Jane Meagher met participants and staff at Big Noise in Wester Hailes, including the charity’s chief executive Vicky Williams and head of centre Stewart Wilson.
Ending poverty in the city is one of the council’s strategic priorities and, during her visit, Ms Meagher found out more about how the programme was transforming the lives of children and young people in the area.
She watched a special performance by young primary school participants and a show by older students who graduated from the first Big Noise centre in Raploch.
She also met family members from the community to learn about the impact of the programme on children and young people as well as the wider community.
Big Noise Wester Hailes is Sistema Scotland’s newest centre and opened in 2022.
It now reaches more than 550 children a week, working in partnership with Clovenstone, Canal View and Sighthill primary and nursery schools.
The centre began working with all children in P1 and P2 and expanded to reach those from nursery to P3 over the course of its first year.
It will continue to grow year-on-year, retaining the involvement of the children as they age and introducing the next generations of nursery and P1 children, and ultimately work with babies through to school-leavers in Wester Hailes, as well as offering opportunities to stay involved in the programme as adults.
The centre recently held a two-week spring holiday club, providing free activities and food for nearly 50 children during the school break.
Big Noise is a high-quality music education and social change programme, which sees children and young people learn music after school, creating a community symphony orchestra which supports them to gain vital life skills such as confidence, resilience, creativity, and aspiration.
It supports young people to reach their full potential by helping them develop vital life skills such as confidence, resilience, creativity, and aspiration, while also strengthening community ties through music and nurturing relationships.
Studies of the Big Noise model have found it enhances academic skills, including listening, problem-solving, and concentration, as well as increasing participants’ self-esteem, their sense of belonging, and happiness.
Sistema Scotland now runs six Big Noise centres supporting almost 4,000 children and young people in communities around Scotland including Raploch and Fallin in Stirling, Douglas in Dundee, Torry in Aberdeen, and Govanhill in Glasgow.
Big Noise is designed to strengthen the communities where it is based, developing relationships with participants and their families based on mutual respect, trust and a commitment to working together and tackling inequalities for the long term.
Targeted in the areas of greatest need, it uses music and nurturing relationships, from infancy to adulthood, Big Noise supports participants’ wellbeing and helps them reach their full potential.
Edinburgh City Council leader Jane Meagher said: “It was fantastic to visit Big Noise in Wester Hailes and see first-hand how excited the children were to make beautiful music. Music education is hugely important for children and young people of all ages, with research showing that it can support the development of crucial life skills such as creativity, relationship building and resilience while also helping to build confidence and enhance emotional wellbeing.
“We are committed to tacking poverty in our city and community-based projects such as Big Noise are doing brilliant work in the Wester Hailes community and beyond to transform lives through music. It is important that we encourage creativity and offer broader access to music education to learners of all ages, and I’m pleased to see Big Noise supporting our wider efforts across Edinburgh to make music accessible and inclusive for all.”
Vicky Williams, chief executive of Sistema Scotland, said: “Our mission is to tackle poverty and inequality and we are delighted to work with Edinburgh City Council on our shared mission to transform lives and help children and young people reach their potential and fulfil their ambitions.
“We are incredibly proud of how far the children we have been working with have come in the past three years and are excited about what the future holds for them and our programme as we grow.
“We are always delighted to be able to showcase their achievements and we were all thrilled to share their work with Jane Meagher today.
“It is clear that Big Noise, through nurturing and supportive relationships, helps children and young people reach their full potential by equipping them with vital life skills and enhancing their academic skills.
“We also know that taking part in Big Noise increases confidence and self-esteem, as well as participants’ creativity, aspiration and sense of belonging.”