Youth Music Grants for Youth Music
deadline: 10 September 2010
Youth Music is the UK's largest children's music charity. Through its Open Programme, grants of between £5,000 and £30,000 are available to support projects that provide music-making activities for children and young people in support of Youth Music's goals. 
Youth Music will fund any non-profit-making organisation more than one year old, that is committed to music-making activities for children and young people up to 18 (or up to 25 if they have special educational needs, disabilities or are in detention).
www.youthmusic.org.uk/looking_for_music_funding/Open_programme.html
Vetting and Barring scheme halted- posted: 21.6.2010
In its recent document ‘The Coalition: Our programme for government’, the Government set out its aim to ‘review the criminal records and vetting and barring regime and scale it back to common sense levels’. Information from VAN
In order to deliver this promise and carry out the remodelling, the Vetting and Barring Scheme will be halted. The first phase of registration was due to commence on 26 July 2010.
Although the Scheme is halted whilst the Government undertakes its review, new safeguarding regulations introduced in October 2009 continue to apply. These include:
• A person who is barred from working with children or vulnerable adults will be breaking the law if they work or volunteer, or try to work or volunteer with those groups.
• An organisation which knowingly employs someone who is barred to work with those groups will also be breaking the law.
• If your organisation works with children or vulnerable adults and you dismiss a member of staff or a volunteer because they have harmed a child or vulnerable adult, or you would have done so if they had not left, you must tell the Independent Safeguarding Authority.
In October 2009, the right to ask for an enhanced CRB disclosure was extended to all those who employ or use volunteers in types of activity called ‘Regulated Activity’. This right remains, and you should continue to carry out appropriate pre-recruitment checks, including CRB checks where appropriate or required by law. The Independent Safeguarding Authority will continue to carry out its work as an independent decision making body as well as continuing to maintain the barred lists. They will also continue to accept referrals.
More: www.isa-gov.org.uk/default.aspx
March 2010 ISA Vetting and Barring Scheme
Follow the link to see the latest information from the Voluntary Arts Network. www.voluntaryarts.org/uploaded/map13539.pdf
This link gives a clear outline of what has gone on and what you will have to do in future to cover your band.
Boost for live music as government announces plans to exempt small venues- posted 11.1.2010
Live music performances for 100 people or less will no longer need to be licensed, under proposals announced by Licensing Minister Gerry Sutcliffe.
An exemption from the Licensing Act for small live music events would make it easier for a wide range of venues to put on live music, and help musicians who want to play to a live audience. Currently anyone wanting to put on live music must have a premises licence, a club premises certificate or a temporary event notice, although there are some exceptions for incidental, background music.
An exemption would ensure that all licensed premises such as pubs and clubs would be able to put on small scale live music, regardless of whether or not their existing licence included a provision for staging entertainment events. Unlicensed premises such as cafes, restaurants, village halls and record shops would also be able to host events without the need of for a licence.
But to ensure that any concerns of people living close to venues are taken into account, the exemption would only apply to performances that are indoors, and take place between 8am and 11pm. Residents and responsible authorities such as the police would have the power to call for an exemption to be revoked at a specific venue if there was cause for concern.
More: www.culture.gov.uk/reference_library/consultations/6499.aspx
THE LAW IS CHANGING - ISA - NEW VETTING & BARRING SCHEME
- From 12 October 2009, new measures will be introduced to help prevent unsuitable people from undertaking paid or volunteer work with children or vulnerable adults. This is called the Vetting and Barring Scheme (VBS).
Who will help manage the Scheme?
- To help implement the Scheme a new public body called the Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) has been created. Unlike the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) who provide employers with checks using information from the police’s National Computer System, the ISA make decisions over who should be barred from working with vulnerable people. These decisions are legally binding. Failing to comply could result in both the employer and the employee or volunteer being prosecuted and even going to prison. ISA-registration will not replace the CRB checking process, but represents an extra level of protection.
When does mandatory ISA-registration begin?
- From July 2010 all new employees, those moving jobs and volunteers who want to work with children or vulnerable adults can register with the ISA. From November 2010, all new employees and volunteers who want to work with children or vulnerable adults must be ISA-registered. Until they have obtained ISA-registration (and it is each employee’s responsibility to do this) they cannot legally be employed. For employees the ISA-registration process is straightforward.
- For employers having to check a candidate’s ISA-registration (a legal requirement) they have created a simple and free online service.
How much does ISA-registration cost?
- Registration will cost each new employee £64. For unpaid volunteers there is no charge. There are two areas of ISA-registration, one covering working with children and one for working with vulnerable adults. Once successfully ISA-registered, for either or both groups, an individual is registered for life, in most cases, and does not need to reapply.
- For more information about the Vetting and Barring Scheme, the Independent Safeguarding Authority,the registration process, who is affected and how, please visit www.isa-gov.org.uk or call 0300 123 1111.
08 February 2010
When you won't have to register with the Independent Safeguarding Authority ISA: Personal and family arrangements and other exemptions from the new Vetting and Barring Scheme
Feel confused about who will need to be registered with the ISA (Independant Safeguarding Authoity? Ed Balls, Minister for Children, schools and Families has issued new guidelines. Follow the link for details Vetting and barring myth buster'.
Youth Music's Open Programme Grants
Youth Music's Open Programme provides grants of between £5,000 and £30,000. It aims to increase the number of children and young people with access to high quality, sustainable music making activities across England.
They are keen to fund projects which clearly progress the musical skills of children and young people and/or provide them with pathways for further progression. They are also interested in projects which are particularly distinctive or innovative in their approach.
The Open Programme targets nearly £2m of Youth Music's funding towards projects that support the goals of:
• Early Years - advancing the learning and development of all children in their early years (0-5) by aiming to ensure universal access to high quality music making in England
• Challenging Circumstances - improving the life chances of children and young people in the most challenging circumstances by supporting them to achieve their full potential through engagement and progression in music making
• Encouraging Talent and Potential - realising the musical talent and potential of children and young people by ensuring opportunity for all to develop their talent regardless of background or chosen genre
• Workforce Development - enabling the highest quality music making by developing a diverse, highly skilled and inspirational workforce
If you would like to know more about the programme or to take a look at the new online application form, please take a look at the Open Programme page at www.youthmusic.org.uk/looking_for_music_funding/Open_programme.html
Charity Commission publishes guidance for arts charities-
The Charity Commission has published practical guidance and a fictitious example report to help show trustees of arts charities how to draw up their annual report and accounts, incorporating the new requirement to report on public benefit. 
While not a template, the Commission hopes the example will prove a useful tool for trustees as they report on their public benefit for the first time in the next set of annual accounts published after March 31 2009.
The new example report accompanies the Commission’s existing public benefit guidance and is available from the website at www.charitycommission.gov.uk under Public benefit guidance.
