Welcome to the new NMPAT website, designed with accessibility in mind. We have tried to remove barriers which some users might have found prevented them from accessing the information they need. The new site is designed to present information in the order that the user will need it, not necessarily the order which we think of it at NMPAT.
These two thoughts have a parallel in the work that we do: we are constantly trying to make ourselves more accessible, and find ways of overcoming barriers to participation for those who want to make music. As educators, we are also trying to ensure that we present information in the way that suits the learner… and everyone knows that each person learns in a different way.
So, the new website is a metaphor for the way in which NMPAT is continuing to develop. We hope you enjoy it, and we would welcome your feedback. If we haven’t got it right and you can’t find what you want, then we need to change it… and we would like to do that.
The new website comes at the time when Music Education is about to see a huge change. The new National Plan for Music Education, launched in June, promises that the government will continue to fund Music Education Hubs to oversee the delivery of the promises of the National Plan, for the Children and Young People of their area. There are also key developments around Early Years, Music Technology, support for schools and all aspects of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion.
Since the inception of Hubs in 2012, NMPAT has been leading the Northamptonshire Music Education Hub. Since 2013, we have also been leading a separate Hub for the children, young people and schools of Rutland. In April of 2023 these two Hubs will officially merge to become a single Hub covering the two counties. NMPAT will remain, doing what it does in Northamptonshire, and Rutland Music will still lead the delivery in Rutland, and they will function as a single Hub.
This is partly in preparation for the new Hub Investment Programme, through which Arts Council England and the Department for Education will choose who will run the Music Hubs in England in the future. We don’t yet know what the new Hubs will look like, but we hope that there will be a single Hub to cover Northamptonshire and Rutland, and that NMPAT will continue to lead it, for the next 10 years.
We will keep you posted on developments, but whatever happens, NMPAT will remain at the heart of delivery to the children, young people, and schools of Northamptonshire… and you will be able to read all about us on our website.
Peter Smalley
Chief Executive
February 2023
