which means it affects us! And that’s all good news! It means that your data will be easier for you to track and for you to control and decide how it is used. Potentially, this means less junk mail! It also means that you’re probably (ironically) getting lots of emails currently from businesses that have you on their mailing lists that you’d totally forgotten about - I hadn’t realised that we were subscribed to so many newsletters about community meetings and second-hand instruments! What this means for us: GDPR says you must obtain freely given, specific, informed, and unambiguous consent from your contacts. You also must clearly explain how you plan to use their personal data. I am emailing you for exactly these reasons, as you’re currently on our mailing list! First off, thank you for being on our mailing list! The chances are we met you at a gig, maybe at one of our pop-up shops, a networking event, through social media or in response to one of our projects. Maybe we did your catering, you’re part of EPIC (Enabling Service), we delivered your training or you are one of our funders. We send out Newsletters when there is News! We try to keep people up to date via Social Media and Blogs published on our Website, this means we will never send out vast numbers of Newsletters each month. Around 1 or 2 is enough. We want to keep you informed and invite you to be involved; we don’t want to drown you in unnecessary communication and scare you off! Honestly, we don’t want to send loads because we don’t want it to get boring for you! We are, and always have been, very careful with people’s information. Receiving this email just means that you’re on our mailing list - the information kept on our mailing list is minimal and contains only the essentials. Just an email address, and in some cases your name. Every month we remove emails address from our mailing list so that we’re left with just the active emails. We will not pass on your information from the mailing list or use it for any other purpose other than receiving our Newsletter. You will receive up to 3 more Newsletters before the 25th May 2018, if you have not re-subscribed by this point your information will be deleted from our mailing list. If you want to subscribe to our Newsletter after midnight on the 24th May, you can always use the link on our 'Contact Us' page  Written and Published by Dom Palfreman
 I went to the Vue with Dom, he picked me up at 6pm we parked in the Vue car park. It’s underneath the cinema, I have a blue badge so the parking was more accessible.
I have got a carers card so I can get a carer in to the cinema free with the pass. I got the pass online, it was simple to do, you fill a form in and upload a picture. I had some support to do this. If I didn’t have the card I would have to pay for my support.I shouldn’t have to pay for my own ticket and my supports ticket so I can go to the cinema. The Vue cinema has got a lift, which is good because the screens are all on different floors which makes them hard to accessible - Dom didn't know they had a lift, so I showed him where it was - it's just on the right-hand-side of the entrance door. Stairs can be ok but I need to hold on to my support workers arm. Escalators can be difficult because you have to move speedily. In the Vue, with good support, the access is amazing for me. We sat 3 rows from the front, I was very excited! The cinema was bright enough as we walked to our seats but I would prefer it to be a bit lighter - it would also make it easier to see my nachos and pick ‘n’ mix! We watched it in 3D, the 3D glasses were rubbish because it was clipped on to my glasses so I asked Dom to get me a normal pair of glasses which worked better - unfortunately the movie had already started at this point, so I had to watch 10 minutes out of focus and Dom had to miss 10 minutes of the movie running to get replacement glasses! I had a coke and pick ‘n’ mix waiting for the film to start. The trailers were Solo, Jurassic World and Venom and started at 6:50pm. The film started not long after, and it was about 2 hours and 29 minutes long - almost as long as the credits! I loved every minute of it. It was action packed from start to finish. The Actors who played the Avengers did an awesome job. My favourite actor is Chris Hemsworth who played Thor, I thought he was awesome. I liked his weapons and lightning super powers. These are just some of the characters: Iron man Pepper Potts Thor Loki Doctor Strange The Hulk Black Widow Black Panther Captain America Vision Star lord Nebula Drax Mantis And lots more I am a big time Marvel fan although my true passion is Star Wars (I may blog about the Solo movie too!). I won’t spoil it for the rest of you... I love going to the cinema with Dom... It’s the best film in the cinema… EVER! Oh, and make sure you stay after the credits! Not seen it yet? What are you waiting for?! Go to see it! I can’t wait for the next one, Cheers! Written by Luke Manwaring, Published Dom Palfreman  The Turning Tides Project is a Community Interest Company that aims to make equal access to music, the arts and life a reality for people with ‘learning disability ‘or’ autism’ labels.
The Turning Tides Project Equal Access to Music Programme is well under-way. We’ll be blogging about the ideas generated, experience gained, and questions raised by each Project within the Programme, as we go. So… What is a ‘Family Jam’? The Family Jam Bursary Scheme was developed as a response to our experience that sometimes the barrier that prevented disabled children and Young People learning an instrument was parental lack of confidence. This lack of confidence sometimes led to instruments having to stay in school (and therefore locked in a cupboard for most of the week) or in Young People not having the opportunity to access an instrument at all. We decided that it would be a good idea to have a scheme that enabled us to offer the opportunity of supported, family music-making with the aim of building confidence and creating inclusive family environments where everyone could and did access music
We were right about that!
We didn’t need to worry about that. The year’s bursaries have all been allocated in the first 3 months. The concern now becomes how we’ll respond to the growing number of disabled Young People who would benefit from similar access.
It’s looking like we were right about that too. Most of the families we are working with will continue to be a part of The Turning Tides Project in other ways, once their Bursaries are spent. In addition, all the families have at least 1 family member who is eligible for Local Authority Support. Many of them would chose to have some or all of their ‘eligible needs’ met through equal access to music and all the opportunities that that access brings: The Bursaries provide a means of demonstrating that value to support requests for Health, Education and Social Care Funding. All looks pretty much on track then…? There’s always so much to learn. In this first year’s allocation what has been striking is the diversity of ‘Family’: A parent and son learning separately so that they can play together; A Young Person whose instrument lesson buddies are his Support Workers; whole family groups of children who are home schooled because they don’t ‘fit’ into either ‘ special ‘ or ‘mainstream ‘ educational environments; siblings who are exploring how they accommodate each other’s differences through collaborative music-making; Young people who live as a family in supported accommodation . What we learn from these families will, as always, inform what we develop next. The ‘families’ who’d like to share their musical journeys publicly each have a page on The Turning Tides Project Web site. You can follow their stories and hear their music here. The Turning Tides Project believes that the way to achieve Equal Access is through the application of a Social Model Approach: easy to say, complex, exhausting, sometimes frustrating and often a lot of fun to demonstrate. Have a look at our web site and find out what we do, how we do it, why we use the language we use and why we think language matters. “Inclusion” is much more than a word. http://www.theturningtidesproject.org.uk/ Written by Jane Williams, Published by Dom Palfreman
A belief in all young people and a desire to support potential lies at the heart of everything The Turning Tides Project engages in. For many of the young people we spend time with, access to learning pathways are often conflicted. Carrying ‘learning disability’ or ‘autism’ labels and trying to fit into institutions, such as schools or colleges, within a society that is often not very accepting of difference, means that support towards future employment is often limited or interrupted.
A particular strand of the current Youth Music funded “Equal Access to Music” programme, looks at how young people with ‘learning disability’ or ‘autism’ labels access routes towards music technology qualifications. Whilst this is still early days for us in this area of the project, I am interested in exploring the questions that are surfacing along the way with a hope that I can get some help finding answers and seeking potential solutions. Why, if many of the young people we are working with are interested in accessing music technology qualifications, are they not doing so? School is the first place that supports qualification routes towards future aspirations for many young people. Many schools are now offering a more restrictive and narrow curriculum with a downgrading of subjects such as the arts and sports. Finances are restricted more than ever and this is having a detrimental effect on both resources and support. I spend a large part of my week in schools making music with young people. I glimpse the battle that schools and teachers face supporting and educating young people in the current climate. I can see that schools are increasingly not a place where everyone can thrive. The new GCSE structure seems to be more focussed on proving knowledge acquisition: levels, test based evidencing, less coursework. Young people who struggle with this way of engaging are excluded from the process of learning.
What does it say about society when we only cater to the needs of those who are able to achieve within an academic framework; or what the outcomes will be if we only value and expect everyone to learn the same facts? Currently, Ofsted doesn’t reward schools for being inclusive. If schools remove, exclude, or simply don’t fully support children that aren’t meeting academic expectations because of their bearing on school results/league tables, large groups of young people are not having their aspirations supported in any kind of meaningful way. Can schools ever be a place where everyone can thrive if they are relentlessly measured by their results? Our current cycle of education places emphasis on the core subjects. From an increasingly young age, arts subjects are de-valued and squeezed out of the timetable. Yet, it’s interesting to note that within the health sector, doctors are doing more and more social prescribing to improve mental health outcomes (encouraging the joining of choirs, taking art classes etc.)
How can we value and support a learning journey that enables young people to experiment and develop their understanding and skills, whilst emphasising and celebrating the fact that we are all different?
I have been wondering if it is in our nature to compare, categorise and position ourselves. I wonder if the value placed on qualifications is inhibiting our progression towards learning in a meaningful rounded way. When qualification results are regarded as the most valuable outcomes, teachers become focussed on delivering a restrictive curriculum (top down initiatives from government) and students become conditioned to learn and absorb only those elements that will enable them to pass the qualification. Seeking knowledge, collaborating, taking risks or experimenting outside of what is deemed important, becomes a waste of time.
Whilst preparing for the world of work is certainly important, should we imagine that young people only engage in learning for vocational purposes? We often have to question if academic routes will match industry expectations and environments, but being involved in that discourse enables change. It is a human need to progress and build skills.
We are having to look closely at the concept of a special qualification for those that don’t fit the mould. It is hard to truly believe in the value or purpose of a qualification that is not recognised by society and employment. In Further Education, where there are certain expectations for individuals to critically evaluate themselves and for independent research/enquiry, there are increasing discussions around Support and Authorship of young people’s work. We are also noticing, through our explorations into music technology qualification routes, that there may be issues that arise around delivery and support, and how the two ‘talk’ together. As subjects become more specialist, there is a need for delivery from people who work with and fully understand the application of the subject, however these people may not always be best placed to support young people with ‘learning disability’ or ‘autism’ labels. Where are the positives arising from our investigations so far? Opportunities are emerging for young people interested in Music technology. This year there are new types of vocational qualifications being offered through RSL and BTEC. How successful these will be, whilst there is still a cultural bias towards valuing more esteemed academic pathways, will be interesting to explore. I wonder how many schools and students will take up the offer. These courses will require teaching methods to be less prescriptive, more adaptive, and need lots of flexibility in order to choose modules and tailor courses which create unique pathways for individuals in response to their interests and strengths. Will current conditions in schools empower teachers to develop the really broad skillsets they themselves will need, or will they choose to teach modules that sit with their own strengths? Access into work has the potential to change, both socially through accepting diversity in the kinds of people we feel we can work alongside, and academically, in terms of how learning happens. Working whilst completing qualifications that run alongside apprenticeships is becoming more common, as is learning structured by people working as specialists in their fields. Some graphic design studios are now using open university modules to write their own courses for apprentice’s qualifications. Qualifications may well not be for everyone, but understanding that there is value in ‘difference’ is maybe just a first step towards encouraging a society that includes and values everyone. Written byRachel Thame, Published byDom Palfreman It started at the beginning of January with the idea that we could use some junk, that we would ordinarily throw out, to create something new and beautiful. It was also to encourage people to step outside, to discover what treasures they could find in the great outdoors; reduce household waste and shrink your Christmas waist! The other thing we were planning on was doing a poll on Facebook to see which product we made was everybody’s favourite and we would make that for the shop but this didn’t work for a number of reasons. Most importantly because everything we made was awesome and fun to make so we will carry on making all of them anyway (hence why it's mid-March and this blog is being published now!). Another, less positive, reason is nobody engaged with the posts and shared what they had done using the hashtags #junkuary and #tttp. Is this because it wasn’t something that was interesting? Is it too much effort? Or did you come across some similar obstacles to us? January is wet! It is cold and most people can be very grumpy! We also relied too much on beach-combing which wasn’t always accessible - too windy and the tide was often too high. We also had to spend a little bit of money to buy some equipment needed to up-cycle. However, this isn’t essential as there are so many projects you can work on with stuff lying around the house. Most of them are one off expenses too, which means we will keep on using them and as the weather continues (let's pretend it didn't snow last week) to improve beach-combing will become more regualr and more enjoyable! Junkuary has taught us a lot. We live in such a wasteful society. If something slightly breaks or we get bored of it, it gets thrown away. As a society, we don’t often look at something and think about how we could fix it or change it to make it more interesting again. This is what we have done and we will absolutely be continuing. Throughout Junkuary we made: 4 aprons (old bed sheets, curtains and clothes) 1 cushion (Old pillow case and jumpers) 9 bottle top junk brooches (bottle tops, resin, beads, nuts and bolts) 5 Sea glass brooches (sea glass/ ceramic and metal brooch back) 45 sea glass earrings (sea glass/ ceramic and silver plated stud earrings) 1 Hugo’s jazzy chair (A chair and some old clothes, scarfs and ribbon) 16 Wood burnt signs ( Pallet wood and a wood burning tool) 8 hand stitched TTTP bags (TTTP Bags and some thread) We went on walks to Teignmouth beach a few times and Mamhead Obelisk to find the things we needed. We would also like to say thank you to everyone that has given us stuff along the way. Right... now lets made 300 more bags... ;-) Where can you buy the things we have made? On our Etsy shop of course! www.etsy.com/uk/shop/TurningTidesProject Written by Abi Innocent, Published by Dom Palfreman What is the Turning Tides Support Network (TTSN)? THIS IS! As parents/carers, we want to create a support network at Turning Tides to accommodate our needs: What respite do we want? How can we make this happen? What do we want to do to give us a break? As a start, we decided to change the TTSN monthly meetings into a different format and this was our first result! We shared a home sewing day with lunch and lots of chat (some of the things we create will be available for purchase in our online shop) . We also learnt new skills from each other, such as:
We decided to make this a quarterly event and will ‘go with the flow!’ Would YOU like to join us too? Come for the whole day, or just pop in for an hour or so. Let us know if you have any ideas. Do you have a skill you could bring to our group? Even if you don’t, we’d love to see you at the next meet up. The next meeting is always written on the TTSN website page! Last of all, we now have a ‘social space’ on Facebook so the conversations can continue outside of our meetings! The group is a closed group and we respect each other’s privacy 😊 Written by Wendy Nicholls, Published by Dom Palfreman 
I was an Occupational Therapist long before I was a musician. I qualified when the predominant theoretical model for OTs, was medical. The Social Model provided the theoretical framework for my Master’s research 20 years ago. When I first attended the International Disability Studies Conference in Lancaster (as a PA for a disabled friend) I was puzzled by the anxiety of some of the speakers that the Social Model would be appropriated by non-disabled people. Surely, if taking a Social Model Approach was how we'd achieve inclusion, then the Model had to belong to everyone?
Now I think maybe I’m beginning to understand the concern. When I first joined the Youth Music Network, a few years ago, I felt like a gate crasher. The language of The Arts and of Education is very different from that of Health and Social Care. The first thing I did was search ' Social Model of Disability’, and I found one post. Now there are loads. Is that a good thing? I firmly believe that applying a Social Model Approach is how equal access for disabled people will be achieved, so why isn't my answer to that question a resounding 'Yes'? It seems to have become desirable to claim to take a Social Model Approach and to be Inclusive, but are we? Do we really understand what that means? Our values, attitudes and expectations are demonstrated through the way we behave and the things that we say: Language is important I was pleased to see Drake state their intention to move away from using the term SEN/D: it has no place in a Social Model Approach. The Social Model defines 'disability' as created by society. People are 'disabled people', not ' people with disabilities'. 'Disability - led' and 'disabled-led' are presumably short hand for 'led by disabled people'? without the word 'people' are not terms I would use. Perhaps they have a meaning within the Arts and Music Education that I don’t’ understand but they are not, in my opinion, terms that reflect a Social Model Approach. Within the context of a Social Model Approach terms used to define are chosen by the individual not ascribed by others. I doubt that individuals have chosen to be defined as ‘people with cognitive disabilities’ and ‘people with behavioural problems’. ‘Differently able’, whilst it may be acceptable to or even chosen by some individuals, begs the question ‘differently able compared to who?’ It has evolved from a definition of ‘disability’ as a disadvantage that belongs to an individual who is not ‘normal’. ‘differently able’ has a positive spin, so that’s good – but it’s not a term that is compatible with aSocial Model Approach. Monitoring and Evaluation Processes and Systems are important. Collecting impact data, within aSocial Model framework, has its challenges. If Young People don’t self-define as ‘disabled’ then‘inclusion’ has to be demonstrated through the telling of stories. A preference for qualitative data analysis still seems to be viewed as ‘soft’. So, I can see why systematically collecting data that defines and counts Young Disabled People by diagnostic label may appeal ... but it's not taking a Social Model Approach. I know lots of Young People who have been given an ‘autism’ label. The only thing they all have in common is that they’ve been given an ‘autism’ label. Tidying them into a statistical category tells you nothing useful about their individual experiences. ‘Inclusion Strategies’ and ‘approaches to inclusion’. If an organisation always uses accessible venues and facilities: takes a multi-sensory approach: employs people who are open, honest and respectful then ‘inclusion’ is the default position. The Turning Tides project doesn’t, and never will, have an ‘inclusion strategy’: we aim to ensure that everything we do is open and inclusive. I’m sure we have much to learn, I’m sure we don’t’ always get it right. I’m confident we always question, reflect and learn from our experiences. It's not mandatory to 'take a Social Model approach' but I can't imagine how we’ll achieve equal access without doing so... Drake are publishing a useful set of Blogs that explore the way that ' disability' is understood within different theoretical frameworks. The Social Model of Disability Blog is a really good read : http://www.drakemusic.org/blog/nim/understanding-disability-part-5-the-social-model/ Who are the experts? In any situation, interaction or communication everyone brings their own knowledge, skills and experience. Arguably, everyone brings some ‘expertise’ and no one is the ‘expert’. There's been a huge increase in the attention given to the issues that limit disabled peoples' access to music and its opportunities. It’s exciting to have reached a point where, together, we could make a big difference. An open and ongoing conversation about how we make sure that potential is realised and how we ensure that our values, attitudes and expectations are accurately represented in our language, systems, processes and strategies would be brilliant. Written by Jane Williams, Published by Dom Palfreman 
JW was asked to deliver a 5 minute presentation for Friday 16th February at the Ordinary Arts Festival Seminar. The seminar speakers were all asked to focus their presentation on addressing 2 questions:
Here’s a transcription JW’s presentation ; ‘Hi I’m Jane Williams, Director of The Turning Tides Project. We aim to make equal access to music, the arts and life a reality for people with ‘learning disability’ or ‘autism’ labels. We only have 2 rules:
I was struggling with preparing this presentation . When I asked myself why I found I had 2 issues :
Then it occurred to me, I just needed to be who am and demonstrate what The Turning Tides Project is. A 5 minute presentation might not be long but 3 1/2 minutes is the perfect length for a hit song. So here’s ours. It’s called ‘Who are the Experts?' and we wrote it for you - enjoy and do feel free to join in.' Is an approach to inclusion organisational progress? Or a statement of a fall-back position to exclude? Who invented our indicators and outcome jargon? Did disabled young people write our rules? Who are the experts? Self-appointed inclusion experts Our reaching out makes us hard to reach Equal access makes us all redundant That’s the position we need to preach Who are the experts? Who are the experts? Hugo, instrumental break Who are the experts? Who are the experts? The detail that matters is not our detail Is anyone really hard to reach If it was fun, cool and useful it wouldn’t be me Standing here making this speech Who are the experts? Who are the experts? Who are the experts? Once we’ve recorded it, you’ll be able to download ‘Who are The Experts’ and hear some of the other original music of The Tuning Tides Project at: https://soundcloud.com/tttp-1 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 |
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