Working with young people

The tailor-made child licensing service, making it easier for you to include young people in your performances

What is MMSafe?

Making Music's MMSafe service offers members access to a national BOPA (Body of Persons Approval) covering England and Wales, administered by Brass Bands England but for all types of music groups, as a low admin option. This comprehensive programme provides you with all the necessary resources, tools and training you need to navigate the challenges of safeguarding for your leisure-time music group.

This resource is about using Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks in England and Wales as part of safeguarding when working with people and groups at risk, such as children or vulnerable adults. 

For broader information on the topic of safeguarding children, see our guidance covering the main principles and your responsibilities.

What is social prescribing and how can your music group benefit from it?

Social prescribing is part of the relatively new NHS personalised care programme and a way for GPs and local agencies to refer people to a link worker, who takes a holistic approach to people’s health and wellbeing. They then connect people to community groups and statutory services for practical and emotional support.

In this recording of our webinar (original event 23 September 2022), guest speakers discussed the national plans for music education in the UK nations.

We welcomed:

In this recording of our webinar (original event 20 May 2022), guest speakers discussed what social prescribing is and how it could be a huge opportunity for music groups. 

Social prescribing is a key feature of the NHS’ long-term plan, which aims to strengthen the link between the local community and social activities such as music, sport, and arts. In this webinar, we discussed who does the prescribing, what kind of people are referred and what it would mean for your group to become ‘social prescribing friendly’.

We welcomed:

In this recording of our webinar (original event 18 March 2022), a panel of guest speakers discussed the challenges of recruiting and retaining volunteers, particularly in the context of the pandemic.

Volunteers are difficult to come by – increasing regulation, rising retirement ages, less regular working hours and less stable working lives have probably contributed to fewer people volunteering.

Ever wonder how you could enhance your group's online presence? Can't remember the last time your website received a good spring-clean? Never fear, our brand new Website Health Check is here!

An exciting new tool specially developed for member groups, our Health Check is designed to help you find out if you are making the most of your group's site, or whether it can be improved. The tool also assesses how effective your group’s website may be in helping you to recruit new members.

As music groups rise to the digital challenge and find innovative ways to move the musical and social aspect of their groups to an online space, it’s important they remember the responsibilities they have to their members too.