Themes of feedback by noisesolutionuk

Themes from 255 pieces of unsolicited feedback

The meaning behind the numbers

“Without NS, the student would have become further disengaged from learning and ultimately society, as he felt undervalued and did not see himself as a learner or someone who could be taught by teachers. NS is absolutely brilliant! Phenomenal way to engage students in learning. Disengaged become engaged”

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Introduction: Demonstrating Outcomes and Value

Noise Solution’s model of creative mentoring, digital storytelling, and AI-enabled analysis is delivering transformative outcomes for young people and the systems around them.

Across 225 pieces of unsolicited qualitative feedback, clear outcome themes emerge (see chart). The following report is based on unsolicited feedback, it isn’t in any way the full extent of our impact by some signiﬁcant factor – this is just what people have told us under their own steam.

The strongest theme is re-engagement with education, with 88 young people demonstrating renewed attendance, participation, or progression into further study. Alongside this, 44 instances were coded as general positive impact, 39 related directly to mental health and well-being, and 19

described positive family outcomes. Importantly, 17 cases were identiﬁed as life-saving or life-changing, representing some of the most profound impacts of our work. We’ll dive into hearing those voices later but ﬁrst it’s worth reminding ourselves of the systemic impact of what’s contained in this report.

Independent analysis by Costello Medical shows that Noise Solution generates £12.54 of social value for every £1 invested, creating £9.3 million of public value in 2024–25 alone.

Examples of cost implications of feedback: How is that ﬁgure arrived at.

Avoiding mental health crisis admission: A single Tier 4 CAMHS inpatient admission costs in the region of £500–£700 per day, with average stays running to several weeks. Just one of the 17 cases described as “life-saving or changing” could equate to £20,000–£30,000 in avoided acute care costs, before factoring in community follow-up or longer-term risk.

Keeping a care-experienced young person engaged in education: Research suggests that young people who leave care without qualiﬁcations are signiﬁcantly more likely to become NEET, with long-term costs to the state estimated at £56,000–£104,000 per individual over their lifetime. Several of the life-changing cases in our dataset describe precisely this kind of trajectory being averted

Preventing exclusion and improving attendance: The Department for Education estimates the lifetime public ﬁnance cost of one permanently excluded pupil at around

£370,000, accounting for lost earnings, increased likelihood of NEET, and justice/health service interactions. Our dataset includes 88 cases of re-engagement with education, each of which reduces the likelihood of those costs being realised. Even a modest fraction of these equates to millions in savings.

These ﬁgures make clear that when Noise Solution prevents crisis or reconnects a young person with education, the impact is not just personal — it avoids signiﬁcant costs for local authorities, the NHS, and wider society.

The voices behind these numbers confirm the scale of change implied in those figures above. Families describe Noise Solution as “literally a life saver” and “the only stability factor” for young people at risk of exclusion. Professionals point to measurable improvements: one school recorded unauthorised absence reducing from 37% to below 7% following Noise Solution’s involvement. For individuals, the impact is no less profound—one participant who had been selectively mute for years spoke for the first time during a Noise Solution session, while another moved from a YMCA hostel to securing a place at university

Together, these outcomes demonstrate how Noise Solution’s relational, evidence-informed approach does more than provide music mentoring—it re-engages young people with education, stabilises families, prevents crises, and creates measurable savings for the public purse.

Now to hear in their own words the impact that the work has.

Life-saving or changing / Crisis Averted (17)

· I just ﬁnished session 20 with a participant who has been non verbal throughout. Mum messaged Sunday to say she (participant) was wanting to speak and I’m pleased to say she did so today. Pretty much throughout the whole session. This is massive; she doesn’t speak to anyone outside of family and there’s even some family she doesn’t speak with. I think Mum will be sending some feedback in due course but seeing how much that meant to them both was incredible so once again, thanks to all of you for supporting this to happen. It’s a team eﬀort and it’s incredible to be supported to help facilitate moments like this and see the results.

· Hi, Just wanted to let you know I have been accepted unconditionally into the Popular Music course at Derby University and I wanted to thank you for the generous reference. It really was a big help and I greatly appreciate your assistance. I hope you and everyone at Noise Solution is doing well. (also thanks for doing this with me, it's changed my life from being on the edge of homelessness in a YMCA Hostel to University.

· Noise Solution has been pivotal in saving lives. Enabling those lives to blossom and ﬂourish into the best of themselves, whether they choose music as the bases of their future endeavours or not. The Louise Bomber model of 'Team pupil' is able to ﬂourish through Noise Solution online platform, sharing feedback on the creations from the student. The students seeing their 'Team' focusing on the positives in their lives, creates

more memorable moments of magic to focus on and reﬂect on.

· From S who booked the gig...."Two of the acts booked for last Saturday's Hunter Club gig were made of Noise Solution graduates. Their 2nd gigs. The one girl gave a long, emotional speech on stage about how it saved her life and she wouldn't be here today without it. Jay (NS Musician) was in the crowd and it was all rather beautiful. Band playing now, lead singer came up to me when she found out I work here too; and said she wished everyone could know how lifesaving it was.

· I received an email from mum this morning regarding her son C (see below) . When I first met the family C would not leave his bedroom, he was suffering with mental health problems, severe IBS and a complete lack of motivation, the family had been fined in the past for C not attending School and he left with no qualifications. We funded Noise Solution which I feel was the best choice we could have made. The Noise Solution team have been paramount in C’s progression. Text re progression from mum “Theresa, C got a Distinction and the assessors said his written work was to a PhD level in some of the aspects of his supporting work. Thank you for your on going support of us that has made this possible. He Still has another year to go, as it’s a 2 year course to achieve his qualification at SNC to achieve his dream of going to Uni. S B” I’m so pleased for C, he’s such a bright lad and now he seems to be on track of fulfilling his dream of going to university. Thank you Simon for all you did with C, I’m pretty sure we wouldn’t be where we are today without you and your team. Update he made it to Uni! Page of 7 104

· Without NS, the student would have become further disengaged from learning and ultimately society, as he felt undervalued and did not see himself a s a learner or someone who could be taught by teachers. NS is absolutely brilliant! As a school I know I can contact the team at any point and ask for more information. There is school involvement and nothing is done in isolation. Phenomenal way to engage students in learning.

Disengaged become engaged

· During the academic year 2020/2021, Student A’s behaviour, motivation and engagement in learning. because a major cause for concern. We were extremely concerned that this pattern of behaviour would continue when he was due to start Year Ten in September 2022 and without any urgent intervention, he would be a school refuser, a huge underachiever and a potential NEET. Noise Solutions has undoubtedly had a major impact on this student’s life. In Year Nine, Student A was frequently late to school. This lateness became a huge issue and sometimes, he was late at least three times a week. However, this lateness started at ten minutes but gradually increased dramatically. Sometimes, he was arriving over two hours late to school without any valid reason. Linked in with his lateness, there was also spells of school refusal where he would point blank refuse to come into school and also days of unauthorised absence where there would be no reason for his absence. He would sometimes refuse to get up to come to school. Additionally, there were occasions when his family thought he was at school when they were called to ask about his absence. Sometimes, he would simply leave the house and saying Page of 8 104

that he was going to school and would then walk home when he knew his family had left for work. When Student A was in school, there were several occasions when he would arrive, stay for an hour and then leave the site by walking out of reception. This became more frequent. Consequently, he was not making progress academically and there was also a huge decrease in both his behaviour and attitude. He started to disrupt lessons, refuse to follow instructions and became increasingly defiant. As a result, he was sent out of lessons or removed from lessons for his behaviour to another classroom. Numerous interventions had been put in place including intensive support from the school’s pastoral team and also changing his timetable to help him reintegrate back into school. However, interventions only worked for a fixed period of time. At the start of the academic year 2021/2022, we were concerned that he had the potential to start school refusing again. As he would be starting Year Ten, our concern was that he would start falling behind with his studies and this would exacerbate his school refusal. We decided on Noise Solutions as we felt that he might engage better with an external intervention rather than anything within school. Within two weeks of starting the intervention, it was evident that there was a major change in Student A. He was no longer sullen, moody and miserable. He smiled, he looked happy, he engaged in school. His achievement points increased. Sometimes, he was being awarded fifteen points in one day. The lateness decreased. This became occasional rather than frequent. How do we know the impact of Noise Page of 9 104

Solutions? In 2020/2021, Student A’s unauthorised absence was 37%. This is now below 7%. Lateness marks have decreased from three times a week to one a week. Most of the time, he is not late at all. If Student A is late, this is only for ten minutes, not over two hours. There have been no occasions where he has walked oﬀ site. But most importantly, he is engaged in his studies, he is on target or above for the majority of his subjects . Last academic year, he only had 86 positive points for the whole of the academic year. This year, he has already achieved 270 positive points and he still has a term to go. Noise Solutions can reach the most challenging of students and have a huge impact on their life chances.

· Dear Simon, I am very interested in reading your work! I beneﬁted hugely from your Noise Solution programme 6 years ago. My mother was told that she should accept that I would always be in a psychiatric ward. Since then, I got back into education, I left music college with a piece of paper that said Distinction* and I am currently in my third year of university studying Creative, Expressive Arts, Health and Wellbeing on my way to train as a Music Psychotherapist. I am about to write my dissertation on how music engagement can enhance, motivate, and inspire secondary language learning for refugees and asylum seekers. And my entire educational journey has been inspired by the work you do. You might never see this. But if you do, I want to say a massive thank you! I needed something to pick me up and make me believe that I was good at something. And because of 10 sessions with Noise Solution, I found a voice and a purpose I didn't know I had. So thank you!

· Local musician went from mental health crisis to being played on Radio One. A drummer in an up-and-coming local rock band says he was helped to turn his life around after receiving support from a specialist music therapy programme.

Luke Woods, 27, from Sudbury, found himself struggling with OCD and depression at the age of twenty. He was unemployed and seeing a therapist as his mental health had become extremely challenging. After expressing his love of music, Luke’s therapist suggested he might beneﬁt from attending sessions with Noise Solution, an organisation which pairs participants with professional musicians to help them develop self-conﬁdence as well as to feel in control and to recognise that they are good at something.

Luke says: “I was receiving therapy for OCD and depression, and I would always express to my therapist my love for music and playing the drums. At the time I would just play drums in my garage along to music as a sort of therapy for myself. But she set me up with Noise Solution. “I was 20 at the time, unemployed with bad mental health, I never thought I could ever have a career in music. You are always told that there aren’t many jobs in music and you are never told about the careers you can get into. However, I was taught by Noise Solution that music isn’t actually as hard as people tell you. You don’t need to know music theory to write songs, you don’t need to be the best musician, it’s all about having fun. “I created a piece of music I was really proud of and I played every single instrument and even sung. It made me so incredibly proud of myself. I knew I needed to pursue a career in music and ﬁnd

other musicians to play in a band with.

“I finally found my passion and something I was good at, my mental health really started to improve. When I finished my Noise Solution sessions, I went straight to the job centre and told them I want to go back to college to study music. I’m now at Anglia Ruskin University studying Music Performance.” And that’s not all. Luke’s band, Rosary, WHICH PERFORMS AT LOCAL VENUES? (fill in a bit about the band for people) has had a taste of success recently after being played by BBC Essex Introducing and BBC Introducing Rock on radio 1. Their track NAME was played by WHICH DJ and the band has received lots of positive feedback. “I can’t believe where I am today when I look back at how low I was before. The band is doing really well, we were so excited to be played on national radio and we hope this will continue this way,” says Luke.

“The support I’ve received from Noise Solution transformed my life, I wouldn’t be where I am today, doing a music degree at university and playing in the band.#Participant

· Hi, I just wanted to email you to tell you of some fantastic news regarding my daughter S. she came to you 4 years ago, she was in a bad dark place in her life, she was suﬀering from mental illness, and dealing with grief. Music was the only answer to release the anger, of the grief she was suﬀering when her father died. She has now just signed a record deal, Im so very proud of Sophie, but if it wasn't for you and noise solutions she wouldn't be the talented artist she is today . I want to Thank you from the bottom of my heart for the time you gave to S, for the Patience ,support and Page of 12 104

advice. For being a genuine great person x Thankyou, Thankyou, Thankyou xx though music my daughter is now living her dream, she is the most happiest young lady I know, and has become the most loving daughter that any mother could dream oﬀ, you have turned her life around. #Family

· My son L was referred to noise solutions by the mental health team. L suffers with autism, Tic/Tourette disorder, selective mutism, severe anxiety, low moods, episodes of self harm etc. L plays both the guitar and piano and really does get lost In his music so when we were contacted by noise solutions we were delighted to hear L had been referred to this service for 10 sessions. L was assigned to a lovely young man called R and shortly afterwards L had his first session at home. R arrived and he and L clicked straight away (this is unheard of with Lewis) after the 1st session L was absolutely buzzing and couldn’t stop talking about it! He couldn’t wait for his next sessions and would eagerly be waiting for R to arrive. As L’ mum I have to help and support him with a great deal of his day to day life including communicating on his behalf when he self mutes, to our astonishment this never once happened with R, he made Lewis feel at ease from day one and gave him a confidence we had never before witnessed! Even with the last 4 sessions being away from his home and in a recording studio was no problem, Lewis was happy and confident to attend (one of his biggest trigger points is leaving the safety of his own home) He was absolutely gutted when the sessions came to an end but was blown away by how lucky he was to be

given the opportunity to do these sessions and work with a genuinely amazing team of people.

· We recently had A’s review of his EHCP and I was amazed when I was recounting how many things A has learned to do independently just recently. He now can plan and cook meals unaided but even more importantly he can go to the shops alone and buy what is on the list he has created in his head. They may seem small achievements but to A these are huge milestones we did not anticipate him achieving for a very long time. In reflecting on what has been different for him over this time and the one thing that we feel has truly impacted his confidence is Noise solutions. While A has always appeared a confident child and outgoing he has developed an inner confidence which I saw when I collected him from the studios a few weeks back - he seemed comfortable in his own skin and so confident - we do feel that this confidence has hugely impacted other areas of his life and for A it is these hugely important life skills that he has achieved because he has had the confidence to give them a go!

· Noise Solution has helped so much with my confidence and I now feel like I have a goal for my future. It is the one thing that I have enjoyed the most. I have had Selective Mutism for a few years and could not speak to anyone outside of family, but with my confidence growing through the NS sessions I managed to talk to J for the first time in my last session. Following this I have now completely overcome my mutism which I never thought would happen. I have worked with a few people over the years and J has had by far the best approach

to help me come out of my shell. Thank you!!

· Noise solutions was an absolute life saver, literally. My daughter was feeling suicidal but since she started her journey with J at nosie solutions, drums and making music has been her main focus. She has gained so much conﬁdence from this experience and has thoroughly enjoyed every session. J was very fun and patient with my child and made every session fun and relaxed. Without noise solutions I don't know where she would be today.

· C has made great progress since working with Noise solutions, he is now enrolled onto a full time Music course. The CAF i had open for him as now closed as things had home have greatly improved. His work with Youth Justice has been completed and there have been no more incidents with the Police. It has been great to see C journey and the Music he has produced. Thank you for spending the time with him to develop his passion for music and moving him forward with his life!

· Noise Solution Saved my daughter's life there's no doubt about that. Struggling with her Asperger's and trying to ﬁt into a world where very little made sense she was so withdrawn and extremely unhappy. Then along came Noise Solution. The transformation was unbelievable like a butterﬂy bursting from a chrysalis. Music is still a major emotional crutch for her in good times and bad. I cannot thank everyone at Noise Solution enough for giving her life back and helping her to see a way forward and realising that she did matter and that here WAS something she was good at! Thank you

· Here is a recent work he’s done, and he’s almost completed his first year at uni with passes in all his modules. He’s loving it and has made genuine friendships. He is well liked by his tutors and his confidence has grown immensely. He is a different person and frankly, Noise Solution was an essential ingredient in his transformation. Your influence is evident in this track too. Thank you again for all your work and the initiative of Noise Solution.

· I am writing just to give some feedback on our family’s experiences with Noise Solutions. Our son became unwell with his anxiety and mood deteriorating significantly as he started sixth form in September. He had never had any form of emotional difficulty before and had always been very able and capable academically. His depression led to it becoming increasingly difficult for him to attend Sixth Form and subsequently to engage with others socially. He became increasingly withdrawn and isolated once he was no longer able to attend. He had very little to engage him or for him to look forward to which was exacerbating his symptoms of low mood. Your service had been suggested to me by staff at Youth Mental Health Team in X but when I tried to get funding from the mental health services I was told this was not available or it may be available but an individual funding request would be needed which could take many months.

This response was really unhelpful given the pressing timescales of need. When I contacted you directly, firstly I was struck by your calm positivity and within days you had managed to arrange to use funding from a source that I now understand commissions only four places a year. Also within days, a musician was organised and sessions set up. The organisation and consistency were greatly valued by us at a time of family stress. In addition, you had listened to what was likely to engage my son (who is a keen music producer) and arranged studio time and after the first session installed different software for music production as my son was more familiar with this. Our engagement with your service has been a thoroughly positive experience. From a family point of view, we really value your consistent and speedy communication, the effort that goes into recording the digital story and the manner in which you provide positive support to our son. We also value the extra input you give, liaising with other professionals in his network (such as his psychologist) and trying to arrange onward support such as with your connections with college and with voluntary work. From my son’s perspective, your sessions have been one of the most consistent and helpful aspects of his care plan. He looks forward to

attending, he is able to develop skills in sessions which give him a sense of achievement and purpose, there is no focus on “being unwell” but rather on what he is capable of. He has developed a positive relationship with the musician assigned. We could not be more grateful for the support you provide and feel it is integral to his recovery from depression. However, he then came to the end of his allocated ten sessions just as these were really starting to be beneficial. Again, as a family we had to navigate the impossible task of requesting funding from Youth Mental Health Team X which added significant stress and concern to our family. We are grateful for you negotiating this with the team manager and again arranging funding from your own exceptionally small budget as without this, we would not have been able to continue with this support. I write to you primarily as a mother of a seventeen-year-old with depression. As detailed above, the support your service has provided has been exceptional and provided much needed containment at an immensely difficult time. However, I am also a clinical psychologist who has worked in **** for a number of years (although I now work independently). I have always worked with young people with mental health difficulties and am familiar with the difficulties of engaging Page of 18 104

teenagers and supporting their recovery. I have worked on national research programmes looking at therapy outcomes for young people with depression so am highly familiar with the research in this area. I feel that from a professional perspective what your service provides has been integral in promoting a sense of possibility, positivity, achievement and motivation. These factors are so important to young people’s recovery from mental health diﬀiculties. I am also aware that for our family, your service has been a source of stability and consistency in a landscape of changing professionals within the mental health team. The consistency and focus on relationship building again is noted to be highly relevant in terms of outcomes for young people at times of crisis. I have read the research supporting your outcomes which again is very positive. Our experiences with your service have been marred only by the stress and strain of trying to source funding and feeling frustrated that within the Mental Health Youth team, this has proved extremely diﬀicult and exceptionally challenging which is completely unnecessary at such a time of family stress. I hope you are able to use this letter and our experiences to alert commissioners not only to the positives associated with Noise

Solutions involvement, but also to the reality that for some young people, such support needs to be seen as an integral part of their care planning and risk minimisation plan. Many thanks again.

Mental Health & Well-being (39)

· I just wanted to catch up with you and let you know how well T is doing. He is absolutely loving the sessions and has, with help and encouragement from both Jay and Jake, thrown himself fully into the creative process which has really helped his sense of purpose and wellbeing. He finds it extremely difficult to communicate, and struggles to find the words to express his thoughts and ideas, but we feel the experiences he is having and the relaxed atmosphere at Noise Solution are really helping him to feel less anxious about this. Today, for example, in his session with J, he said he made a conscious effort to engage a bit more in the conversation. It is thanks to J's inclusive approach and his patience with T that T felt relaxed enough to attempt this in the first place, and although he struggled with finding the vocabulary as it is still early days, this is a massive step forward for him. T is quite rightly feeling proud of his achievements so far, and what he has been able to absorb in such a short space of time, and we are more than happy with how things are progressing.

· Thank you so much for giving our son happiness and enjoyment at a diﬀicult time in his life. We are very grateful.

· “These sessions are really good for her, she’s always really happy after them!”

· Thank you for the course you did with T. It was very inspiring. She wasn't very interested at first. Since she has done the course, she was so inspired that she has decided to do something to do with music production as a carer path. This is a very good course. T suffers from anxiety. Its given her confidence and helped her with her anxiety.

· My personal opinion is that the Noise Solutions sessions have been the only thing in the last 10 weeks that have got R out of his flat apart from dr, care coordinator appointmens and the Gilbert and Sullivan performance, which is finished now. He has responded really well to Noise Solutions and I definitely got the feeling that he wanted to complete more. I'm sure Ian has rounded it all up well. What did he/Ian think of any further work? He isn't keen to join groups with people who have mental health problems. However he really strugges with self motivation and chronic depression coupled with medication make it extremely hard for him to get up, let alone get out. His music is very important to him and at the moment seems to be the only thing that he has any enthusiasm for. With others He will agree to things and say what he thinks they'd like to hear and I'm sure he has good intentions. However I think it would be extremely hard for him to continue to make progress on his own and currently, very unlikely he will do so. His sudden decision to go away for a few days on Thursday might mean he will come back with a different mind set. WIth him on a section 117 I think Page of 21 104

he needs to get involved in regular (musical?) activities to give him focus and help him to become more positive. I appreciate some of this has to be self motivated but more support to get him out of his ﬂat is still needed. The completion of the 10 weeks Noise Solutions might have a negative eﬀect on R and something else to look forward would ease that. I believe Noise Solutions have been a crucial part of His recovery and am very grateful to Ian and Simon for enabling him to experience it.

· On the digital story element of it: “It was nice to look back on everything I’d done. And to be able to show people what we had been doing rather than explain it was really cool. I shared it with some staﬀ members at my college, my dad, my mental health nurse. It was great to have feedback from mymental health nurse in particular, she seemed really pleased with the progress I had made #Participant

· My son at the time he was having his noise solutions session had no other support and was profoundly depressed. He doesn’t like online counselling sessions or text based services which is really all that was available during lockdown. He thrives on interaction with people and the fact that noise solutions is fun and totally diﬀerent from anything else he’d tried it didn’t feel like therapy or forced. The music gave the sessions a purpose and just by giving him time out of that negative headspace he’d become trapped in. I think it helped my son as the sessions aren’t directly focused on talking about or solving your young persons mental health issues as such but deﬁnitely

can boost self esteem through achievement and just gives them something else to think about.

· Noise solution has been brilliant. M inspired O so much and he taught him so many new things. O has a new passion and focus for music. I can’t thank you enough. He has a new conﬁdence which is so lovely to see. Thank you !!

· When E started noise Solution she was at a very low time in her life. Having had these sessions with J gave E some of her conﬁdence back and gave her a focus E has a beautiful voice but these sessions help in ways we couldn’t of imagined E struggles to engage especially with men because of past trauma but Jay was amazing with her and gained her trust and helped to bring emielia out of her shell. Thank you for all the wonderful work you do

· I just have to say thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. It has been an incredible experience for P. I've seen some real conﬁdence in her, and she's been very proud of what she's been doing as well, which is so nice to see from her is incredible. He's been so patient with her and helped her produce some fantastic work. So I'd really like to thank him so much for taking the time with her and showing her what she can really do. I was very lucky to experience experienced her last session today as it was half term and was able to be with her, and it was just awesome. Thank you so much. Bye.

· And you are great at what you do ! You certainly made the diﬀerence , thank you for teaching and supporting my son , he loved everything single lesson with you , you have bring so much conﬁdence on him , Page of 23 104

and also this helped Him deciding his path for the near future. So thank you so much !

· The joy and confidence that L has got from attending this programme has been great to see. When talking to him I can see he is really proud to tell me what he has been doing and its been fantastic that through his feedback videos he has identified himself feeling better and more confident. I really hope now he can continue to use these skills and grow in confidence.

· Lot of improvement in her attitude – she is more fun to be around – less stressed. She is more confident. everything has worked within the program for her……. She’s achieved. I don’t want it to finish because I think its really benefiting her. She is now taking praise for being successful at her music –she’s accepting that she is talented. She posted on Facebook her playing and singing so much more confident – it’s boosted her quite a bit

· Because of H's anxiety I was able to sit in and participate in the sessions if needed, over a couple of sessions I moved away to allow her conﬁdence to grow. The blogs and e mails were a really good way of keeping me up to date with what was happening, and the fact that I could respond was also good. The communication and eﬀort of I was fantastic, especially when things started to slip, he was very patient and understanding. My daughter is in a slightly better place now and has said she wished she had of completed the sessions.

· T's blog is brilliant, he's really changed for the better. We're so happy with how positive he is, he's really enjoyed noise solution and we're sad it's ended. We all Page of 24

appreciate this opportunity you have given him so much, big thankyou for your time and help, it's been brilliant for him.

· What a positive and smiley ending to your sessions with R. It's been so good, THANK YOU Noise Solutions for giving him this opportunity. I believe it has been the single, most important experience and help towards his recovery. R has readily engaged with you and, I think, turned up for all the sessions so a great result. He's obviously learned a lot about the music and recording side of things but also about himself. It has been excellent for R. I am hugely grateful. Wishing you and Noise Solutions much success for the future. If you need any conﬁrmations etc to help with getting the word out there to others I am more than happy to help.

· My experience with the GLT aka Noise Solutions has really helped me. I have always loved music from a young age and have felt that it is a good way to express myself. This course gave me so much in the way of conﬁdence, increased self-esteem and a good way of regulating my emotions. I would highly recommend anyone who is given this opportunity takes it up and goes for it as I nearly didn’t and now I am so grateful I gave it a chance.

· It was a good experience and I have learnt a lot from going. At ﬁrst I was a little nervous but I feel that I have gained a lot of conﬁdence and feel a lot better with what I have learnt.

· I have just completed a ten week block of sessions with R. From the very ﬁrst session, R was kind, funny and really encouraging of me. I thoroughly enjoyed every Page of 25 104

session and the ability to try new instruments, pick up ones I am familiar with and explore the technical side of music technology. The sessions have had a great impact on my well-being; I feel more grounded, conﬁdent in my abilities and generally happier. R is an amazing musician, with such talent and a wonderfully kind and engaging personality. I would wholeheartedly recommend Noise Solution and R to anyone and feel very grateful to have had the opportunity to engage with these sessions.

· I found the Noise Solution sessions empowering and helped in building conﬁdence and exploring things I never would have. It was also a break from everything that's happening outside, so I could zone in on the music. It's been something I've looked forward to each week.

· I liked that it was structured, gave lots of things to do but did not overwhelm me, tutorials left on blog were easy to follow. Kept me occupied

Helps with my Music GCSE and has helped me to be able to sustain conversations better and improve my conﬁdence talking to people

I can still access blog and resources and plan to continue to work on my music

I felt more comfortable not having camera on and that was ok with tutor

M was positive in the comments made on my blog, he was engaging with the music I produced and made suggestions on next directions to take

Follow up: Interested in zoom youth club and music night project at My Place when we are able to open thisWould tell another YP to do because: helps ﬁll

time, something to get into and is fun, is nice to see what you are creating as makes you feel good about yourself

· This is so lovely to read how your session went today. Hopefully we will continue to see improvement in A’s current mental health. A had a positive interaction with his social worker with a planned trip out tomorrow. Fingers crossed this is another positive interaction. Thank you for your persistence and adaptability in meeting A’s needs as they present.

· Thank you for the support you have shown A. Reports from all those who work closely with her, indicate that it has been really beneﬁcial and has helped increase her conﬁdence. The only criticism I have is I would have liked to have had more session updates on her blog so that I could follow her progress.

· It was great to see D’s conﬁdence increase this year. He built strong relationships with the team at the studio and was able to explore and experiment within his musical interests. I think his sessions have been of real beneﬁt to him in terms of social and emotional development.

· We have had 2 students work with yourselves now and it have been great to see them grow in conﬁdence and love what they do with you guys. Keep up the good work.

· Noise solutions sessions with a student on our roll have been a signiﬁcant part in maintaining a secure connection further stabilising our students mental health. These sessions have been very eﬀective in many areas not just producing but building on inter personal skills, social skills humour and a lot lot more. Page of 27 104

Amazing connections established through noise solution sessions.

· The professionalism shown by NS staﬀ had been fantastic, with reports and communications shared at every step of the way. The young person who was referred has clearly gained so much conﬁdence during her time with NS and it has been great to listen to their weekly updates and see how far they have come. Thank you!

· incredibly supportive of young people and working alongside them with whatever choice they make in their creations -the impact on conﬁdence levels, self-esteem and emotional wellbeing has been fantastic and it has been such a privilege to be able to support some of our young people and would wish this was available to all our young people that ﬁnd music therapeutic, creative, helping to express themselves and their complex emotions.

Thank you very much - it has been a pleasure yet again

· E is now closed to myself and CYPS because of the amazing progress he has made and no longer any safeguarding concerns. On my last visit, E was so complimentary of noise solutions and couldn’t have spoke more highly of his sessions/the support, so wanted to say thank you for that, I’ve really noticed a change in his conﬁdence!

· C’s conﬁdence in his ability has grown and the track he has made would be worthy of a place in my CD collection!

· I can’t thank you enough for the superb work you have done with F He feels he has never stuck at anything I have come up with before and was getting down about it and feeling he would never be able to. He now has the conﬁdence to face what will be an uphill struggle but he has the belief that he can do it restored. Your ideas about how to move forward and build on the course sound great and your oﬀer to support him in this is very kind.

· On both occasions of using Noise Solution I have been more than happy with not only the outcome but the actual journey and experience my young people have had. Both increased their confidence far more than was ever expected. The mentors at Noise solution kept me and other interested parties involved and updated throughout every single step, they were friendly and approachable towards my clients and really understood how to get them to open up and feel confident in expressing themselves. I would be more than happy to refer to this provision in the future, and once I have another eligible young person who I feel could benefit from Noise solution, I will have no hesitation in making a referral.

#Professional

· It has been pleasing to see how some students have gained in confidence. We have had one student, who was having a difficult time within their personal life, and thrived on the experience of Noise Solutions. The change in confidence was amazing. The majority of our students love it and cannot rate it highly enough!

· students who were extremely anxious have built conﬁdence in this area and were successful which has given them the conﬁdence to try new things

· I actually think that this is what’s going to make more of a diﬀerence to his continued well-being than anything we can do!!!

· “I could say to anyone: “It’s made a massive difference to do this sort of thing” and it would be my word. You can actually, visually look at those videos and be like — that’s made a massive difference. Back then, you can see how locked up I am, stiff…whereas now, I’m chilled out, I’m happy…it’s made a big difference.”

· "Thank you so much for all that you have done for K, when he first came to you he was a sad and damaged boy, but we have seen his confidence increase and his smile return. For the first time in forever, K is up and excited to go to something. You have a gift at supporting young people and we are so thankful K came to you”

Re-engagement with Education (88)

· "Thank you for all of the support that you have put in place for her. They attended all of their A Level exams, and I didn't think this would have been possible earlier in the year."

· We have had some students on the programme who would make the wrong decision e.g. if something was going wrong in a lesson, they would get up and storm out of the room or students who will refuse to attend lessons. It is pleasing to see students think about the consequences of their actions. For example, we have

had two students whose behaviour points decreased dramatically after starting the programme.

· “The interventions from Noise Solution have been extremely valuable for my daughter, K on different levels. She suffers with anxiety and often struggles with social communication and these sessions with Helen have enabled to express herself by providing a safe and supportive working relationship. Helen has showed patience and kindness to K and has been very sensitive in her interactions, which have given K the confidence to communicate opinions and creative ideas. Helen has encouraged K with her songwriting and worked with K to develop her recording and production skills. At the start of the project, K was intimidated by music tech interfaces and had no idea where to start or how to ask for help. H has guided her to take control of the process and her confidence has gained so much that she is now able to record, mix and edit new material. She has even asked another young musician friend to collaborate on a song by sending in drum track and she has edited them into her original track all by herself. She has also set up a Soundcloud account and uploaded some of her songs and she tells me that she is very proud of her achievements. Helen has shown such professionalism both in her level of skill and in her interactions with K which coincided with the lockdown. They were able to complete the project via Skype sessions and this provided K with a focus and something productive to do in a very stressful time. I cannot thank Simon and everyone at Noise Solution enough for what they have done for K. She has just Page of 31 104

embarked on a music course at college and her conﬁdence levels are so much higher thanks to this intervention.”

· Great experience and opportunity to meet such a wonderfully talented and inspirational tutor. She found his approach to learning so beneﬁcial and the tailored methods that he used to engage with her were sensitive and calm. His insight of coping mechanisms with anxiety was demonstrated so thoughtfully and was encouraging. She sincerely appreciated that he didn?t give up on her, in a way which wasn?t forceful nor demanding but supportive, calm and with positive understanding and value of her needs and abilities. I helped her start a journey with music, which she really enjoys and I?m sure will continue. Many thanks for everything I. #Family

· I think for children with limited or impaired verbal communication the music tasks give a really nice context for learning to be with adults in a diﬀerent way, it removes a lot of pressure, and it also seemed to quickly build a sense of achievement.

· I was VSH (Virtual School Head) for Suﬀolk 2005-2015 and my team were frequent commissioners of Noise Solution for care experienced young people, with profoundly positive results....... We commission support to help young people achieve and grow. Feedback from young people about Noise Solution is universally good.

· I can’t speak highly enough, about NS and the work they do with our CYP. It has literally been a life saver in more than one case and the only stability factor in Page of 32 104

many more. NS have been used successfully for our most vulnerable CYP not accessing education and it has been a comprehensive and therapeutic way to support our children to get back into thinking about this as a possibility. NS have also been used to successfully support known tricky transitions e.g. school settings, placements etc.

· Yes, we have had students whose attendance has transformed. For example. we had a student, who from September 2018 to January 2019, had failed to complete a full week of attendance and whose attendance was extremely low. With the intervention of Noise Solutions. his attendance increased by 20% which was extremely pleasing and he did full weeks. #Professional

· The students that Noise Solutions have are very vulnerable or anxious young people and the starting point is very low, especially in terms of self engaging. The students that I am aware of have certainly changed in terms of readiness to learn, feeling proud of something that they are doing, feeling that music can play a meaningful role in their life. Writing songs supports so many other academic realms, the discipline in this skill is transferrable to other skills either in education or the workplace.

· Both pupils have beneﬁtted enormously and the fact that they both wanted to continue accessing Noise Solutions is testament to the power of the service Noise Solution provides. Music in various forms has been a vital way of allowing these pupils to engage , not only with another adult but with learning a new skill. In the past these pupils fear of failure was and in Page of 33 104

some areas still remains profound but now they can both see themselves as having achieved something and importantly having felt what achievement and success feels like ; an emotion they have rarely ever felt.

· Music is a mainstream connection to all teens. This teen needed conﬁdence building to enable him to return to his education setting. Music is not an area of his expertise, he is a sports man. Learning something new was paramount in his self esteem building

· This aided him to become more confident and grow and kept him in education. Noise Solution’s flexible approach such as offering him sessions at home and moving times of meetings made him aware of the support network he had in place here

· The musical nature of the intervention is probably great for someone with ASD as there is an "activity" to do, while verbal communication is not an absolute requirement. Obviously it requires our child to face performance anxiety issues. The opportunity to be engaged with contemporary music/culture allows her to display her interest in soul-searching music with a dose of "anti-establishment" expression too - ideal ingredients in most teenagers' eyes! Beneﬁt:

Relationship with Parent(s)

For me this has been most key, as it has allowed S to share things with me she has not before. She has been able to be the teacher at times - showing me how to drum/use the cajon. Having another adult involved in the interaction and guiding it makes it a more "neutral" space, even if the activity has been at Page of 34 104

home at times. J’s relationship with S is different so he alone can comment on it, also his relationship with music is different to mine. I believe he enjoyed the sessions to (although he was meant to be "working from home at the time”)! Benefit: Impact on our Daughter More than anything I imagine you wished to see a response and a reaction from S in particular an impetus to do something and be engaged with something positive from S. As parents it has been very hard, almost incomprehensible, to see our daughter slip so fast and so far, this outcome has also made us very nervous about predicting the future. These emotions also now colour our entire thinking about our daughter.

Sa has engaged with these sessions - see objective information below. The biggest achievement is that S has and continues to pick up a acoustic guitar out of choice, outside of the sessions. This first happened about 2 weeks ago. Yes we are very lucky to have one at home - a lockdown purchase by my husbandand she has tried to teach herself to play it. She has got instructions from the internet and tried to accompany songs by her favourite artists. E has supported her in this, but the initiative came from her. We are not yet practising every day (!) but I believe this desire is something which must come from her - we have been in conflict with our daughter (in particular her "pathological demand avoidance") for many years and have spent much of our time trying to get her to fulfil the requirements of daily life (of which school is just one)......

It has been lovely to witness and hear her play the Page of 35 104

guitar. I hope S will continue with the guitar and, in particular, be strong enough to persevere with in, even when it gets difficult. (I don't play.) I took it as a very good sign that last week she actually nudged me to leave the house for her session at the studio. (We had agreed a time in advance and were stopping off somewhere else first.) It is very rare she "pushes" me to get out of the house, normally it is the other way!! She has also enjoyed trying out the electric guitar at CM as well as the full drum kit. It has been very interesting for me to watch her play the drums - she is lucky that she is very co-ordinated and has quite a good memory. More than anything I have noticed how tentative she is when she plays it, I am sure other children would have "gone wild playing loudly", it possibly says something about her state of mind that even with a drum kit before her, she is reserved. She continues to be very reticent in E's presence, especially when she is on camera. This again is interesting to watch. It is probably the act of creating an immediate response which is so daunting for her. If she had a script she would be more confident. This lack of script, this lack of written music, this emphasis on response and composition is also a very new experience for her, taking her "beyond her comfort zone". This has doubtless been very valuable but I suspect we are only just scratching the surface. It is also possible that the potential for loud music has also been difficult for her as - with her profile - she can be very sensitive to sounds (smells) etc. We have noticed that her sensitivity - or rather the "fuss" she makes when

confronted with these things - increases when she is more distressed. I have said it is impossible to determine the sole impact of this intervention alone. All I can say is that a year ago we had a child who would hardly rise out of bed, who we struggled to "get out of the house", who we struggled to get any response from which wasn't either aggressive, hostile or depressed; now we have a daughter who is out of bed and dressed well before noon on most if not all days of the week - she is a teenager after all! She has even been known to volunteer to take her medicine, wash unprompted, or put herself to bed. All these things sound very basic and it hurts me to write them down as "this is such a low bar" to operate on when one is measuring one's child's achievements, all the more so as our child is blessed with having many talents. However, this is the reality of our lives. We believe that S's sessions with NS have contributed to this step-change. It has been a bonus that the sessions at the studio have been local to us and also on a site that she could potentially access for other creative/artistic experiences at other times in her life. Musician, Just to re-iterate how empathic and sensitive E is. I love the phrase "recovery" he uses, when referring to how a musician puts themselves back together after an error - inevitably live performance has mistakes. He also gives praise for this. This is invaluable when someone's resilience is so low. His feedback is obviously profound positive and also speciﬁc so it comes across as genuine. His knowledge about music (of lots of styles/instruments/ equipment) also impressed me. Another example of Page of 37 104

E’s sensitivity is how, on frequent occasions, he gave S time and space to explore the instrument she was using on her own. He considered and reflected on what it is like to be asked to effectively "perform" in front of others, even if these others only comprise of one adult and one of your own parents…..I was also impressed about how E responded when S "refused to attend the first session in the recording studio". (This was very, very difficult for me as I have indicated.) He asked what he could do to help and at my suggestion quickly took some photographs of the venue so she could reduce any potential anxiety about attending the venue the next week and posted them on-line. This showed he was open minded, willing to help and try things and also very accepting and non-judgemental. E has also tried to equip S with the knowledge about how to "teach oneself to do something". In this context the advice was very specific but the mindset behind this is very important to develop especially to someone who has lost so much of their personal motivation.

E has also been ﬂexible with regard to session times and the need to change them owing to starting Red Balloon.

For all of this, we thank him.Participation/Attendance Objectively I think her participation in Noise Solutions has been the highest of all the "interventions"/ activities put in place for her over the last year or so (even compare to the riding lessons which we funded in 2023). Current rate is I think 80%. In line with her diagnosis, she struggled when: the intervention was Page of 38 104

new (the ﬁrst session) the intervention changed to a diﬀerent location - the recording studio - not helped by the fact that on that day my son had booked a doctor's appointment so I had said to Rha I would have to leave her at the studio alone for a while, other things were changing in her life - uncertainty round whether she would be starting Red Balloon and the pressures of starting a new educational setting.

· Meeting and listening to E has been fascinating and enlightening, not just as a mother, but as an educator and someone who, when younger participated in a great deal of music-making. As an adult I also worked in the voluntary music sector for a few years, so I have been honoured to witness my daughter participate in the programme. Indeed, I have recommended your organisation to at least four other people, three of these were within a professional educational "engagement" context. I will also be promoting your work to those I keep up with within the music sector, some of whom have roots in Cambridgeshire! I think that the authenticity of the musicians and the unique approach regarding "autonomy and agenda setting" is very refreshing for young people, while the therapeutic value of musicmaking/composing - much more so than listening - is well-evidenced. This has also been an invigorating and educational experience for me as my background is in classical music and I have very little experience of electronic music and music technology. Thank you for this. E has very kindly shared his personal story Page of 39 104

with us. We thank him for his honesty and trust in sharing this. I think for S too this has been comforting and most valuable, particularly as the rest of our "family" and "social circle" are "very conformist". Noise Solutions has been profoundly positive. It is impossible to be conﬁdent about its unique impact but at the time we embarked upon it, S was struggling to engage with her many of her tutors - aside really from her maths tutor. She still was frequently very negative about life, asking to be "left alone", saying "nothing matters". It has been wonderful that NS solutions "came to us", especially at a time when "leaving the house" was hard.

· Hi. Thank you very much for helping S. It has really helped her to have a point of focus and something that she can work hard on and see results. Her experience, which I gather has been extended for another ﬁve weeks, has been overwhelmingly positive. She has made good progress in learning Instruments (Guitar and drums), and has discovered that she is quite good at singing too. She is now very enthusiastic about continuing in music. I think it has helped her MH/ADHD (drumming especially). Thanks again.

· "We have been incredibly impressed with E and Noise Solutions. The change in our son has been tangible. He is more conﬁdent, happy and has a feeling of achievement every week. E, in particular is an excellent teacher and very therapeutic. Thank you so much for allowing J to access this support." Mum

· J is really responding well and enjoying these sessions. He says he feels more positive and engaged

with what is happening in his world and this, is in large part, due to you. You are an excellent teacher E.

· Noise Solution is a great asset to our son’s education, he comes home happy and looks forward to his next session the following week, he has made some fabulous music using the computer and his voice…he sings very well!, we feel so proud when we listen to him and look at the work he has achieved with ‘Noise Solution’ its just incredible.

· I am writing just to give some feedback on our family’s experiences with Noise Solutions. Our son became unwell in about March 2017 with his anxiety and mood deteriorating significantly as he started sixth form in September 2017. He had never had any form of emotional difficulty before and had always been very able and capable academically. His depression led to it becoming increasingly difficult for him to attend Sixth Form and subsequently to engage with others socially. He became increasingly withdrawn and isolated once he was no longer able to attend. He had very little to engage him or for him to look forward to which was exacerbating his symptoms of low mood.

Your service had been suggested to me by staﬀ at Youth IDT in Bury but when I tried to get funding from the mental health services I was told this was not available or it may be available but an individual funding request would be needed which could take many months. This response was really unhelpful given the pressing Page of 41 104

timescales of need. When I contacted you directly in April 2018, firstly I was struck by your calm positivity and within days you had managed to arrange to use funding from a source that I now understand commissions only four places a year. Also within days, a musician was organised and sessions set up. The organisation and consistency were greatly valued by us at a time of family stress. In addition, you had listened to what was likely to engage my son (who is a keen music producer) and arranged studio time and after the first session installed different software for music production as my son was more familiar with this. Our engagement with your service has been a thoroughly positive experience. From a family point of view, we really value your consistent and speedy communication, the effort that goes into recording the digital story and the manner in which you provide positive support to our son. We also value the extra input you give, liaising with other professionals in his network (such as his psychologist) and trying to arrange onward support such as with your connections with college and with voluntary work.

From my son’s perspective, your sessions have been one of the most consistent and helpful aspects of his care plan. He looks forward to attending, he is able to develop skills in sessions which give him a sense of achievement and purpose, there is no focus on “being unwell” but rather on what he is capable of. He has developed a positive relationship with the musician assigned. We could not be more grateful for the support you provide and feel it is integral to his Page of 42 104

recovery from depression. However, he then came to the end of his allocated ten sessions just as these were really starting to be beneﬁcial. Again, as a family we had to navigate the impossible task of requesting funding from Youth IDT (NSFT) which added signiﬁcant stress and concern to our family. We are grateful for you negotiating this with the team manager and again arranging funding from your own exceptionally small budget as without this, we would not have been able to continue with this support.

I write to you primarily as a mother of a seventeenyear-old with depression. As detailed above, the support your service has provided has been exceptional and provided much needed containment at an immensely difficult time. However, I am also a clinical psychologist who has worked in NSFT for a number of years (although I now work independently). I have always worked with young people with mental health difficulties and am familiar with the difficulties of engaging teenagers and supporting their recovery. I have worked on national research programmes looking at therapy outcomes for young people with depression so am highly familiar with the research in this area. I feel that from a professional perspective what your service provides has been integral in promoting a sense of possibility, positivity, achievement and motivation. These factors are so important to young people’s recovery from mental Page of 43 104

health difficulties. I am also aware that for our family, your service has been a source of stability and consistency in a landscape of changing professionals within the mental health team. The consistency and focus on relationship building again is noted to be highly relevant in terms of outcomes for young people at times of crisis. I have read the research supporting your outcomes which again is very positive. Our experiences with your service have been marred only by the stress and strain of trying to source funding and feeling frustrated that within the NSFT Youth team, this has proved extremely difficult and exceptionally challenging which is completely unnecessary at such a time of family stress. I hope you are able to use this letter and our experiences to alert commissioners not only to the positives associated with Noise Solutions involvement, but also to the reality that for some young people, such support needs to be seen as an integral part of their care planning and risk minimisation plan. I am happy to discuss the contents of this letter further if required but do request our family’s confidentiality is respected and that it is not distributed without permission. Many thanks again

XXXXXXXXXX FAMILY

· Noise Solution has provided our teenage son with invaluable support at a time when he has needed it most. Simon and S have not only provided him with the opportunity to learn new skills through amazing music technology, they have also given him the opportunity to communicate and interact with people

Page of 44 104

and an organisation outside the immediate family and his counselling in a positive, exciting way. For him it is a stepping stone to being reintroduced into the outside world again after months of not being well enough to attend high school due to clinical depression. He now has something to do and look forward to each week. I can not speak highly enough of Noise Solution and the beneﬁts it brings to children and their entire family as a unit. It is a wonderful, wonderful gift.

· The duration of her participation in the sessions has increased over the programme. She seems to have sometimes required either J or I to be present to encourage her participation - possibly this was fear/ anxiety? She is still pretty monosyllabic in sessions and nervous about sharing her own opinions, but this is no different than how she is in other settings as in primary school teachers would comment that it would often take her most of the year to "warm-up" and that was when she was in school full-time with near perfect attendance! I have been sitting in on the sessions in the studio - but as she said the other week she thought "you would like to", so it is hard to know if she is allowing me to do this for my pleasure/interest (which in itself would be a great thing that she cared this much about me and my feelings) or that it helps her to feel more confident if one of her parents is present. (As I work PT this has been possible for me.) Online Participation - explanation for low-level of participation on-line S has probably suffered in this regard as neither J nor I are "really into social media". The system Page of 45 104

employed by Noise Solutions is obviously designed to engage young people who are so internet savvy and social media focussed. Especially early on in the programme, when S was being so generally nonparticipative in all her activities in life (ie home tutoring), we found it difficult outside the lesson to engage her in anything and we also found ourselves feeling drained and thus - to be honest - ourselves lacking the energy to have the additional motivation to support her outside of sessions to engage. S has probably suffered in this regard as neither J nor I are "really into social media". The system employed by Noise Solutions is obviously designed to engage young people who are so internet savvy and social media focussed. Especially early on in the programme, when S was being so generally nonparticipative in all her activities in life (ie home tutoring), we found it difficult outside the lesson to engage her in anything and we also found ourselves feeling drained and thus - to be honest - ourselves lacking the energy to have the additional motivation to support her outside of sessions to engage. (Originally this intervention was on a Thursday as we were fitting it alongside other "lessons" within her week as our objective was to have a "timetable" which had something in almost every slot of her day as we thought it was important to keep up the vision and expectation that education is a "full-time" activity. When she "started" at Red Balloon we shifted it to a Wednesday as this was basically more efficient from my perspective and meant there were fewer interruptions to her

"schooling".) I think other parents would probably have their teenagers/children logging onto the site on their ownor using their own log in or children having their own login. Last week I gave S my log-in details and password to facilitate her accessing the site to enable her to "rehearse" playing along with the videos.

What she has Composed/Created

I must admit I did have some fantasy about her creating an all singing and dancing piece recorded and edited in the amazing recording studio, but this was probably an example of how unrealistic I can be and how hard it is as a parent to give up hope in relation to one's children! I have already given reasons as to why I think composing is a difficult activity for her and someone with her profile though free-flow composition is wonderful expression of creativity and gives one a sense of wholeness and freedom. However, improvisation is actually quite difficult and one needs to either know a lot about the instrument you are using or be undeterred by any of the sounds coming out if they are discordant or jarring next to other sounds, while I think it is even harder to do this when performing with others. Rationally this might explain why she has found it hard to produce an end piece as an output. However, these are her sessions and the final product/outcome should be determined by her! Thank you for taking the time to read our thoughts. I have tried to be as honest and impartial as possible. S has been most blessed to have this opportunity. Page of 47 104

Whatever the outcome of everyone's deliberations, we hope S will continue to have access to the NS website so she can continue to review, learn and relive this experience.

(Re the above, should you wish to cite any of my words in publicity material, or requests for funding from bodies which support the arts, you have my permission on the basis the feedback is anonymised.) With thanks and best wishes

· I wanted to share my gratitude for what J and I see and feel when E is in the studio and when he comes home from his sessions with you. He will not want to know I've sent this to you. E is growing in confidence through your sessions with him. He's lifted when he comes home. He has energy to go back to Norwich the Se evening for snow boarding lessons with his sister. They are both enjoying this new hobby. You offer a lot of knowledge and musical encouragement. You expand his musical interest every week. The way you communicate and use music making as a vessel for self expression, learning and experimentation is enriching his passion for music. He always wants to attend, unless he is very low or physically ill. J and I don't take these NS sessions for granted. They are the best route for E’s personal growth, because of his love and interest in music. He has found his passion. Not everyone finds it in life. Thank you for everything you do.

· I have been meaning to let you know the wonderful news that J passed his Grade 1 Piano Performance exam with Distinction: 140/150! He took it the last week of the summer term on the Tuesday and also Page of 48 104

managed 4 days at school that week. He is having a good holiday (by that I mean he is keeping cheerful and in a daily routine , but mostly keeping to himself) and has arranged to meet up with a childhood friend this coming Wednesday...the ﬁrst time in two years. He is speaking positively about attending The New Skills Centre full-time this coming year, his GCSE year. He doesn't want to continue piano lessons whilst he gets the school routine going, disappointing that he's not even playing much now, but good that he's focusing on school.

· My niece has had a wonderful time working with M over the last few months. Noise Solution has given her more conﬁdence in herself and has just made her really happy after she'd had a terrible time coping with mental health diﬀiculties and being out of school. She's greatly looked forward to her sessions every week. On top of that, she's gained some valuable technical experience that she can take onto her next adventure - music technology at college.

· It was by chance that i found you, i lived in peterborough and saw a clip on anglia news of an an autistic student and how he benefitted from your work. instantly i googled you and began a very long time consuming journey trying to convince Lincs LA to trial this and give A a go. i knew as he had 3 years out of education that it would make a difference. A looked at your website and agreed to try it. Over the weeks he found a reason to get up in the morning to attend the sessions and as tasks were added by Z, for him to work on away from the sessions, he has grown in confidence.

His depression and anxiety have reduced and there has only been one episode of suicidal thoughts. This is a massive change in his mental health. The final session in the studio was amazing, he met Z face to face and gained valuable lessons in lyric writing, working with others, and accepted new ideas and variations to his creations. Up until this point i had never seen A working on his ideas on the laptop and to see the energy and enthusiasm, and hard work pay off to make fantastic music, left me feeling very proud. He has enjoyed his time with you and we wait to hear from the LA if we can continue next year. If we can A has nothing negative to say about Z but wondered if there maybe another tutor on offer who has a drum and base background, so they can build on his ideas? I will continue to shout from the rooftops about how good your company is

· Noise solutions (in particular J) have been absolutely incredible for E. The difference in her mental health and confidence is fantastic. She was in a really bad place for a long time, but with J support and showing her she is really good at something her confidence has blossomed. She is now back in fulltime education and took part in a live stage performance to an audience of parents, something she would have never even considered before! Thank you so much for everything, helping is to secure the funding and being the consistent support she really needed. Many thanks, #Family

· My son l , enjoyed and learn so much with noise solution , R was a fantastic teacher and he bring so much conﬁdence to lee ,we are very great full for this

sessions with R . This also helped L to decide his path for near future, He thanks Noise solution for the opportunity given and the great experience he had , and a big thank you to R! 10 out of 10 score! All the Best , and thank you so much!

· What did I think about Noise Solution???? I loved it . Every Monday morning C was looking forward to his session, feeling very important about it and I felt very, very happy he was at the studio or the teacher was coming home. It felt like a Monday morning that was going to bring C personal growth, mental evolution, in a safe environment, doing an activity that he loved more and more. All in all, I thought Noise Solution were an important part of success. ....that was interesting... C explained it like he was in control of the content of each session, actually the opposite of what he had found in 'conventional' schooling. It really helped the lad and made him feel very important, feel actually a responsible person: what do I want to record this month, what steps I'll follow, will I have enough time to ﬁnish recording the song, what instruments I need for all the tracks, etc... He felt he had control and with that it came to him a feeling of responsibility, new and refreshing to him. And pride in the job done at the end. All those being feelings he had not been able to experience before in conventional schooling, so inadequate to a young man with neuro divergence

GROWTH C did come up a more evolved, grown up young man. It gave him a safe area to grow, the music being the channel for personal growth. A reassuring Page of

OASIS after having had several hard years at conventional schooling that really had left him feeling so insecure.

· That would be amazing thankyou we have got to send some bits of to a producer as he's seen a bit I posted on my Facebook of k singing and likes him so ﬁngers crossed k is still at college doing well he's doing music and has got distinctions in what he's done so far I can't thanku enough for ur help with him he's still with his girlfriend so doing well. Hes back to his crazy outgoing self. Thanks, K

· Some Mondays when she was feeling low it was only because she had a session with Noise Solution that she actually got herself into school.

· Noise Solution oﬀers a ﬂexible approach to learning about music, enabling students to develop their musical ability and broaden their experience of creativity in music. By working with our students on an individual basis. Noise Solution tailors the programmes to allow students to take the lead and develop their particular interests at their own pace. The tutor’s passion and enthusiastic approach added to his active involvement in the music industry and his experience working with young people with barriers to learning make him a highly successful 1:1 tutor for Lapwing students. #

· Prior to attending Noise project J had experienced, low self esteem and conﬁdence, only communicated with a few people who had to work very hard to engage with him, especially those seen as authority, or he struggled with trust, he did not view he had the ability to learn about anything, especially within Page of 52 104

educational setting. he had minimal engagement with school, specially involvement in music. j used music as a way to express himself, say how he feeling and escape from the world and challenges that he saw as very overwhelming. when he became very ill it was difficult for him to find a way to express his feelings. however, once he engaged with the noise project it instantly opened up his world again to music, interest in something that he likes, his behavour changed from becoming uninvolved to involved with others, his family and community. he shown interest in diversity of music and the diverse instruments to create music. ie drums, ukalaly, digery doo, Indian music instruments, electronics, computer music and lots more. The project due to the , creativity, support and excellent tution from the tutor, it has lifted j’s spirits, shown him that there are lots of opportunity for him, built his confidence, interest in learning, and helped him to believe in himself. J has aspirations for his future now and making decisions about where he would like to go in his journey through music and media, alongside improving his well being and becoming a more mature and happier young adult. it has been very important that because of the partnership work with CAMHS, CYPS with noise project it has played a significant part in helping j in his recovery and grounding him for his future. this has all had a impact on how j feels within his family and we have seen the positive change in him

· J had been out of school for a year and a half prior to attending Noise Solution due to anxiety around his autism. We have found him a place at Parkside

Academy and he is now 2 days into school life. Hopefully this will continue.

· His attendance used to be 47% and now is 92% We think that is a combination of elements. Being in a supportive foster placement and changing schools but NS deﬁnitely helped too

· Huge improvement! My son is having to re-sit his English GCSE at college as well as doing a Music course and is listening to the tutors and talking to them about his learning styles, which means they can make sure they're meeting those so he can beneﬁt from what they're oﬀering. He also listened to the support teachers at school when we collected his GCSE results and took on board what they said to him about being proud of the pass results he had got as opposed to being disheartened by the fails he had also got. (It turns out that not actually going to school much for the last 2 years really does impact on your exams results...)

· Just a short note to give my sincerest thanks for your eﬀorts with O. He cannot speak more highly of the opportunity and it has made a deep and signiﬁcant impact towards his wellbeing.

He has never been so insistent to show up and be part of something. For someone with chronic and crippling issues with engagement due to anxiety which has rendered school and college impossible, this really is the ultimate litmus test of your achievements.

Without wanting to jump the gun, I’d really like some guidance on what happens after the ten week programme?

I’ve copied in GD of CRC to help with this too. Please feel free to add any other professional contacts engaged that I might not be aware of.

I’m keen to build on this marvellous endeavour.

· Hi S and Simon, I wanted to thank you for helping our son K a couple of years ago. K is now back in full time education doing a mechanical engineering course at college in Bury. He has regained his positivity and enthusiasm for life again and it is a pleasure to see him settled and doing so well in so many areas of his life. He has fond memories of the time he spent on your course and as a family we will always remember the wonderful support you gave Ki as an individual and also us as his parents.

· Hope everyone is well. Just to say that J again had an amazing session with NS today. When I collected him from school, he had such a ‘spring in his step’. Whilst driving to Brandon, J referred himself to ‘Happy J’. I must admit for the length of time I have known J on and oﬀ, this is such a pleasant thing to hear. J clearly responds positively to one to one interaction and I have to say that, he has to be one of the politest young men to work with on a 1:1. He always holds the doors open, always says thank you and takes into account other people’s feelings. S really has worked amazingly well with J, and this is apparent by J’s level of excitement as we pull up to the project and J looks out for S’s car. Today’s session enabled us to record a song in the studio, J turned into a ‘proper rockstar’ after this, by ﬁnishing the session with a drum roll and throwing his sticks over the drums as if they were going into a crowd of people. Very impressed

with today’s session and J’s appearance well done everyone. “it takes a village to raise a child” – Proverb

· Scaling how he felt before and after: “As a very stubborn, resilient person I try really hard to just keep soldiering on regardless of how I’m feeling. AT the beginning of my sessions with Noise Solution I was not in a very good place with my college work and I was struggling with lessons and being there in general was really hard. I wasn’t at my worst at that point, I’d say a three out of 10. By the time I got to the end of Noise Solution I felt excited to explore music again and I felt better – I was closer towards the more positive end of the scale. “Musically it has had a lasting impact because it was several months of creating no music at all to creating three or four tracks in the space of a month – it was a really big shift for me and I feel now that I’ve had the experience of going from being unable to create at all to feeling excited and able to create again. If I am in a position where I don’t feel like I can create something in the moment, I feel more able to say ‘that’s okay’. It doesn’t all have to work out right now, it will come. It might take years, it might take a few months, it might be tomorrow. Noise Solution gave me the space to appreciate that music is not something you can force and trying to be pigeonholed into small boxes and categories by my college had made me lose sight of that. If I had to pick a main, important thing about Noise Solution it would be the shift in perspective that it gave me about music in general and I’m really grateful for that.

“If you’re given this opportunity or it’s available to Page of 56 104

you, I would grab it with both hands. It was absolutely worth all of my time. During a period of time where I didn’t feel excited about anything, it gave me something to look forward to during the week. My personal worries were about how structured it might be or how restricted I might feel, but there was none of that. It was so much more self-directed. It felt very unpressurised, there wasn’t pressure on me to perform or create anything, and whenever I did end up creating anything it was celebrated and it made me feel really good about my skill set and my music making in general. For me it was an exercise in gaining back that trust in myself that I can create things and I am capable of doing these things and it translated into lots of other areas of my life but particularly in completing my ﬁrst year of college. I helped me to feel brave with my musical choices and to do things that I wouldn’t normally do. #Participant ( R)

· It was probably the best thing I've ever done in my entire life. I love learning electric guitar. It was probably the most amazing thing I've ever done. Bass guitar, steel pan, you name it, I loved it. Thank you so much. Noise, illusion. You're the best people I've known. Thanks so much. Bye.

· I really enjoyed noise solutions, I love music and found it so fun to be able to make my own stuﬀ. J was a fabulous teacher, helped me every step of the way and super fun. I always felt really good after each session, and super happy! Thanks to everyone.

#Participant #NDD

· I'm enjoying going to Noise Solution because I'm learning about things I really love doing. It inspires me and makes me feel happy and I'm proud of how much I've learnt and what I've produced in the time I've been there. I feel positive about being able to express myself through the music I'm producing. If I compare this with what I experienced at previous settings it is clear that this feel like the right fit for me and now I feel I've finally found the place I belong. My parents have helped me set up my own music studio at home and I love that I can continue to create music whenever I want. I have become much more competent using the production software and equipment. I'm now in a place where I'm in control and I can express what I want to express through the music. Other people have all said how 'blown away' and excited they are by what I have achieved so far and they think I've found something that really fits well. I feel that my confidence has grown a bit which I think is helping/will help with my communication difficulties. Although I feel I have learned so much already I realise there is so much more for me to learn, I love going to Noise Solution and I really like both the musicians I'm working with-I have got to know and trust them and they are like friends to me. I think they have both made an effort to help me feel comfortable and this has helped me to relax and learn more easily

· The doing this was a really nice contrast to school where my head doesn't really work well with the kind Page of 58 104

of format. So to do something that allowed me to actually just start going to something like that, instead of that's it that's your ﬁnal chance to rewrite that homework or something like that, it was really helpful for me to do. Yeah, I was really sad when it was over, especially the singing and the recording, as that's my passion that I like to do. I really enjoy doing that. Yes. I would really like to say thank you to your company and what you do, because it really made the weeks easier for me. So yes. Thank you very much. Bye.

· It meant that the school weeks were easier to cope with, they were easier to manage, because I always had Wednesday, which was my time to say what I wanted to say. It was probably like my favorite day of the week, Wednesday. And they allowed me to focus on one thing, because when I'm in school, at home or something's a bit really explosive and kind of like a little bit too much for me to process it all. So to have something that I love to do and being able to focus on the lyrics or the beat or something like that, really meant that I could enjoy that. Um, it yeah. I actually really enjoyed having this session, and I'm really grateful. So thank you very much. Thank you. Bye.

· Dear Everyone and the Noise solution team. I just want to thank everyone for the time i had at the noise solution course. I have been doing this since April/ May 2022 to January 2023 and it has came to a end. it has been one of the greatest and most beneﬁcial experiences that i'll witness, as Ive learnt alot of ways on how to make your music sound professional preparing me for college and soon to open my own

studio! it has also taught me a valuable lesson in life, which is to work hard to see a great outcome, making me more determined for anything in the future wether its music related or not.

I'd like to personally thank the school for funding towards this project, and a thank you to Mrs Cudmore as well, popping around to the studio to support us and take some pictures of the work we were doing. Id also like to thank the noise solution team, especially Matt and AJ. Some of the nicest people I've ever worked with and i couldn't be more thankful to meet them. Matt has genuinely been one of the nicest person I know and such a easy guy to get on with, as he's laid back, helpful and teaches you alot. I will be doing more work with AJ once i purchase another studio session, and if anyone here is willing to come along they can do so when i get it sorted.

the main reason I loved this course so much tho, was the fact that I could express what I wanted to do and be surrounded by people who were willing to help me achieve my goal of becoming a famous rapper. Usually I wasn't really conﬁdent with music (or just anything in general), as I wasn't really getting the help I needed to pursue a music career, but then I got told I was going to take this noise solution course, and now, i think it might of been the best surprise someone has told me. I wish I could do this course for one last time, as it has genuinely been such a good experience, as i have never gained that much Page of 60 104

inﬂuence and conﬁdence in my life. its not only helped my music, but my philosophy and mindset. They've taught me that to achieve something, you have to work hard for something.

Anyways, its been a great run. Hopefully the school will let me do the course again eventually. If not, thank you everyone for coming along the journey. I wish success to everyone here, and its a huge recommendation of mine for any youngster starting music to try this course, as it teaches you ALOT.

Yours Sincerely (AKA Felc.) #Participant

· I have enjoyed my sessions better than going to school thank you

· Our school motto are the 3R's - readiness, resilience and respect. J and the support he is giving J shows a huge amount of resilience! I am sure he will get there and I just hope he sees the J we all know is still in there somewhere.J is definitely prepared and ready to try anything to prepare J for interacting with others and is respectful of Joe and his family's feelings the difficulties they face and the boundaries that Joe has firmly put up. Thank you for everything you are trying so hard to do and the phone call expressing your concerns was very much appreciated.

· RE LGBTQ+ grp work sessions – please forward to J –just realised I don’t have his contact details.

It was a real joy to meet such a vibrant group of Page of 61 104

young people last night and please give them our thanks for letting me and Nicki join the session.

I appreciated your honesty about learning points and your comments about authenticity really struck a chord with me. I have been involved over the last two years in establishing staﬀ support networks in the ICB for those from minority communities, although not personally aﬀiliated to any of them. I am not comfortable with the term “ally”, but advocate the principles of allyship.

N and I are both very excited about the direction your project is going in and look forward to hearing about what comes next when we meet in November.

· Our Young person was really struggling with their recent new placement, closure of their school and facing another new move to a further new placement and education. Knowing how well noise solutions can support our children and young people through difficult and sensitive times, it was agreed to go ahead with starting noise solutions, despite all of the impending moves, as we felt strongly noise solution would support our young person through these times of transitions.How right we were to put our trust and faith in noise solutions work, to quickly set up and support our young person. After the first session in the recording studio, the young person said they would consider engaging with their education the next day. It took another two NS sessions before they did feel safe and confident to engage with their education again and actively speak Page of 62 104

about their next placement. NS were the key protective factor over Christmas and New Year. Noise solution very clearly supported this young person through an incredible difficult time and it was the only time in which the young person came out of their room over a period of two weeks, to get into the recording studio and engage with professionals through their online platform. Pretty much miraculous in such a short space of time.If one of our incredible vulnerable children is not engaging with education, or needs support through a difficult time (often other tutor companies would not consider working with), then noise solutions is the first port of call. Regardless as to whether they have music as a background. Show the CYP the web site and they are engaged.I can't thank NS enough for the work they do with our most vulnerable children and young people.

· Reference for Noise Solutions. Noise Solutions is undoubtedly one of the best interventions I have ever used within my time as SENDCo. Using music as an avenue to engage learners who are struggling for various reasons has had major impact on our students who have been involved in this programme. The referral process is simple and quick and is online; this is extremely beneﬁcial for staﬀ as it does not require huge amounts of paperwork. Once accepted, the student is allocated a tutor and an online platform is established where the student, tutor and other chosen individuals can comment on the sessions. The online platform is highly accessible and resembles social media platforms so it is Page of 63 104

immediately engaging for the students. Students and tutors post video reflections, comments and showcase the work which has been completed. It is so pleasing to see how our students are engaged with the process and see their enjoyment with the programme. The tutors are amazing. They have excellent interpersonal skills and have succeeded in engaging with some of our more challenging students where other interventions have failed. Their approach is not like other interventions within this area where students can be bombarded with questions and feel uncomfortable. They are flexible and work closely with school staff to ensure that students have the best possible experience. The impact is evident. We have had students whose attendance was a major issue and who were struggling to even complete a full week. Their attendance has improved immensely. For example, we had a student whose attendance was just over 40% and now has attendance hitting 60% and rising. He had not completed a full week since 10 th September but since starting this intervention, he has been completing full weeks. We have had students who have posed challenges in terms of behaviour and have seen a massive decrease in the behavioural incidents which have been logged. I would unreservedly recommend Noise Solution to any establishment working with young people. Maxine Abbott

SENDCo #Professional #Participant

· Noise Solution’s work has empowered our children. It’s given them an opportunity to take control of an Page of 64 104

aspect of their life and to show them that they can achieve and be successful. The referral process is quicky and easy and sessions are set up just as speedily, which shows the children that they matter. Being able to view and comment upon their progress after each session not only helps us to see the impact of this intervention but also means that the child can see that their achievements and courage to try new things deserve to be celebrated. (Suﬀolk Virtual School)

· Thank you for this. The young person I am working with loved the sessions. He had not been in any form of education or learning/social activity for around a year and at by the end of the sessions he was attending Push Forward for three hours a week too. The sessions gave him the conﬁdence to interact with other people and the knowledge that he could achieve something given the right environment. His worker was able to interact with JB on a level which slowly increased his participation and led to the ﬁnal completed Christmas song of which he and his family were very proud. Thank you for making the experience such a positive for him

· The NS sessions allow young people to express their feelings and emotions in a safe environment and way. The experiences for these young people have been life saving and enhancing. Preparing them for future opportunities when they arise e.g. transitions, education, homes etc. Can't speak highly enough of the team at Noise solution.

· I have been meaning to drop you an email to introduce myself. I am one of A's teachers from Hall Mead School. I wanted to thank you for the regular reports that you are providing following A's music sessions. They are very informative and I am pleased that she is beneﬁting from the programme. It is doing wonders for her conﬁdence. Thank you very much for your time and support. The school are very grateful.

· I have always found their website extremely useful and the blog each pupil has is a good way of my being included in their progress. Parents have also told me how happy they are with the service and they are also greatly relieved and sometimes amazed that their child has engaged with anyone remotely connected with education. Both tutors who I am familiar with have been consummate professional and importantly have been very aware of the students mood and have been able to take that into account in the session. 'Tired' and 'not feeling like it' situations have been acknowledged yet still turned around so that by the end of the session something has been achieved. The communication via weekly reports is also invaluable.

· What fact, it would work for times. Just wanted to say a really big thank you for all the hard work that you've put in with A. I know he's really enjoyed his sessions with you and it's made a massive diﬀerence at school. The only problem I have and it is a just a completely. Genuine problem is that I put these sessions and they were agreed on a on a meeting, but no one's now actually agreeing to pay for them. So as

soon as they are, Back up and running. Then I'm going to continue this for him because I think it's exactly what you need. I just want someone to be held accountable for the payment. So really appreciate it. You've just been fantastic. This is the second student. You've worked with that, our school and you've worked wonders with them. Just shows music is very powerful. Thank you. #Professional

· It has been lovely to see H engage with something that he enjoys doing. His conﬁdence seems to have grown with each session and he has produced some great tracks. Engagement in learning, whatever form that takes, is really important for H at this time in his life. He should be proud of his engagement in the project.

· I have been really impressed with Noise Solutions from the very start. Referral was easy and super duper quick, contacting the families within a few days at most. Email communication has always been efficient and friendly. The group portals are brilliant. I have kept up to date with what has been happening in the sessions and really enjoyed seeing all the hard work put in to achieve various tracks and videos. This has supported our home visits to the families as I have been able to chat to the children about what I have seen and heard online in-between seeing them which I feel is great for connecting their support and feeling valued. Your music producers/teachers are so full of life and excitement which is lovely to see! Keep up the great work everyone as I love getting the notifications after sessions and logging in to listen to such fantastic stuff!

Vickie, Families Together Suﬀolk #Professional

· I am so sorry that we couldn't do a proper session inside and that it was ad hoc (and freezing!). S however, had a lovely time and she was beaming when we got back. S does not open up to people easily and she is very weary of adults as she thinks they are going to cause her distress but you made her feel so comfortable and valued that she didn't want you to leave. Her exaggerated stories are a way of her showing you that she trusts you and it is quite the compliment that she did this upon ﬁrst meeting you! Not only is the musical work going to be valuable for her but the self-worth she will gain is already apparent and this will be life changing for her. Thank you so much for being so lovely and compassionate to her - this is an experience that she does not have outside of school and I know that it meant a lot to her. Thanks again so much, you do amazing work!

· I have been delighted with Noise Solution (NS) approach to my referred young person who is a vulnerable In Patient at an Adolescent Unit. NS, in the form of tutor, has given my patient the confidence to perform in public and feel better about starting college in September. The flexible and child centred approach to music education has enabled her to be engaged in learning for the first time in months and may contribute we hope to an early discharge to the community. I would be keen to recommend the service to any clients with an interest in music, and love the blog based aspect of recording students progress and documenting achievements that make Page of 68 104

families and professionals feel included in the program #Professional

· He started Suﬀolk College last week September and is attending the L1 Creative music & media Course three days a week , the guy who runs the course was impressed that he had attended noise solution and said to say Hi. Sorry forgotten his name! and on Thursdays he is on IO Radio at CSV media. He did a session yesterday, but we missed hearing it, so will listen out for him next week Thursday. The radio station can heard through the internet. Anyway, I thought I let you know that your hard work has taken him to another level in his journey through music, learning and recovery.

· 5 referrals to Noise Solution must be proof I strongly believe in their beliefs, theories and principles. Not being very academic myself I love new and innovative ways of education – Noise Solution is just that. When I first heard about Noise Solution I thought you had to be good at music to enrol but after having a presentation from you it all began to make sense. Helping hard to reach people with progression to other opportunities, increasing their confidence and creating a positive learning experience is the way tutors support people re-engage. Using knowledgeable, determined and understanding tutors is a must and I hear they all gain great satisfaction from moving people forward. I feel privileged to work with local organisations such as Noise Solution and I feel proud to be part of the great results. The young people I have referred are overcoming difficulties and increasing their belief Page of 69 104

that they are capable of achieving. With the young people taking on board this new exciting challenge if means I am then able to engaging with parents to help move them closer to employment and away from their chaotic lifestyles.

I feel the collaboration with DWP has been successful and look forward to recommending the service to more claimants and other key partners within Suﬀolk Family Focus team.

· Noise Solution got X playing music again (something he’d given up doing). Even though he stopped attending college and couldn’t sit his ﬁnal exams

Noise Solution was the only thing that he kept doing whilst he was ill and this kept X in education and his ﬁnal grades are likely to be all A’s purely on his coursework alone. Noise Solution acted with the most ﬂexible approach to keeping X engaged when ill by recognising his needs and moving to the studio. This helped him increase his social skills by bringing a new venue into his life. When he was in his darkest movements being able to make noise there was amazing and therapeutic for him.

· X’s confidence has improved whilst working with Noise solutions. X is a very critical individual and takes time to form relations and appears to have enjoyed his time with J at Punch Studios. X had previously refused all education provisions and his engagement with Noise solutions, though sporadic at times has helped him to engage in another educational provision and helped with his self confidence as X tends to project an air of confidence masking his

insecurities. X feels happy and encouraged with what he has gained through Noise Solution

· Several students have been more positive about their learning and consequently, there has been a huge decrease in the number of behavioural incidents e.g. sent outs etc. Additionally, students have also improved their levels with the majority of students either on or above target. #Professional

· NS has provided a supportive and time limited pathway for some of our youngsters to begin engaging with another person, whilst doing something they enjoy- they don't see this as a threat. I have several who haven't engaged with anything previously and NS was a stepping stone into a new educational environment.

· As previous entry- it has resulted in some youngsters who have refused any support, begin to engage with another person and ultimately attend an alternative school placement. Some are youngsters who spend a lot of time not leaving their rooms. This type of tuition really helps to meet the SEMH aspect of their EHCPs

· I've known Noise Solutions to be very successful for pupils who are disengaged from education. Formal tuition often doesn't appeal to such pupils, whereas Noise Solutions isn't pitched as formal learningpupils often don't perceive this as 'work' and are more willing to engage.

· Helping to boost self esteem. Young person built good relationship with NS musician. Young person's interest and belief in musical ability has increased. Young person is considering studying music at college.

· The Noise solutions worker was flexible and adaptable to this teens lack of confidence issues. This flexibility showed the teen he was worth the effort. He is now back in a mainstream education setting.

· as before this teen was out of education for 2 years; this experience gave him the conﬁdence to return to school.

· Your team are fabulous; this teens worker never gave up on him unlike school his teachers.

· most cases the young person is anxious, needs to build conﬁdence and feel good about themselves. To be treated as an adult and not as a child, to have some autonomy over the activities/lessons that they are engaged in. Nosie solutions have a good track record in supporting students who for whatever reason are not able to face attending a school/college environment. Music is also a great platform for our students to 'tell their story' without it being formalised.

· This is an excellent provision with capacity to engage some of our young people who are out of school for whatever reason, often stemming from mental health or behaviour due to needs not being met. Cost often prevents it's use where no EHCP.

· It was the ﬁrst step in starting to "think about thinking" again and relating to adults where the focus was not academic, but did involve learning and engaging with adults in a shared task. It increased conﬁdence and the second step was NYTS tutors doing more formal tutoring. The feedback opportunities it gave for parents and the professional network to comment a praise the child

really helped improve parents view of their child, which had become very despairing.

· Following on from noise solutions, the young person engaged with tutors for 10 months and also built trusting relationships with them, and accept praise for eﬀorts. They have now returned to a much more specialised and diﬀerent school but is in an education setting with peers.

· Noise Solutions offered a way forward for the two teenagers I work with. I knew that their way of engaging and what they could offer them was a really good fit for the pupils. Both had been out of school for sometime, had significant social anxiety, depression and low self esteem. Both of them also had some learning issues dyslexia, communication difficulties and slow processing. Their experience of education despite support had been very negative and they had already developed a mindset that they couldn't achieve anything in education that was meaningful to them. I knew a) that Noise Solutions offered a very different experience of what it means to learn and achieve something b) it was a 1:1 experience where the tutors had great skill in making connections with pupils with mental health issues c) they were very flexible in the different experiences they could offer such as learning an instrument or learning how to mix tracks using computer software d) they could capitalize on the teenagers strengths and interests and build the learning experience around that.

· Both of the pupils I have referred to Noise Solutions are still seeing Noise solutions tutors and the length

of their involvement has been extended way beyond the usual 10 week intervention. This in itself would indicate the extent of the success they have achieved as extending the involvement indicates how much the teenagers wanted to carry on learning and engaging with the tutors. Both had targets which revolved around them being willing to engage with any form of learning and with another adult. I cannot over emphasize what a major step these targets are for these two pupils. It has also helped the boys find and develop skills which they did not know they were capable of. One of the teenagers has attended sessions outside the house which is a major step for him and he has been able to engage with English and Maths tutors as they have experienced some level of success which has boosted his confidence in other area. The other teenager has such a high level of anxiety that he finds it difficult to even leave his bedroom but has still made astounding progress in using mixing software and he himself says he now finds playing computer games boring ( he was playing up to 14 hours straight sometimes). He continues to have difficulties but the difference in his view of himself has been amazing as he now understands that he can achieve and learn and that other adults can recognize that he isn't 'stupid' or 'slow' as he used to describe himself. This pupil has also begun to see that he could possibly have some sort of future involving music mixing and has also shown an interest in courses that might extend his knowledge at college. He recognizes that he still has a long way to go as regards to engaging with the outside world but Page of 74 104

he now sees the outside world as not just a place that can only offer him a frightening experience but as one which contains positive elements he could engage with at some point. Throughout their engagement with Noise Solutions they have always been eager to show me what they have learnt in their Noise Solutions sessions and show me their achievements which has been a very positive and practical way of offering them a different perspective on a life they viewed as closed down and bleak. That to me is priceless as most EHCP target or outcome can never succeed without that solid foundation of self worth which underpins any engagement with outside agencies and the educational system.

· Student A was in Year Ten and about to embark on his GCSE studies. His first term in Year. Ten was difficult. A major barrier was attendance and Student A only managed one full week and that was the first week of the new academic year. From the second week of September to the second week in January, Student A had at least one day off a week and in some cases, two or three days. Furthermore, there was also periods of prolonged absence e.g. five days. Although there were some absences which were authorised, the vast majority were not authorised. There were also days of school refusal. Student A also lacked engagement with his learning. Due to his attendance, he was missing work and consequently, he struggled to catch up and lost motivation. His report in the Autumn Term indicated that his progress was a concern in all of his subject areas as he was working

well below his target grades. Furthermore, his report also indicated that he was showing a lack of effort towards his studies. Linked in with his lack of engagement and poor attendance, Student A’s behaviour was also becoming more problematic. There were several occasions when he was sent out of lessons or moved to another classroom due to poor behaviour. Additionally, he was displaying increasingly defiant behaviour. For example, there were occasions when he refused to leave the classroom after being sent out. His behaviour become impulsive and this was demonstrated when he became angry about certain situations. Rather than trying to resolve the situation or listen to advice, he would grab his belongings and walk off site.

The impact of Noise Solutions From the very start of the intervention, it was clear that there was a change in Student A. Firstly, his attendance improved dramatically. Before Noise Solutions, Student A had failed to attend school for a full week (apart from the ﬁrst week of the new academic year). With this intervention, Student A managed to attend for seven full weeks without taking one day oﬀ which is a remarkable achievement. Consequently, his attendance improved dramatically. Prior to the intervention, his attendance was around 42%. Within a short space of time, his attendance had increased to 59%.

Academically, there was also a major change. Student A’s conﬁdence had grown and this had an impact on his achievement. In the Spring Page of 76 104

Term, there was a marked improvement in his academic performance. There was an increase in his effort levels and his grades. For example, prior to starting the programme, Student A was working towards a grade one in Science. Within a term, his Science grade was a 2.3. Finally, it was clear that there was a significant change in behaviour. There was a massive decrease in the number of behavioural incidents logged on SIMS. There were very few sent ours. It was also pleasing to note that Student A became more responsible and started to make the right decision rather than act impulsively. Conclusion, This illustrates the power of Noise Solutions and how this programme can have a clear and definite impact, not just on attendance, but also on behaviour, engagement in learning, resilience and character.

· Thank you so much for all the time patience & kindness you all gave our FrE. We cannot thank you enough & will always be grateful to you all. We went to West Suﬀolk College on Tuesday & we spoke with SH & FrE has decided to do the level 2 music course! Of course they know Noise solutions. FrE had a couple of mini emotional moments before deciding on the music course. He felt at the time that he’d not be able to do any course! But after meeting & talking to J he encouraged FrE to try the music course. We have told him he will have so much support & he won’t be on his own. Poor love is so nervous! He had to do a maths & English test & after another meltdown & composing himself in the loo he went back & done them! We are

very proud of him & really hope he enjoys himself. He’s really looking forward to seeing M & playing guitar again with you in September.

We hope you have all enjoyed your summer & look forward to catching up with you all again in the future.

Forever grateful

Your friends

N M and S

· Today is the last day of term at Causton Junior School. We have had 'causton's Got Talent' this afternoon and C played his piano piece. There wasn't a dry eye in the hall. He enjoyed the adoration and revelled in the positive attention.

Thought you would like to know your work in supporting him went on to the very last day........Thanks D.

· This is fantastic. I have had C bring an excellent piece of writing to me today and he had an extra token because every time I come down to class he is engaged in his learning and keen to share what he is doing with me, which is great!! :0)

· May I just give you a big thank you for committing to this Arts Award and sticking with L through blips and barriers. You have shown L how through dedication, commitment and planning that he can achieve. I have seen how you have developed L’s interests in music and enabled him to discover new skills and abilities that is reﬂected in his growing conﬁdence around the whole of the music scene.

I see L on a weekly basis and have seen a positive

change in him and his learning. Thanks you and well done to L.

· I was only talking about B today with T and we were saying what a different boy he is. It was his birthday today and he accepted his card infront of about 40 other students and spoke confidently infront of them. He is SO much happier than he was 6 months ago. Thanks for all the great work you have done with B. This is having a very positive effect on his general performance in school.

· I would like to thank you and B for the amazing work that you have been doing with D over the past few weeks. D had not been in Education Provisions for the last two years prior to coming to Pakefield Road and thanks to the work/support that Noise Solutions have put in with D it has given him self-esteem and the confidence to get him back attending main stream school. This is now the second time that you have worked and supported our children and both have benefited so much from your provision and I am sure that I am speaking for all the staff at Pakefield Road. Thanks again for your continued support.

· Noise Solution and his wonderful mentor S have been his salvation during a very diﬀicult time when he did not have a suitable school placement.

· From an interview around Noise SOlution’s engagement with participants at a pupil referral unit " I think the impact has been huge and I would say it's undoubtedly one of the best interventions that we've ever used to support a student's social emotional and mental health and to actually see the transformation with that student...” "...at the beginning of the

program… they’re sort of worried about… meeting someone new… and they’re not really sure how it’s all going to… work out…” "...when you actually see a student at the beginning of that program and then you see them at the end the transformation is immense... it's like a completely different student in front of you…" "...the sort of nature of the way the Musicians music producers work with the students… they engage them extremely well… they get to understand those students in a very very short space of time…" "...if students [are] going to other professionals… it takes a long time… [but] with Noise Solutions they build up really quickly… within two weeks they feel very comfortable with that musician…" "...they are really excited about the next session… members of Staff would stop students in the corridor and say… 'that’s the first time that student Has Smiled for like four or five weeks'…" "...that’s the first time I’ve seen that student in my lesson for three or four weeks because their attendance has been poor…” "...this student was… one of my at risk students… and in actual fact there's been a significant decrease in the number of Behavioral incidents…” "...we had a boy in year 10… completely disengaged… not motivated about doing his GCSEs… potential to become more of a persistent school refuser…” "...no one could get through to him… head of year was struggling… pastoral lead was struggling… mom was tearing her hair out…” "...he wouldn't leave the house… he was self-exiting lessons… this vicious cycle that was repeating itself constantly…” "...he was the first student that we

referred into the program… transformation with him was immense… started off at the program with attendance just below 40%…” "...by the end of the program his attendance was up to like nearly 75%… he was really engaged with Noise Solutions…” "...he loved the blog idea… showing members of Staff… look I’ve got this blog this is what I’ve been up to…” "...he felt more confident in himself… I’m not a failure… I’ve achieved this… I feel happier… I feel more confident… I don’t feel negative about coming into school anymore…” "...he was incredibly successful by the end of year 11."

· Hi,Thanks for getting in touch. I'm not directly involved now, but I am still supporting work within the team and I understand that it has recently been confirmed that he will be going to college in September to take a music course. Initially, we had thought that it might be another year before he would apply for college, so it's fantastic that he's feeling ready to make that step now.I'm sorry that this update hasn't been passed on to you yet to confirm that the contract will therefore conclude at the end of this term.It's clear that he has benefited enormously from his work with Ben and that it has prepared him for moving on to a college course where he will be able to continue to develop his skills in music performance and production further. Thank you, Ben!

Better Outcomes for the Family (19)

· I control what I say in the shared NS group (blog) each week for the sake of trying to be low key, as requested by E. However, I'm telling you, I am so pleased to hear and read everything that E is accomplishing each week. It moves me, because this self-expression is E coming alive through language. Your way, your knowledge and generosity are key to his musical development and ongoing interest. He always wants to come to NS. He has a passion for music. It's in his blood. You've opened up so many possibilities for him. Thank you so much.

· C's dad and I are so very proud at the work C is doing. He really does seem to be a natural at it. You can also see that he is enjoying it. To see our son actually playing the piano properly brings a tear to my eye. I hope he carries on with the positive attitude towards it.

· He was in high spirits when he returned home from his latest session with you. He spoke about the song writing and the exercises he did. Its going incredibly well for him. We dont have this success anywhere else. Thank you more than we can express.

· Bit of feedback for you, I was keeping an ear on the session between meetings but that had a massive positive impact on M She is buzzing, couldn’t have imagined that music would have brought this out in her considering she is profoundly deaf. So well done chaps !!! #Family

· What did I think of the process? all very good, smooth and professionally run � I felt C was well looked after, taken seriously and that the 'culture' of noise solutions was to ﬁnd what was a solution for him, what he needed

to feel better, grow emotionally and using the music as a tool to support him on a difficult time in his childhood. I thought that C felt his music was taken seriously, that each session meant he was growing emotionally, feeling more confident in life. A success in music meant he had a success in a difficult period of his life, and that somehow made him think that other things could be also successful, so it Noise Solutions worked for him. What I heard each time from him was how proud he was of the progress he was making (again, progress in music had a parallel with progress in his young life), how seriously his teacher was taking each song they were preparing, and C was taking the sessions seriously, 'serious' meaning here with self-respect, attention and pride.

· Thank you for today, it was a real insight for me as a parent. It was great to see B lose herself in the music at times and be at a point of relaxing. I feel blessed to have seen that today. I also got to see how you work with B and that was really great and I think the work you do is fantastic, thank you so much. Cracking session today, amazing to see you B creating music and what a fantastic song so far. I enjoyed every moment of seeing you so relaxed yet in the moment. Thank you B for teaching me chords today, I really enjoyed it even though I felt nervous you got me through it. It pushed me out of my comfort zone and I survived, you showed me that I could do it, thank you. I was so lucky to be with you when you were told you passed your qualiﬁcation, a special moment I will always cherish. I am so so proud of you, well done, amazing work. I am totally shocked as to how good your track is you are creating, it sounds Page of 83 104

awesome. Love it, love you, well done, love mum PARENT � xx

· Noise Solution gives young people a voice: I can vouch for that as a parent! My daughter has been empowered not just to create her own music but she has has the skills and conﬁdence to record, edit a d mix it herself. She has expressed her feeling through songs that she cannot do in words. Thank you team Noise Solution! �

· This has all helped H’s conﬁdence so much and now picks the guitar up everyday and plays in front of the family . Thank you E and all of the noise solution team ! Dad also enjoyed the time at the studio !

· “R mental health nurse had mentioned Noise Solution, we didn’t know much about what to expect beforehand. We got some information through and when people are vulnerable like that, to be able to make informed choices about what you’re getting yourself into is really important. The musician R did a video beforehand and it was really reassuring and a nice touch. I can imagine that even getting through the door for the ﬁrst session would be really diﬀicult for some people. I was hearing what was going on so the digital stories cemented what I already knew, that it was really successful and had gone really well. Before R started the sessions I was extremely worried about him. We were clutching at straws for things that we could do to help motivate him. I could see a downward spiral happening. During the sessions I could see that it gave a sense of purpose and a meaning that college was not giving. In fact, it gave all of us somewhere to go and something to do, something

to talk about. By the end of the 10 weeks, I don’t think either of us wanted it to ﬁnish because it was such a positive thing. There was deﬁnitely a change in the way R was thinking and feeling. My overriding feeling was that it was a real shame it was coming to an end though I knew it had to and that R would be able to use what he’d learned and experienced moving forward. It was great.

If I was explaining it to a parent I would say that it was an opportunity for your child to experience something that is potentially out of their normal experience and a way to build conﬁdence probably at a time where there’s a real lack of that. It wouldn’t even matter if there was a skill in music, it’s a chance to try something and feel really proud of achieving whatever that is at the end of it. So it’s a nice way of an individual making their own choices, it’s something away from parents that is encouraging rather than that idea of a traditional therapy session which can be quite daunting. This is a fun way of just feeling really good about yourself.” ( Rs mum)

· I was thrilled to see how happy you were when Simon said he really enjoyed the session with you and it was so.much fun - you were brimming with pride. Positivity breeds positive thinking hope you keep holding into that feeling. I'm so proud of you too! Look forward to hearing that guitar piece from the ﬁlm Deer Hunter Cavatina ... keep practising! Mum

· Really great service, Family I was supporting very happy. Child engaged well, family were shocked and thrilled. Great notes from the musician each week too explaining how YP got on. Wish it was more aﬀordable

as impact is so great! Huge thank you to R who made it all click for a hard to reach young man. #

· Noise Solution was able to take the studio to J in his home environment. This was a true mark of the respect he had won from J and the fact they re-engaged J and got him back to the studio for the remaining sessions proved to me, if ever proof was needed, that this type of intervention works. #Professional

· I love what you do, I love the way it works, the system, but for the child I referred, I see so much growth, I see their conﬁdence soar and a real spark in them. I see them grow with happiness and joy, and I know how positively the parents respond too.

· Thank you for all the updates that you have been sending me for G, I have been recording them on her caseﬁle. It sounds as if she has really enjoyed doing this project and I know that it came just at the right time for G and her family, thank you all again so much.

· Noise Solutions was an empowering experience ultimately involving everyone in the family (to some extent). At a time when we were low and struggling to engage positively with our daughter it was great to have an activity arranged that gave us that space, facilitated by another adult. The home visits were appreciated (even if not all alas attended), the studio sessions an amazing if worrying opportunity. E was amazingly positive and knowledgeable coming from at things from a different angle. It was interesting hearing his final summary and what he thought our daughter had learnt. I am sorry we didn't get into the online aspect of your offering. Hopefully we will look more now the sessions have ended. And what is the legacy, Page of 86 104

beyond the memory? You reminded us of the lifeenhancing element of making live music, in particular the delight of composition. I am hoping to play moreand - ﬁngers crossed our daughter will keep up with the guitar. Today we visited a trendy guitar store in town and I even bought a (cheap) capo! Will we be brave enough to attach it? If the powers that be grant more that would be wonderful but we know that money is in short supply and our child now has regular education. We understand that there are others who are in that dark, lonely and soul-destroying world not attached to any school (for a variety of reasons). Such people deserve to feel valued and have a magical experience. Thank you

· Local authority feedback is that we have found the feedback from parents to be only positive. Feedback on sessions is frequent and informative.

· I have really enjoyed my ﬁrst experience with Noise Solution. I have worked with you as a Family Support Worker and have found communication and working relations to be fantastic (thanks S!!).I am in awe of what you do and have seen through my work and work of colleagues just how impactful your sessions are. Young people seem relaxed and incredibly happy with their mentors, the things they have created are just wonderful and are helping them through some really tough times.My family’s sessions are almost over and they are desperately trying to ﬁnd a way to fund more because they don’t want the sessions to stop. Is there any way to make them more accessible?Thank you and well done for the great work you continue to do. We are

so lucky to be able to oﬀer this to some young people in West Suﬀolk.

· Just a quick note to say a big Thank You to Noise Solutions and E for being so good with our son J The music making was therapeutic and really helped J a lot. We are very grateful to E, who is both a great musician, teacher and communicator.

· He really has done well and the work you have completed with him has helped him enormously in his behaviour. I have just spoken to his mum and it’s all very positive. (excluding the odd blip here and there.) With regards to your kind invite to attend S’s presentation I’m afraid It’s a non working day for me and I’ll be away from home. It’s a pity because I would have genuinely liked to attend. I had a quick word with S and he told me how much he has enjoyed the sessions. I’ve booked them to come to see me during the half term so I can catch up with mum and personally congratulate S.

General Positive Impact (44)

· “I thought it might be quite structured and linear which made me a little bit unsure how I would handle it but moving into the sessions I found it was so much more freeform and I could make of the time what I wanted, which was really brilliant.

· “More than anything, finding music was really helpful at a time where I could articulate what I was saying, but I couldn’t release any of the emotion. I think more than anything, it taught me that I could be good at something again. The thing the first thing I said in one of the first

sessions was: “I’ve had fun for the ﬁrst time in a couple of years” and that’s what it’s like when I get in a lesson. I know I’m going to have a good time for an hour and a half. A large part of it was music. The other was getting a plan for my future, understanding where I was headed. There was a lot of uncertainty back then. [Certainty] gives me something to hold onto if I’m not feeling great. That’s the main thing. The music tutoring and the tutoring have been a massive distraction; I’ve been quite lucky to have tutors that I get on with and that, more than anything, helps it, you know. You get someone external from the house, external from my friend groups where, if I’m having problems inside of those groups, for an hour and a half I’m a diﬀerent person and I just make music, chill out or listen to history. It’s been really positive.”

· My daughter has been with Noise Solution for a few months now and it has helped her more than anything else.A lot of that is to do with J's approach and manner, which is spot on - just enough gentle encouragement to bring her out of her shell, and it has had a knock on eﬀect on her life as a whole. She really enjoys it so much, she would do it every day if she could! A big thank you.

· Objectively I think her participation in Noise Solutions has been the highest of all the "interventions"/activities put in place for her over the last year or so (even compare to the riding lessons which we funded in 2023).

· Thank you to Noise Solutions for your fantastic work with J. She has experienced and tried so many things that have broadened her knowledge and mind. She Page of 89 104

would not otherwise have had this opportunity. J thoroughly enjoyed each session and we have looked forwards to seeing what she has achieved. Special thank you to J for his expertise and kindness.

· S was the perfect character to work with J. He was gentle and quiet and J was clearly very comfortable in his company. S’s patience, creativity and encouragement provided J with the opportunity to engage well with the sounds, instruments and technology. The sessions really held J's interest and he was able to demonstrate preferences for certain sounds and musical genres. It was a pleasure to see J enjoying the opportunity and I notice that he was stimming less and had his hands away from his ears more than in other environments. It was a pleasure to see J enjoying the opportunity and I notice that he was stimming less and had his hands away from his ears more than in other environments. Following each session, J was calm and well-regulated ready for the rest of the day. I would also like to add that Planet Music is a fantastic local resource. It is a welcoming and professional venue. It is really well maintained and clean. I have started to book the space for another student who does not have the beneﬁt of Noise Solution. Thanks so much, Noise Solution, S and Planet Music. We have had a lovely experience with you.

· This was such a great opportunity for R. I had heard about the project a year before but we could not ﬁnd a way to access it. As someone who has taught himself to play the piano and started composing songs this was the next level of learing and production. J has been brilliant in his down-to-earth support, easy going Page of 90 104

guidance and lovely motivating encouragement. This is a really challenging time for R, who wants to acheive academically and is able and yet is up against many barriers. This has been one of very few weekly activities in which he has maintained invovlement. I think that this is prob because there has been plenty of encouragement , without pressure, positive aﬀirmation with being patronised, giving autonomy and guiding possibilities. Thank you so much.

· Thank you again for giving J the opportunity to learn and enjoy music. It is a great language for him to use. Although he is struggling at the moment J really gets something aﬀirming out of these sessions and reﬂects on what he has done afterwards. The good work continues outside the two hours he spends with fantastic E.

· “I’ve noticed a real change in her this week, she enjoyed the sessions and found the scavenger hunt fun. She seemed a lot happier after this week’s session and is looking forward to the next one”

· I am impressed with the way u teach, an awful lot of tutors in the past havent been able 2 cope with him bcoz of his disabilities an av given up on him, he used 2 b a big big handful!, u r ﬁrm & u push him on, its wot he needs…thank u 4 that, 2 watch him now is a joy, I’ve given him so much praise.”

· She is now ﬁnding it easier to engage with others and try new experiences. Her experience with Ian opened new door to music and it many beneﬁts.

· just wanted to say how fantastic you and the team at Noise Solution have been. you have opened up a great opportunity for L, the recording is excellent and i think Page of 91 104

the whole experience has been a real beneﬁt for L. We are hoping L will take up up the Saturday sessions and further work on creating more amazing music but most of all have some fun.

· Wow D, we have never had such a positive response in regards to our son. He has always enjoyed his music (listening to a variety on his ipod), but to see him actually playing something himself is amazing.

· “I didn’t know if I would be able to do it but the group were so welcoming I found myself feeling comfortable enough to get involved and speak on microphone straight away. I recorded my ﬁrst podcast, something I didn’t think I would be able to do. Ever! I want to come back and speaking about my chosen subject (history) next week as I feel I can be myself.”

· hi everyone!! just wanted to say that all your comments on my songs and sessions are so lovely and thoughtful, im not very used to replying to such kind words online but it really does mean a lot!!

· Noise solutions was very fun, it was good to meet up with E on a weekly basis and to have lots in common with music.

· it was good that E would push me to my full potential.

· The songs i have made there have come out really good and i really enjoyed making them.

· I enjoyed playing the guitar with E also. Overall, this was a fab experience and i would love to do it again.

#Participant

· It been fun and I’ve enjoyed playing the guitar and making my own song and I would do it again.

· I just wanted to leave a few words to say thank you so much for my time with Noise Solution. R was an Page of 92 104

absolute pleasure to work with and I am so grateful to have had this opportunity. our sessions have been so much fun and I feel I have got so much out of them �

· “It’s night and day to me. It shows how much of a diﬀerence it’s made, because I look at that…I was laughing…”J, come on, just talk, just get the words out” whereas now it’s like I haven’t had that problem in so long, but there I’m sitting there nodding…”Yes, yes, you’re right”…it’s so crazy to look at it…but in a way it’s really positive as well.”

· So I have used you as I've been commissioning you from the local authority for young people. I really love the video system where I can comment on videos and watch the young person doing what they're doing with you. I found it really has helped me understand the young person and see the impact of your work. I think that's brilliant. The only downside I can see is that quite often you email me to tell me, ask me to comment, and I might have already done so and so I ﬁnd it a bit frustrating because I do comment and often I am the only person who has commented on a young person's provision. But that's all I have to say. Thanks for your great work. Bye.

· I have worked with colleagues in Noise Solution for nearly a decade. I can’t speak highly enough of the team. Every young person that has engaged with NS provision has been positively impacted. The more the team around the child or young person engages with the online platform, views, listens, and comments, the more the child or young person beneﬁts. However, the standalone work completed by the tutors helps raise

our children wholistically in all areas of their lives. Noise solutions work supports our children’s aspirations and futures through the full spectrum of music. Wonderful. Thank you. (Claire Asher - Cambridgeshire)

· Wednesday morning is the highlight of this young persons week, providing a channel for his creative energy. I have been amazed at his progress; in just 2 lessons he mastered enough piano chords to feel he could make meaningful music and his enthusiasm for his work has given him the determination to practice between sessions and he arrives every week with lots of new musical creations to share.

Noise Solution has supported the young person in a calm and patient way, explaining new ideas using methods that work for him and has given him the freedom to experiment and make his own choices about his musical direction. In this nurturing environment the young person has allowed himself to be gently nudged into trying new experiences (such as singing to us) that he had felt he would never be able to do. He has listened to his tutors advice and judgement on how to enhance the sound of the track he has been working on, which has enabled him to make informed decisions and choices in a collaborative way.

Noise Solution has opened up a whole new world of creative possibilities for him! His first track is now completed and he and I are delighted with the results. He played the piano and the organ on the track, sang the vocals, programmed the drums, added sound effects and helped create the final mix.

· This is one of the most easiest referral forms to complete! It is simple to complete online and does not Page of 94 104

require copious amounts of information or lots of pages which need to be completed. It also allows you to be reﬂective and think about the individual and how this referral can support them to achieve their full potential.

· The work you are doing with C is great she is really enjoying it and it is giving her something to focus on and work towards and best of all the positive recognition she gives herself and receives from others has really boosted her self-esteem and given her an insight to her real self and the talents she has.

· Noise solutions oﬀers a unique service for young people who feel there is nothing they are able to do. There sessions are personalised to individual needs and interest where they are able to achieve great results through there interactions. Through commitment, patience and empathy there professionals who deleiver this service are able to open up new experiences building on young peoples self esteem, resilience to challenges they face daily. I would recommend this service 100%

· The support L has received has been fantastic and really helped her to push herself out of her comfort zone and try something new.

· The level of support and patience shown to C has been fantastic. Unfortunately, challenges with his health have meant that he has been unable to fully engage in the programme, however his time with NS has been incredibly beneﬁcial and reawakened his love of music.

· This has been my ﬁrst experience of following a young person throughout their time with Noise Solutions, and

I can honestly say that it has been inspiring and a real pleasure.

· The response time was amazing. Sometimes, within the hour or the Se day. I have never seen such a rapid response from an external agency/organisation!

· Noise Solution was a fabulous outlet for a young person who felt socially and emotionally isolated to express themselves without judgement or criticism.

· The young people I referred have not only thoroughly enjoyed the Noise Solution sessions, but have learnt that they are able to put themselves in new situations/ work with new people and that this can be a positive experience. I would hope that this will allow them to feel more conﬁdent when trying new things in future.

· The two young people I referred have very diﬀerent presentations and diﬀiculties. However, they both spoke of how their Noise Solution sessions were the highlight of their weeks. From hearing them talk about the sessions, it sounds as though the musicians at Noise Solution tailor the experience for each young person and their interests. I would not hesitate to refer someone again should the opportunity arise. Many thanks.

· Your staﬀ have been absolutely skilled and Fantastic working with our parkside pupils. Even for those pupils who struggled on occasion to engage they never ever gave up.... meant so much to the pupils and families ... thank you for such a wonderful provision.

· The blog has worked really well as professionals can log on and see what the pupil has been doing and give positive feedback. Noise Solutions has improved pupil's social and emotional outcomes. Page of 96 104

· Has helped young person in many ways such as achieving arts award, helping young person to understand their narrative / life story in creative ways, and increasing self-esteem.

· It sounds like such a small thing, a child enjoying going to Noise Solutions and being creative there but it's not to the little boy I know. It's the one constant in his life where he can just 'be', he isn't being assessed, or have to meet other peoples expectations. There was so little enjoyment in his life and Noise Solutions has given him joy, fun, the experience of an adult enjoying spending time with him, and he has mastered things he probably never thought he could.

· ‘He has been constantly talking about his sessions which is brilliant to see how passionate he is about somethingHe asked me to pass this on to the "music guy" IA - "I feel like i have an actual purpose again" I’ve only had two with him and one left as I was just picking up sessions after he moved but I’ve strongly recommended they extend and they’re working on it.

· Noise Solutions has been a fantastic experience for T. He talks about his sessions a lot and is more conﬁdent in sharing his achievements. Thank you so much for collaborating with him. It has been a really positive experience and one I know T treasures. SENDCo & DSL

· I believe T is far more conﬁdent now than when he ﬁrst began Noise Solution, he is more relaxed at the prospect of meeting new people and trying new experiences. Due to T’s autism I believe he will continue to struggle to with certain decision making however he certainly appears more willing to engage in new activities and the possibility of employment. T voiced

that he thoroughly enjoyed working with S, he stated S made him feel relaxed, at ease and encouraged him to make the most of his voices. Noise Solution’s unique, creative approach is proving extremely beneﬁcial in the lives of the young people we work with.

· It's really brilliant to see the progress in him. I'm sure he's not out of the woods yet but at least, at long last, there is some light showing through the trees! I was delighted to hear about the volunteering and that he has made some of the eﬀort himself. Whilst I appreciate it's a day to day thing here's hoping things continue carry positively on from here. Thank you SO much to Noise Solutions.

· Thanks for this, I. Just wanted to pass on that I think you’re doing a great job. S’s clearly loving it and has taken to working with you really easily. Loving the blog and the weekly updates are great for us in terms of evidencing the work you’re doing with him. Really looking forward to seeing what S’s able to achieve throughout rest of the programme. I’ll ask all the team to all have a look at the blog and send some comments back to you via myself and Daniel so we’ll hopefully have lots more to be added on.

Skills, Conﬁdence & Competence (8)

· I’ve been really impressed with the patience of his tutor and ability to get him interested in something and teach him new skills when he won?t normally do anything you ask him.

· Please. Hi. FrE really enjoyed his sessions. He learned, I think, to not be afraid to make his own music. He

learned, technically, a lot. He worked with J, and J allowed him to ﬁnd his own music and to make himself known, I think, on the instruments. And he taught him lots about how to engineer music. FrE was full of questions, and I think it went really well. He's certainly grown from the experience, and he loved it. Thank you so much for everything you did.

· R was patient, kind and has such ability to get people involved and have fun. I am so pleased my child spent this time with him as he has learned new skills and been involved with something productive and doing something he loves which is a bonus!!! I will be forever grateful.

· “As someone who’s been a musician for upwards of four years it helped me rediscover my skills were because I was at a point where I felt I didn’t have any and that I had run out of energy for making music. Noise Solution helped me get some of that hunger for making music back and it was an opportunity to explore some production techniques that I hadn’t really utilised before, which were a bit more fun. I was very methodical in everything that I was making before and now I feel a bit more able to do whatever I feel like doing.”

· E made some fantastic music and often when I got to see him he is playing his own music which he is very proud of. He made a diss track against me which was very fun. Youth Support Practitioner

· thank you Noise Solution, a fantastic service and the young person told me today that they had a really great time for their sessions. I found the session reports really great and felt like the musician (R) was Page of 99 104

really taking his time to understand and support the young person beautifully. I loved that I could listen to the master pieces the young person created each session and comment, this really helped with feeling aware of how the funding/sessions were used and allowed me to talk to the young person about their skills. Thank you.

· I have just read J’s final report and had a look at his new posts online. Really lovely to see how much progress he’s made – so confident and proud of himself in the last reflection video! I just wanted to say a massive thank you for being so flexible and accommodating given J’s move to London midsessions. I know he’s really appreciated the consistency you’ve been able to offer, as well as having something so positive to focus on whilst he’s being going through some tricky times. I know J has absolutely loved the sessions and working with you in particular. I really hope he continues to explore this passion independently with his new found knowledge.

I’ve passed on to our funding provider how positive it’s been for J. So hopefully, will be speaking to you again in the future for some more young people!

· My son finds it really difficult to engage with unfamiliar adults. I thought it may not work at all but A was brilliant with him, really patient and worked really hard to get on his level and find something he would be interested in. He couldn?t wait to do the next session and looks forward to trying out new skills.

Social Connection & Belonging (10)

· I've really enjoyed being part of the community that get feedback about E sessions and I've really enjoyed being able to make comments. I have seen their conﬁdence grow and have loved seeing their massive smile each week as they've played various instruments. I know the sessions have meant SOOOOO much to the family as a whole, with mum even saying she thinks Noise Solution changed E life. It breaks my heart that it isn't something available to everyone due to the costs involved - it would be wonderful if there were more community funding options.

· For this adopted child he needed to experience a relationship that he could be himself and experience a positive relationship. He needed to do something fun, that he enjoyed, and got a sense of mastery from when all else felt lost. In this sense, raising his sense of self helps him engage with all other services.

· I just wanted to say thank you so much for your work with SP today. She is a very complex young person who is exceptionally hard to 'crack', but you have already formed a strong relationship with her which is something she will really treasure. Sorry if it felt like I was intruding on your time with her, SP's attachment needs are incredibly complex and the more contained she feels, the more she is able to engage. The more attention from adults she has, the less she punishes herself and I think it is also really

beneﬁcial for her to see two adults engaging in a positive way. She was beaming when we were in the car and felt proud of herself which is a feeling she has not really experienced before. I have never seen SP like she was today, and that is because of you. It was so lovely to see and I know it meant a lot to her. Thank you so much, you are amazing and I can't express how valuable your time is for SP. Have a lovely half term and see you in a couple of weeks. #Professional

· A massive thank you to R! We have seen quite a change in J over the last 3 months. He no longer wakes in the night, shaking, sweating, panicking and being sick. He is much less "worried" than he was before his noise solutions sessions started. R seemed from the videos like the most encouraging person ever! I felt like J built up a great relationship with R. He drew some little pictures in Rs thank you can last night and laughed about them! Thank you so, so much. I have already mentioned/recommended you to a friend whose son is struggling.

· This is fantastic! F has enjoyed every second of his time spent with M! And M you are a credit to noise solution! You really took the time to understand F and build a great relationship with him, which takes some people years! It’s such a shame it has come to an end! Many thanks again!!

· When I referred C to Noise Solutions, I will admit I was a little unsure as to whether or not he would enjoy the sessions and how well he would engage. By the end of the ﬁrst session, it was clear to see that his passion for music and performing had been re-

ignited. C would give kudos to J for his encouragement and support, and I agree that the relationship and respect between them has been instrumental to C success. I look forward to seeing what the next round of sessions brings.

· H is working so hard and has made amazing progress. It's clear that he has been practicing in his spare time. It is also lovely to see how much more comfortable H is with M since his ﬁrst sessions. M has a done a great job building this relationship. I'm looking forward to tracking H's musical journey and hearing his latest tracks. Great job everyone.

· There is constant excellent communication between the organisation and us. The tutors have been fantastic and have communicated exceptionally well. Staﬀ involved have enjoyed commenting on students' work and say that they have felt that it has enabled them to build up more eﬀective relationships with students. It is also brilliant that you can contact anyone with any queries and S has been invaluable.

· The staff are phenomenal. Nothing is too much trouble. They build up effective relationships with students and staff. The tutors are fab and clearly inspire our students. The support from Simon and Damian is also excellent and you feel confident knowing that you can email then with any queries or issues. In terms of interventions, it is probably the best intervention I have encountered. This programme transforms students' lives.

· Diﬀerence before and after: “When I started, I was not in a place where I felt where I could play with music and I could express myself through music, and after Page of 103 104

nearly half a decade of making music and it being my primary tool of expressing myself and falling completely out of love with making it was really hard and I didn’t have a lot of hope going forward for my music career not that I was hoping for an actual career in music necessarily but by the time I got to the end of the sessions with Noise Solution I felt much more ready to experiment with new things and new techniques that I’d not used before and just play with music again and going on to create a much larger body of work which was all very expressionist. I felt readily able to express myself though music again which was a really big, important step for me. I think by the very nature of my relationship with music, being able to create again of my own volition and explore, it did have an eﬀect on my general state of being and how I felt. It gave me some thinking space which was really important to me. #