End of the Year!

Summer Activities end and Get Sorted close for the Summer Break – open again 5th September!

The last week of the Summer Activities was the second of our Social cohesion weeks, and sure enough it was really well attended and received, and the benefit to the young people was plain to see.

This year’s summer activities have been a great success, we’ve had a whole spread of different projects both on-site and in schools across Rotherham. Click here to read some of the reports of these activities… and keep your eye on the blog for more reports to come in September.

After these four weeks and a busy year, Get Sorted will close until Monday 5th September when normal business will resume… in the down time, please help spread the Get Sorted word by ‘liking’ out Facebook page and inviting others to do the same!

Get Sorted Plug Into Music!

A Youth Music: Plug Into Music report from April 2004 describes the project and gives special mention to Get Sorted.

Youth Music’s Plug into Music (PIM) programme has been an important and innovative initiative to provide a range of opportunities for children and young people to use music technology to express themselves musically. Launched early in 2001, Plug into Music aimed to provide a focus for those organisations using technology creatively to deliver music-making projects to children and young people, and to support the emerging practices and projects that Youth Music had seen developing through its other funding programmes.

“… Case studies received either an extended telephone interview(s) or a visit. These proved to be both interesting and enjoyable: case study project leaders were uniformly helpful, open and enthusiastic about their work.

In three of the visits it was possible to observe some of the original staff working with the participants. This was extremely fruitful. In one case (Get Sorted Academy - Rotherham) it was possible to speak with some of the trainees, who had since moved on to permanent posts with the organisation, and to see the funded equipment being put to excellent use in programmes for socially excluded young people.”

Plug into Music

Programme (first round)

1 April 2001 – 31 March 2002

Postode Lottery

Get Sorted, using funding from the People’s Postcode Trust, helped 25 young people make films to get their voices heard about important subjects such as bullying, racism, moving to a new country.

One group in particular benefited from the project and reached some very positive outcomes whilst taking part in an animation activity involving bullying.

We invited a group of girls aged 13 to 15 years old to attend Get Sorted and take part in our animation project. The girl’s involved were experiencing behavioural problems at school and other negative factors such as bullying, racism and peer pressure and had become quite a challenge to engage with. Our animation project was designed to break down and discuss the issues that were having a negative impact on the girl’s lives and offer them a way to explore ways to counter these problems. The girl’s quickly became very interested in debating and sharing their opinions with the rest of the group. We used the debates to collect ideas for what we could include in our animations and the group worked together to create an animation using their own ideas and opinions about bullying. The finished work was a great display of the groups own experiences and the girls worked extremely hard at learning and improving their knowledge.

When assessing the sessions we felt that a very difficult subject had been allowed to be approached in a very accessible way by using animation and we were satisfied that we had successfully engaged everyone in the group

“The People’s Postcode Trust is the grant giving independent charitable trust of People’s Postcode Lottery” who “distribute funds to small organisations, community groups and registered charities.”

“People’s Postcode Trust is solely funded by People’s Postcode Lottery. £2 from every monthly ticket goes to charity, and to date over £12 million has been raised for good causes in the UK. The People’s Postcode Trust has received over £2.4 million to date from People’s Postcode Lottery, which has been distributed to 489 organisations across the country.

Funding is awarded to projects with one or more of the following aims; to prevent poverty, to promote, maintain, improve and advance health, to advance citizenship or community development, to advance public participation in sport, to promote, improve and advance human rights, conflict resolution or reconciliation, to promote and advance environmental protection or improvement.”

Miss Kezzo: Interview

Miss Kezzo, a former "DJ/MC Tutor" at Get Sorted, interviewed by Arya Yuyutsu in an article taken from Miss Kezzo’s website! Also available are a series of videos of the interview!

To begin with, what got you into music: Marshall Mathers - the LP! A friend of mine had borrowed me the album. It was the first time I had ever heard of a white hip hop rapper. I was into pop bands at the time, such as, 5ive and The Spice Girls, so hip hop was something totally new to me. Being a young teenager at the time with discipline and anger issues didn't really mix very well when listening to his music. My parents didn’t agree with me listening to such explicit music and I was sent to anger management classes. Although, my first vinyl was one of David Bowies' singles and this got me into the dj’ing side of the music.

You’re a woman doing rap, how has it been being a rare unique person in the rap scene: It's not being a woman that makes me unique. There is quite a few female rap artist's on the underground scene that people aren't aware of. The thing that makes me unique is my image. People either love me or hate me. A lot of my competition is the men in the music scene. They, for some reason, see me as a threat. As the saying goes 'you should never judge a book by its cover'.

How did you start off?  I mean once you had a few songs and knew that you wanted to be a singer, what did you do: I actually have a song that answers this questions really well, you should check it out (click on the 'Bio' tab to listen to the song -), 'I Remember Those Days’ featuring Ali Heath Cook. I started recording my songs on a cassette player and to make the instrumentals, I used some PC Software called, E Jay. I got a few of my friends and my younger sister (Lady E) involved and then we started going to watch rappers at local battles and festivals. From then on, I landed a job in Rotherham at Get Sorted Academy of Music as a DJ/MC Tutor. I started going on social networking sites to promote myself and before I knew it, I’d done tons of gigs, collaborated with other unsigned artists, went in and out of crews and released a few mixtapes.

You've already found a niche for yourself, being a woman rapper.  How important is it to be different? To find a niche? To essentially, have a musical identity: It is very important to have your own identity, whether your a rap artist, student or a sales person working in the likes of Primark.  But it is important to me because of what genre of music I am doing. I'm trying to push the boundaries, open people’s eyes that there is more to a person than just image and it no longer matters what you look like in the music industry.  As long as you make good music that people can relate too.

Is there pressure to maintain it now you have chose this genre: It is totally the opposite. But, this is me and this is my everyday image. I don't do this to make a point and stand out. It’s just who I am, on stage and off! It's how I feel comfortable. Noone should be told how to look and dress. When that happens, your taking away their identity and stripping their personality.

Where do publicity and social commitments come in and how much do they effect the singer: Have you ever heard of the saying, 'sell you soul to the devil'? That pretty much sums it up. Once signed and mainstreamed you are public property. Many artists go off the rail because of this reason. I do think you have to be mentally fit because of the work load, but when there is free time, it makes you appreciate the simple things in life. The media tends to gloss the music business up but, really its one of the hardest jobs to go for that is mentally draining and without being in the right frame of mind, its a no go!

In the music scene, as it is today, do you think that singers coming through now are more 'celebrity' and unapproachable stars as compared to a couple of years ago when you could bump into some bands jamming at local pubs. How does this change the music scene: It's usually down to the agents discreition if the star is interactive or not. I think it goes on how successful the artist is as well, and the genre has something to do with it. It's all about protecting the artist nowadays', so it depends on how you look at it. I don't think it's a bad thing, after all, an artist purpose is to entertain. Does this make the artist look ignorant/arrogant? I guess in a certain way it does. But times change and society is no longer the same to what it was decades ago. The newer generation will not know no different and the older generation are dying out, Circle of life.

How do you cope with the business aspect of the whole prefession: To admit, it was a little hard to take in at first. There’s so much to learn. And I'm still learning. I take every day as it comes and I never run before I can walk. It's great to know I've got such a supportive team behind me. If I'm unsure about the slightest thing, I can just ask someone without worrying if I sound stupid. But my agent is there to deal with the business side of things so I don't really have to worry. This doesn’t mean I’ve got it plain sailing though.

Who were the big influences in your interest in music and had any present singer (I know you've opened up for a few famous singers already) given you some insight into what's ahead: Eminem was the first one, Jurassic 5, Skinnyman, Shystie, Lady Sovereign, N-Dubz, Tinnie tempah. They all played a big part in how I write songs today. I've only ever been given pointers by other unsigned artists and the majority said 'change your image', so I've learnt on my own by experimenting and learning from my mistakes.

Arya Yuyutsu

Arts and Crafts Week over - 2nd Week of Social Cohesion Starts!

Young people from Clifton School return for the final week of Get Sorted Summer Activities!

The last week of Get Sorted’s summer activities is under way and as young people from Clifton school return to take part in activities geared to towards social cohesion the building is yet again alive!

Whilst the young people take part in all manner of activities and workshops Get Sorted will be getting a lick of paint... it's still not too late to donate decorating materials, so if you can donate anything please do get in touch!

Also, after a busy month of both on-site and off-site activities, this is the last week before Get Sorted closes for the summer, with Friday 19th August being the last day of term, reopening Monday 5th September.

Music and Arts Week ends, second Social Cohesion week begins… and a bit of decorating!!!

The third week of the in-house Summer Activities at Get Sorted comes to an end; next week will be the fourth and final week!

All this week young people have been attending all kinds of music and arts workshops at Get Sorted. The 'Music and Arts' week was the only week of the Summer Activities that was open to the public, and as was expected, it was a great success.

Next week, the final week of Summer Activities, will be the second of the Social Cohesion weeks; during the first Social Cohesion week over 20 young people were coming to sessions each day. Given such interest it is expected that a similar number will attend this week.

The Get Sorted Summer Activities have been a very successful and wide ranging including many off-site school activities covering all corners of Rotherham; from an on-site pilot 'Guitar master-class' project to workshops with local ‘SIBS’ school groups and a school ‘Rock Week’!

We’ve had write-ups from several of the different workshops and more will follow when all the dust settles.

Also, as next week will be the last week before Get Sorted close for the summer, we'll be taking the opportunity to do some refurbishment work and giving the building a coat of paint...  Get sorted are asking for any decorating related donations... paint, brushes, rollers; the usual! All donations will be very gratefully recieved!

Swinton Rock School

As well as packing the Get Sorted for Summer Activities, there were loads of off site activities in schools. Here is a case study from Paul L. on the Rock Week at Swinton Community School from the 1st to the 5th of August!

"This summer saw the 4th year of Get Sorted ‘Rock Week’ held at Swinton Community School. The event has been very successful every year, with students learning a range of instruments throughout the week culminating in a performance at the end of the week. The students ranged in ages from 9 to 15 years old and their abilities varied from complete beginners to some more accomplished musicians who had learnt their skills at previous Get Sorted workshops. To accompany the practical elements of learning instruments the students also designed their own guitars, t-shirts and created their own band name to broaden their overall knowledge of music. One of the main focuses of the week is to encourage the children to work as part of a team and learn how to solve problems by helping each other with areas that they find difficult or challenging. By working together in their bands the students achieved great results and it was very satisfying to watch all the children supporting each other throughout the week. 

The final performance was a fantastic end to the week with 3 bands playing 2 songs each to a large crowd of parents and friends. All the students performed with a confidence that had grown through the week and the children finished the workshops with a greater understanding of how to play an instrument and what it’s like to rock out!"

Keep your eye on the blog for more case studies from the Summer Activities!

Under the Stars

Get Sorted have done work with Under The Stars, a 'learning disability friendly nightclub run by people with a learning disability and their friends'.

For only 6 months initially, Get Sorted helped Adult Learners to do a performance event to over 300 people at the Liquid nightclub attended by over 300 people. there were Bands, DJ's Dancers and singers, allof whom were Adults with learning disabilities performing.

This pilot project has now developed into part of Get Sorted's ACL (Adult and Community Learning) group sessions.

Home Ed. Week - Final Band Performance!

Last week saw young, home-educated people take part in a range of activities and on the last day they put what they had learned on show! This is the write up from Get Sorted tutor Nath W.!

The group was split into two separate bands with the names 'Killer Squirrels' and 'Mad Dogs'. Many of the young people had never played and instrument before, which made learning a sing and playing it live as a unit a difficult task.

During Monday's session, the children chose two songs and delegated instruments amongst themselves. The Killer Squirrels chose 'Use Somebody' by 'Kings of Leon' and The Mad Dogs chose 'Fireworks' by 'Katy Perry'.

Each band had a vocalist, two guitarists, a bassist and bongo drum players. Within the first two hour session, the bands were well underway in learning to play the songs in time together. During the guitar and drum sessions the bands also looked further into the guitar chords involved in their songs and more complex drum patterns.

When Friday came around it was surprising how much the children had remembered and were playing their pieces almost perfectly by lunchtime. In the afternoon, parents were invited to come and take a seat for the final show. The Mad Dogs were up first and played a great rendition of Fireworks with one young boy pulling off the mammoth task of very high range vocals. The song was timed very well and each member played confidently. After the applause, The Mad Dogs gave way for the Killer Squirrels who stormed their way through a great rendition of 'Use Somebody'.

Both bands were more than happy to entertain in their newly created band T-shirts. The parents loved the performance and promptly asked when the next one would be. The Band Development Programme at Get Sorted once again proved an excellent outlet for young people of all ages!

Halfway through Summer Activities!

Week 3 of Get Sorted's Summer Activities is Music and Arts week. Also a quick round up of what Get Sorted have been doing off site in local schools.

After 2 weeks of very sucessful Summer activities, this week Get Sorted welcomes young people to take part in a week of Music and Art; there will be many different kinds of workshops for guests to try! There are still places available so please do get in touch and book yourself in! Call 01709 513 099 or email info@getsortedmusic.co.uk

However, Get Sorted's summer activities are not confined to on-site activities. Here are some of the activities that Get Sorted have been holding as part of local schools' summer activities:

• Our Lady and St. Joseph School, Wath: Glee Club for 8-11 year old children

• West Melton Primary School: SIBS (http://www.sibs.org.uk ) mixed Music and Arts group.

• Rawmarsh Rosehill Junior School: Drums, guitar, junk and samba.

Next week will be the final week of Get Sorted Summer Activities and will see young people from Clifton School return for another week of workshops geared towards Social Cohesion.

Also, Get Sorted will be doing some refurbishment work and we are in need of DONATIONS! Please read the blog-post and send what you can!

The 'Home Ed' week final day performance!

This week has been the Home-Educated Week of Get Sorted's Summer Activities and today is the final day!

All this week Get Sorted has been buzzin' with the sounds and activity of young, home-educated people who have been taking part in a week of Summer Activities Workshops; Drumming, Guitars, Rapping, Animation, Film-making... amongst others!

Although they may be sad to leave Get Sorted, they still have a day left and, in order to show off what they've learnt in the past week, - and to celebrate their time down at Get Sorted - today they will all be putting bands together and preparing for a performance they will all take part in later today in the 'Pool Room' at Get Sorted!

Next week sees Get Sorted opening it's doors to the public in the "Music and Arts" Week of the Summer Activities, so check back to see what everyone gets up to!

University of the First Age

Get Sorted is a holder of an University of the First Age Fellows Award. This awarded to "schools, cluster group, local authority or community organisations" that have completed a specific area of UFA training and now offer this programme or activity.

The UFA is a national education charity. Founded in Birmingham in 1996 by Professor Tim Brighouse, we work with Local Authorities and other partners across the UK. The UFA is committed to working in innovative and creative ways with Local Authorities, schools, organisations, communities and individuals to enrich and extend learning for young people aged 5 to 25.

Our aim is to create an 'open' university for young people, so that they can access a range of challenging learning opportunities in and beyond their school. Being part of a 'university' in early life helps to raise aspirations, increases the likelihood of young people going on to Further and Higher Education and develops skills that will help them succeed in their future lives and employment.

Raising young people's aspirations and achievements by improving confidence and self-belief through exciting and memorable educational experiences is at the heart of what we do. Young people are supported through the UFA to become role models and leaders who develop and lead learning opportunities for others in their

The UFA explores imaginative approaches to training in order to engage teachers and other professionals, parents, carers, community organisations and businesses in transforming their own learning practice. From this training we create learning teams of the adults and young people with whom we work.

Practice Learning Consortium Case Study

The Practice Learning Consortium is an organisation that assists Social Workers to find placements that will help them develop their skills and knowledge . Here is a case study from their website about Get Sorted.

Get Sorted was established in 1995 and has grown and developed over the years into a highly recognised music charity for children and young people.  Although music and the arts is the hook for engaging young people, we also provide a range of other activities and services including mentoring, support, volunteering opportunities and work placements.  Get Sorted also has a learning centre for young people who are on the verge of exclusion from mainstream education or for those with a range of syndromes, behavioural and mental issues.  We are a registered charity and provide a wide range of services and activities for the people of Rotherham as well as some areas in Sheffield.  We deliver workshops both on site and in the community.  Get Sorted has received some excellent awards for its community work as well as having two visits from Prince Andrew. 

All social work students are given placements in the learning centre as this is where the hardest to reach young people are.  These young people have a wide range of issues which need addressing in between trying to provide them with a learning programme which meets their individual needs.  The staff in the learning centre provide much needed pastoral care, attend multi agency meetings and meet the individual needs of the young people.  For those that need additional support, we are able to bring specialists into the centre so they can support where needed.  There are many benefits of taking social work students on a placement with us.  First, they get hands on delivery and learning, see a wide range of problems and issues which face our young people and are able to fill their assignment criteria due to the young people we work with.  There are lots of opportunities for our social work students and the flexibility to attend case conferences, do home visits with our staff, visit other agencies where the young people may need to go etc.  As for Get Sorted, taking on social work students benefits both our young people and our staff.  It also helps our organisation because it means a new face for the young people, a different perspective on things, another pair of hands, a different type of expertise, and most importantly, we enjoy watching our students grow and develop even though it is only for a relatively short period.

The Consortium provides plenty of help and advice if we run into any difficulties, problems or just want to enquire about something.  I have always been pleased with the support we have been given.

By belonging to a consortium of members, you can share information, learn from each other, attend courses as well as knowing you can pick up a phone and talk to someone if there is a problem.  I have talked to other providers, and we do seem to share the same thoughts.  Any partnership work is important and networking is also very useful for gaining and sharing information.

One of the main things that we have noticed is that many of our students come back to see us once their placement has finished.  We have had a few gone on to do some paid work for us during the summer and one of our students, who became a social worker, actually worked with us with the same client.  That was a very proud moment for us.  To see our student in an official role, leading a case conference which included one of our very hard to reach young people.  It is also interesting when students pop in and let us know what they are doing, where they are now working.  Keeping in touch has been a highlight for us as it is always interesting to know where our students have gone once they have completed the course. 

Summer Activities Week 2

After a succesful Social Cohesion week, the second week of Get Sorted's Summer Activities gets under way today and the building is bustling yet again!

The first week of Summer Activities was a big success with around 20 young people from Clifton School taking part in all kinds of activities aimed at getting them to work together as a group! The group was vibrant and energetic with all the youngster getting stuck right in, and, as you can see in the picture, the smiles were from ear to ear!

This week's (Home-Educated Week) activities is exclusively for people between the ages of 12 and 16 who learn at home, and for the peole who do the home-eduacting. they will be taking part in a week of Drum, Guitar, Rapping, Animation, Film-making workshops amongst others, which run from 10 am until 3 pm. 

The following week will be the Music and Arts week which is open to all. Book yourself a place!

Children's University: PtII

A report back from the Children's University Graduation that Get Sorted attended at the beginning of last month.

On the 8th July Get Sorted went to the Children's University at Magna to promote our services. Get Sorted has already provided some activities that children have used to earn credits towards a CU Certificate. National Children’s University certificates  are awarded on three levels - CU Undergraduate, CU Postgraduate (where tangible outcomes of learning are expected, such as displays and publications) and CU Doctorate (where children are expected to act as ‘Leaders of Learning’ for others) - to 7 to 14 year olds who have taken part in learning activities and experiences outside normal school hours.

Get Sorted's involvement with the CU has grown out of the Go For It programme run by Rotherham Extended Services. Go Fo It "provides the opportunity for eligible children and young people to take part in up to 2 hours of out of school activities per week and up to 30 hours during holiday periods." The programme was so popular that it was decided to develop it into a Children's University.

After the 'provider briefing' Get Sorted hope to be a full provider in September, providing more 'out-of-hours' services to the young people who come to Get Sorted and helping them to progress through the CU's National Certification Scheme.