CELEBRATING EXCELLENCE REVISITED

Intergenerational Music Making (IMM) founder, Charlotte Miller, sings the praises of IMM’s achievements and shares IMM’s journey since winning the Campaigning for Change award at the Markel 3rd Sector Care Awards 2020.

IMM has had an incredibly eventful three years since our success at the Markel 3rd Sector Care Awards 2020. Recovering from the pandemic, we have worked closely with the care sector to strengthen the connections made between care homes and schools and further embed a culture of intergenerational practice. IMM strives to bring individuals, communities and professionals together and, through music, strives for change to maximise the health and social benefits for young and old alike.

Our projects

Here are some of the projects we have worked on since 2020.

Together with Music (TwM)

In December 2020, IMM launched Together with Music. Delivering activities online and in person, TwM is a digital membership platform created in response to the pandemic in collaboration with Care England to connect the young and old – the two groups most affected by the pandemic. TwM has 1,400 members across health, social care, education and the arts, with 78,000 individuals engaging and 280 staff trained.

Professor Martin Green OBE, Chief Executive at Care England, said about the project, ‘I can see the difference Together with Music is making and the multitude of benefits that come from connections between generations and communities. Together with Music is creative and responsive and is going to be transformational for overall wellbeing and quality of life.’

TwM Songwriting Tour

The TwM Songwriting Tour was a two-day training course developed using research conducted in conjunction with the Brit School and Music 4 Dementia. The tour supported people as they reintegrated with their community post lockdown, encouraging them to share experiences and emotions, and to communicate and connect with others. You can listen to ‘Sparks In Our Hearts’ online, written as part of the tour.

IMM Community Hubs

Our first Community Hub launched in May 2021 at Trinity Methodist Church in Woking, led by Graham (76), a volunteer we met through the TwM Songwriting Tour. IMM

Community Hubs are now held in across the UK. They aim to connect communities to reduce loneliness and isolation and generate lasting partnerships between community groups. Hub locations include:

• Woking.

• Banstead.

• Guildford.

• Epsom.

• Manchester.

• Swansea (pop-up within a care home).

Move and Groove

In May 2022, IMM launched Move and Groove in conjunction with the Youth Sport Trust. The project provides innovative training and projects combining music and movement. The aims are to tackle isolation, create community connection, empower staff and support in the physical and mental wellbeing of the young and old. Staff and volunteers were provided with a toolkit, resources and the knowledge to deliver the project independently of IMM, further embedding music and movement within the community.

Alison Oliver MBE, Chief Executive at Youth Sport Trust, said, ‘We are hugely passionate about inspiring change makers and building belonging through the power of sport and play.’

One of the groups participating was Lavender Hills in Ramsbottom, who were paired with Stubbins Primary School. Ollie, aged 10, said, ‘I’m a bit disappointed it’s over. I really enjoyed it and am happy I’ve done it. I made loads of new friends and would recommend it to other people my age.’

Margaret, a Lavender Hills resident, added, ‘I think it’s good for older people to keep in contact with children because they make you laugh – sometimes they make you cry – but it’s the things they say to you sometimes that are classic.’

Lavender Hills continues to run a Move and Groove project at the care home.

Music Therapy

Qualified IMM music therapists have been placed in hospitals, schools and care homes to provide clinical support to those with acute needs, including people living with dementia and young people with specific needs such as mental health conditions. Since January 2022, IMM has started and supported six placements at:

• Frimley, Farnham and Wexham Hospital.

• St Peter’s Hospital.

• Woodlands Primary School.

• Christian Fellowship Primary and Secondary School.

A Spoonful of Music

We are currently running A Spoonful of Music, three innovative music therapy programmes with IMM music therapists visiting wards at Ashford and St Peter's Hospitals as part of their Healing Arts Programme. The project is designed to maximise the health and social benefits of young and old alike through the power of music. In the neonatal intensive care ward, we are aiming to help babies and their caregivers to relax and enjoy moments of bonding.

Awards

As well as the Markel 3rd Sector Care Award for Campaigning for Change, our partnerships and pioneering work have been recognised by:

• The Prime Minister’s Point of Light Community Champion Award for our work during COVID-19 in 2021.

• The Guardian Allied Health Professions (AHP) Chroma Mental Health Award.

• The 2022 Excellence in Health Creation Awards.

• Winning the Health Creation Alliance, Health Connector of the Year Award (Together with Music).

• Being highly commended for Health Creator of the Year (IMM).

Intergenerational Conference: Creating Change Together

In February 2023, IMM, with support from Flourishing Lives, will bring together individuals across the public health, care, music, housing and education sectors to discuss the future of intergenerational practice and its impact on communities.

The event, taking place at The Royal Albert Hall, sponsored by Riverstone Living, is the first ever strategic conference centred on intergenerational practice. It will be a showcase of innovative work, policy making and pioneering research from across the sectors. Keynote speakers include:

• Lord Kamall of Edmonton, Co-Chair All-Party Parliamentary Group for the Commonwealth and former Health Minister.

• Professor Martin Green, OBE, Chief Executive at Care England.

• Sunita Pandya, Interim Chief Operating Officer at the National Academy for Social Prescribing.

Lord Kamall said about the event, ‘As an amateur musician, I know there is no better feeling than playing live and connecting with your audience. Music tugs at our heartstrings and touches our soul, with the power to bring generations together and improve our wellbeing.’

We will also be joined by a participant panel and a performance from IMM’s intergenerational choir, with inspirational members ranging from nine to 92.

How have we benefitted from our success at the Markel 3rd Sector Care Awards?

The Markel 3rd Sector Care Awards has helped us to amplify our mission of embedding a culture of intergenerational practice throughout the care sector and beyond. Our motivation for nominating IMM for the awards was to gain valued endorsement of the important work we are doing and to further our mission of promoting intergenerational connection.

As a small not-for-profit, receiving the award has helped endorse our work within the care sector, expand awareness, and build additional partnerships, including training more care staff in the practice of intergenerational music. The awards provided a further opportunity for collaboration, to expand our audiences and to introduce organisations to intergenerational practice, whether they work in sport, green spaces or other areas of the arts.

We encourage finalists and winners to attend this year’s ceremony. Being offered complementary tickets to attend is a wonderful gesture and enabled us to celebrate our work and this wonderful achievement. It also provided us with the chance to share knowledge with other organisations in attendance and expand our network within this sector. CMM

Charlotte Miller is Founder and Director at Intergenerational Music Making (IMM) which won the Campaigning for Change award at the Markel 3rd Sector Care Awards 2020.

Twitter: @IMMMusicUK

Email: charlotte@imm-music.com

Headline Sponsor

16th

‘Thriving not just surviving‘ has been chosen as the theme of the next Care England Conference and Exhibition at Church House Conference Centre in Westminster on Thursday 16th March 2023.

Leading voices

Care England has designed the conference for delegates to hear the voices of people in Government, the regulator and other sector leaders discussing key issues encompassing adult social care at this time. Exactly how a sustainable future for care can be crafted will also be examined in detail.

Every year, the Care England Conference and Exhibition is treated as a highly regarded sector event where people can debate new ideas, and this year promises to be no exception. A series of insightful plenary sessions delivered by confirmed speakers Oonagh Smyth, Chief Executive Officer at Skills for Care, Rebekah Cresswell, Chief Executive Officer at The Priory and Helen Whately MP, Minister for Social Care at the Department for Health and Social Care, will be complemented by interactive seminars from the likes of Towergate Insurance, Anthony Collins Solicitors, Cohesion Recruitment and Person Centred Software to enhance the learning experience for delegates.

Creating a united sector

The Care England 2023 Conference and Exhibition is eager to welcome both members and non-members who may be thinking about joining the association. Care England believes that by working together, the sector can present a unified voice tasked with the dynamic development of its future. The event will be of interest to all residential and domiciliary care providers, especially owners, directors and senior managers who support older people and those with dementia, learning disabilities and long-term conditions.

An informative panel discussion chaired by George Appleton, Head of Policy at Care England, will focus on how adult social care systems can achieve lasting integration, particularly through the introduction of integrated care systems. Confirmed panellists include Jeremy Richardson, Chief Executive Officer at Runwood Homes, Kate Terroni, Chief Inspector of Adult Social Care at the Care Quality Commission, Richard Ayres, Social Care Advisor at Care England and Amanda Sullivan, Chief Executive Officer at NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Integrated Care Board.

Rounding off proceedings at the Care England 2023 Conference and

Exhibition will be Avnish Goyal CBE, Chair at Care England and Hallmark Care Homes, who will revisit the event’s main talking points and provide unmissable advice and guidance for delegates to implement in their daily working practices.

Unrivalled networking opportunities

Over 35 leading companies and organisations will be present at the Care England 2023 Conference and Exhibition to showcase their products and services to the estimated 250 high-level delegates set to attend. As well as exhibitors from Care England’s membership, non-members and representatives from Government, regulatory bodies and the sector media will also be in attendance. Confirmed exhibitors to date include:

• Accora.

• Altura Learning.

• Anthony Collins Solicitors.

• apetito.

• Boots.

• Care Home Life.

• Carterwood.

• Citation.

• Cohesion Recruitment.

• CoolCare.

• Care Quality Commission.

• EveryLIFE Technologies.

• Famileo.

• Aspirico.

• IBI Group.

• Grant Thornton LLP.

• SES Water.

Look out for announcements

• Leecare.

• Mitigo.

• Marr Procurement.

• CBRE.

• HUR.

• Nourish Care.

• The Nursing & Midwifery Council.

• PainChek.

• Person Centred Software.

• PLMR.

• Weightmans.

• Royal College of Nursing.

• RWK Goodman.

• Scurr.

• Skills for Care.

• Towergate Insurance.

• Zenergi.