Recognising and celebrating musical achievement at Bolton Impact Trust

Rachel Bingley, Trust Music Lead at Bolton Impact Trust shares how they deliver Trinity’s Awards & Certificates in Musical Development (ACMD) in a flexible way that is shaped by their learners’ individual needs and how, as a result, the qualifications have enabled them to gain confidence, musical skills and open up new pathways.

Bolton Impact Trust (BIT) is a Multi-Academy Trust of four alternative provision and Special (Social, Emotional and Mental Health or SEMH) academies for children and young people who may be at a time in their lives where they require specific support. This could be when they are experiencing personal crisis, when they need help with their behaviour, or when they aren’t medically well enough to attend mainstream school.

When I joined BIT five years ago, music was not part of the curriculum at any of the academies. At first, the idea of creating a music offer for learners aged 5–16 with such varied needs seemed daunting - but also full of exciting possibilities! After completing an Introduction to Music Therapy course at Roehampton University and receiving Youth Music funding, I began to develop a bespoke curriculum that combined student-led music-making with creative and responsive enrichment opportunities.

As refreshing as it was to work therapeutically with learners (a big change from my 13 years as a mainstream secondary music teacher), I soon began searching for an accreditation that could recognise, celebrate and structure musical progress, whilst ensuring music-making remained person-centred, autonomous and authentic. After researching, Trinity’s Awards & Certificates in Musical Development stood out as being a trailblazer in achieving all these things and more.

With Trinity’s support, I attended the free online assessor training and enjoyed learning more about the Sounds of Intent framework.

What ACMD looks like at BIT

Our ACMD music sessions are delivered weekly and take many different forms, from one-to-one/small group lessons to whole-class teaching. Each is shaped by the learner’s age, needs, and musical interests. On any given day, I might be:

• Facilitating free improvisation on a variety of instruments
• Delivering music production workshops
• Supporting lyric writing for rappers and songwriters
• Helping an instrumentalist/vocalist develop performance or composition techniques
• Preparing a student for a DJ set performance.

In all my lessons, I try to use the therapeutic tool of ‘affect attunement’ – the immediate mirroring and sharing of another’s emotional and behavioural state - to ensure meaningful musical and social/emotional outcomes are being achieved. For some learners, particularly rappers/singers in the Secondary Pupil Referral Unit (PRU), my teaching is planned around termly trips to an external recording studio. This end goal is motivational and enables the musicians to thrive and ‘raise the bar’ for their formal recordings. However, for most of the learners I work with, the thought of working towards a formalised recording can trigger anxiety and therefore teacher assessment is on-going in our weekly sessions. The ACMD qualifications allow me to be flexible and ensure learners are at the centre of their own musical journey.

Capturing evidence

Filming looks different for each learner. Some learners are filmed in their termly recording studio visits; for others, a filmed performance at the end of the session provides motivation and a clear goal and this works particularly well for DJs. For most learners, I film the whole session to capture spontaneous, playful music making that can later be used as evidence across the three domains. Some learners find cameras triggering so I use voice recordings instead. My priority is always making sure learners feel comfortable and supported in how their music is captured.

Assessing progress

Roughly every six weeks I review the recordings I’ve collected, piecing together evidence for the learners’ assessment documentation. I also note any gaps from the three ‘domains’ so I know what to focus on in upcoming sessions. The interactive domain continues to be the most challenging to document, especially for learners whose music making is deeply personal and not easily shared with others. Relationship building continues to be the key in these tricky moments; some students will develop the confidence to work alongside their peers, whilst others will feel more comfortable performing with me. When I feel I have enough evidence to ensure the learner has reached their maximum potential in each domain, I start writing my formal assessments.

The support from Trinity and Sounds of Intent has been invaluable, with someone always on hand to answer any questions I have.

Impact on learners and staff

The difference the ACMD qualifications has made for the children and young people within the Trust is profound. For the cohort of learners who received an award last academic year (ranging from ages 10-16 years), it is the first time their musical talents and creativity have been formally recognised and celebrated. Confidence has grown, musical skills have flourished and music lessons have become a safe space where learners can authentically express themselves and be awarded for doing so. One example that highlights this success is a 15-year-old rapper and producer from Youth Challenge who received a Level 1 ACMD qualification with merit in July and is now looking forward to working towards Level 2 this year:

‘Having the opportunity to do music with Rachel is very mentally healing. It brings out a different side of me I can’t show anyone else. Without it I wouldn’t enjoy school so much. I’m proud of getting the music award and know my family and teachers are proud of me too.’

For other students, the ACMD qualifications have opened doors to new creative ambitions; two learners have gone on to study Music and Performing Arts at College.

The qualifications have provided structure and validation to the Trust’s music offer. Music is no longer just ‘enrichment’; it has a recognised status within the curriculum. This shift has helped colleagues see music not only as therapeutic, but also as academically and artistically rigorous.

Tips for other centres

• Be flexible – not every learner will want to be filmed; audio recordings alongside detailed written notes can still capture progress.
• Don’t feel you need to change your delivery style - the ACMD learning outcomes and assessment criteria is designed to be fluid enough to validate all forms of music making; from drill beat making and free-style rap, to jazz improvisation on the xylophones.
• Continue to use the Sounds of Intent website as your reference point –the videos/commentary help bring to life the assessment criteria.
• If in doubt, contact Trinity’s ACMD team or the Sounds of Intent team for reassurance.

Final thoughts

Introducing the ACMD qualifications has been one of the most rewarding steps in my teaching career. It has given our learners something tangible to be proud of, while also affirming to staff and parents that musical achievement is possible for everyone. Most importantly, it celebrates music in its purest form — inclusive, authentic, and life-enhancing.

Would you like to learn more about Trinity's Awards & Certificates in Musical Development? Click here to view the information on our website and complete our contact form.