About

I am a consultant who specialises in music and arts education, professional development of teachers and musicians, evaluation and impact, youth voice and attainment, and strategic planning.

My Work

I have pioneered innovative approaches to music education, and support others to do the same. My expertise is in informal learning and pedagogy, how children and young people learn music, and youth voice and co-creation.

I specialise in the professional development of teachers and musicians, and have designed and implemented a range of needs-based professional development activities including being inclusive and diverse in your practice, online/remote learning, working with children and young people in challenging circumstances, and supporting freelance professionals with their business development.

Evaluation and impact measurement are an important part of my work, and I work as an external evaluator with a range of music and arts organisations to assess the impact of projects from Theory of Change, to report writing and acting as a critical friend.

I support small and large music organisations with strategic planning and implementation, and am experienced in designing needs-based programmes and managing multiple projects to a high standard.

I am a passionate advocate for inclusive music education and entitlement for all children and young people, and regularly speak on a regional, national and international platform in support of this.

Impact

  • Trained, coached, influenced 5,000+ music educators

  • Indirectly improved music offer for 700,000 children and young people

  • Worked with 200+ organisations

Publications

  • Popular Music is Not the Answer in B. Powell and G.D. Smith (Eds.) The Places and Purposes of Popular Music Education. Intellect Publishing (Forthcoming)

  • Challenging Symbolic Violence and Hegemony in Music Education through Contemporary Pedagogical Approaches (with Gareth Dylan Smith and Bryan Powell). Education 3-13 Journal (2017)

  • Aspiring to Music Making as Leisure through the Musical Futures Classroom (with Gareth Dylan Smith) In R. Mantie and G.D. Smith (EDs.) The Oxford Handbook of Music Making and Leisure. New York: Oxford University Press (2016)

  • Musical Futures: An Approach to Teaching and Learning. (Editor). Paul Hamlyn Foundation