Suggested strategic aims for a composing strategy:

1. Every young person is encouraged and has the opportunity to compose and create music in school
2. Young people are encouraged and have the opportunity to compose and create music outside school
3. Young people have the opportunity to compose and create music in different genres, cross-genre and no-genre, for musical instruments, voices and technologies 
4. Young people have the opportunity to compose for professional musicians and work with professional composers
5. There are clear and signposted progression routes for young people that would like to compose – locally, regionally and nationally
6. There is a confident and skilled workforce for teaching composing and routes into this workforce
7. Appropriate resources (e.g. instruments, technology, funding) are allocated to support composing in and out of school
8. High quality pedagogy and practice is promoted, developed and informed by research 
9. Composing is promoted and celebrated as a key part of musical learning 
10. There is a shared co-constructed understanding of composing and of children’s composing across the Music Service or Music Hub and partners. 

Mapping and auditing existing activity:

The table below (and downloadable at the bottom of the page as word document) can be used to audit and map existing activity as well as plan future activity.

Useful questions:

These questions are designed to support reflection on the audit and mapping process. 

1. Were you able to find out the information to complete the audit? If not, how might you find out?
2. Do you know if any of your instrumental or singing teachers compose or do other forms of creative music making? How could you find out?
3. Do you know which of your instrumental teachers currently incorporate composing into their instrumental teaching (WCET/small group/individual)?
4. Do you know how composing is taught in the schools in your area? What do teachers tell you about teaching and learning composing at all levels?
5. Do you know where there is there ‘good’ composing teaching happening in your area in schools?
6. What do you know about composing within widely used curricula, external schemes, the model music curriculum, exam boards?
7. What view of composing and progress as a composer do these curricula represent?
8. Do any of your hub partners have opportunities for CYP to compose and create music? If not, could some be encouraged to?
9. What would be the catalyst for making change and giving composing a higher profile and more support?

Planning a composing strategy for Children and Young People (CYP)

The table on this page and the one on the following page (also downloadable as a word document below), are designed to help Music Services, Music Hubs, Hub partners, and schools develop and plan a joined up ecosystem for supporting children and young people's composing, locally and regionally, as well as connecting beyond. The table is intended as a starting point and can be extended to include multiple hub partners and include SMART objectives. 

Moving forward:

1. What does the audit reveal for you? Where are the gaps?
2. What ideas might you have for filling the gaps?
3. Strategically and organisationally, what needs to change to support composing better and give it a higher profile?
4. How can any changes be embedded and made sustainable?
5. What resources, expertise, support do you need to make change?
6. What resources and expertise do you have internally? How could you find out more?
7. Are their existing hub partners you could draw upon for support or is external expertise or new partnership needed? If yes, what and who?
8. What mechanisms are there for sharing existing good practice in schools, between hub partners and between hubs?
9. What might be next steps/actions? What are the priorities? 1, 2, 3
10. What might be the obstacles/challenges/barriers to making change? What is needed to overcome these obstacles?
11. What provision is there for talent development?