Pass It On

From September 2015, Serious have worked in partnership with Pupil Referral Units (PRUs) in Leeds, Bradford and Brighouse to deliver Pass It On, a unique music education programme, which aims to develop the musical ability of young people in PRUs and support the development of their personal and social skills through positive music-making experiences.

We are currently facilitating the 2019 edition of this project, this time working in Shirley Manor Primary School in Bradford alongside the two Pupil Referral Units (one primary, and one secondary). 

To celebrate the culmination of the project, we host an inspiring final performance for the whole school community. To find out more from the 2018 edition please click here.

The Pass it On programme, funded by Youth Music and Serious Trust, has seen world-class artists from a variety of musical genres share their expertise with both primary and secondary PRU students, facilitated by musician Dave Kane.

Over both editions of the project, participants have worked with numerous artists including Dave Kane, Chris Sharkey, Corey Mwamba, Alice Zawadzki, Joost Hendrickx, Oliver Dover, TESTAMENT, Emily Levy,  Soweto Kinch, Lara Jones, Tom Horne and Richard Ormrod, introducing the participants to a range of musical styles and music-making approaches with each musician creating a piece of musical composition with the participants.

From the  2018 edition of Pass it On , one of the teachers said "As a specialist Social Emotional and Mental Health setting it has been fantastic to see the confidence grow in some of our students as the sessions went on and to see them all engaging so positively in group activities. The project has created an opportunity to develop invaluable soft social skills and confidence over a period of time that just doesn’t happen with shorter projects.”

Speaking of the 2015 edition of Pass it On Debra Wilson, Head Teacher, said 'It was about broadening the curriculum, it was about offering them experiences of working with different people. A lot of our children lead very narrow lives in terms of their experiences. It’s one type of food, one type of music, etc. I knew that the pupils would get a broader range of activity and I knew they’d be mixing with people they wouldn’t normally mix with'

'This work develops educational needs on a deep level. For that moment in a group setting, each student is listened to, and able to contribute; they interact with each other and with new people, and that is a fundamental social skill that is difficult to learn in formalised, academic session' (Artist)