De Viggiani, N., Daykin, N., Moriarty, Y. and Pilkington, P. and ...

to reflect upon the impact of their behaviour on others. It also works towards connecting prisoners
with their families by involving them with their children’s education while they are in custody
(Halsey et al 2002; Halsey et al 2004). Making Tracks is an example of the music making component
of a longer six-week Fathers Inside programme that was undertaken in a male YOI between 2005
and 2007. The project recruited forty-two participants in three cohorts. Each cohort spent four days
composing lyrics dedicated to their children, which contributed towards a final performance and
production of a CD. It was reported that the project instilled confidence and personal responsibility,
and enabled participants to earn an accredited Open College Network (OCN) qualification.
Evaluation of the programme reported increases in skills and attitudes among participants,
particularly in reading and writing, teamwork, confidence and music skills. The workshops also
improved participants’ ability to express their feelings through storytelling and to reflect
constructively on their parenting role. Institutional challenges were problematic in terms of their
impact on attendance and completion rates (Boswell and Poland 2008).
The Irene Taylor Trust has run its participatory Music in Prisons project in UK prisons since 1995.
Each programme involves a one-week intensive creative music workshop for prisoners, facilitated
by professional musicians with whom they work to create new music that is later recorded to CD
and performed to their peers, prison staff, families and friends. One such programme, Fair, was
developed in partnership with the National Youth Theatre and ran over three weeks at a female
prison in 2006. It recruited twenty-one young women and nineteen completed the whole
programme. Participants learned a range of music and theatre skills and developed a musical
theatre production based on a storyline relevant to their experiences, addressing teenage
pregnancy, drug misuse, infidelity and imprisonment. They later performed before prison staff,
their peers, family members and the local press. The project was evaluated using focus groups and
qualitative interviews at three follow-up periods (one week, one month and ten months post
programme). The evaluation revealed outcomes such as increased confidence and self-esteem,
empowerment and overall improvement in life-skills and attitudes. It highlighted pride among
participants in their achievement, along with strengthened self-belief, increased energy levels and
‘lifted spirits’. The report also stressed the difficulties encountered with delivering this kind of
project within a strictly regulated institutional environment (Goddard 2006).
Live Music Now! has a long track record of providing participatory, creative music programmes
within welfare, education, justice and health contexts. An example of their approach is Music Place,
which was aimed at encouraging young people back into education. Twenty participants undertook
six workshops over six weeks facilitated by two musicians, and were assessed pre- and postprogramme
against personal development attributes geared towards employability. Most
participants returned to education following the programme. The workshops involved teambuilding
activities designed to build confidence and group cohesion, and participants worked
collectively towards creating a music CD and performing before their peers and families. The
programme was reported to have had positive impacts on self-confidence, self-esteem,
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