Business Plan or Electronic Press Kit (SHR4C007R~002)

by

Rose,Callum (STUDENT)

Elevator Pitch

According to Article 28 and Article 31 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the child, not only do children have the right to primary and secondary education, but also have the right to “relax, play and take part in a wide range of cultural and artistic activities” (Unicef 2022). These rights are easy to achieve, and are often achieved. But I have found in rural areas, primarily rural Scotland that sometimes access to Article 31 (specifically a wide range of cultural and artistic activities) can be a bit harder to achieve. This is especially prevalent when looking at individuals with sensory loss. As access to things such as good Music teachers can already be difficult. But there are even fewer music professionals who are able to accommodate for sensory needs. Whether that be due to- Lack of equipment, lack of training, lack of communication (for example not knowing sign language, or how to demonstrate for a blind individual). Now while these services are sparse, they are available. But due to the supply and demand of such services in these rural areas, these particular services are rather expensive. So, for low-income families, it isn’t accessible, affordable, or sustainable. This is where Music and Me Scotland as a service is much needed. It is a Charity with a primary focus of offering under 18’s with sensory loss music therapy, lessons, and general creative exposure. Starting out, Music and Me Scotland will have a catchment area based in Morayshire. This initial catchment area will be the start up for Music and Me Scotland, working alongside sensory services in Morayshire to demonstrate the need for a Music charity in Scotland. Upon demonstrating the success and need for a music charity in rural areas, Music and Me Scotland will work towards expansion, first looking towards the rural areas of Highland Scotland, before working our way down to the lowlands. The eventual Goal is to have coverage of Scotland, being able to provide suitable access to music for under 18’s with sensory loss.

The service

The initial services of Music and Me Scotland will be quite limited, as the primary educator and person delivering the sessions will rely on me. That is until I have got social backing, and have demonstrated the market and need for the service. Sessions in the start-up phase will consist primarily with group lessons, as initially providing 1-1 catered lessons to all under 18’s with sensory loss will be near impossible while tackling Morayshire alone. So, my initial focus on the sessions will be based around general musical group exposure. Since I am a drummer, the lessons will mainly be drum and rhythm specific, this works out nicely for the initial trial run of Music and Me Scotland, because out of all the instruments, percussion is the one that is the most readily available and accessible to sensory loss, with relatively low costs. The sessions will be rather intimate group settings, trying to keep it to 10 students at max in a session, this is so when I am delivering a session by myself, I can ensure that I can accommodate the needs of all present. But alongside these intimate sessions, I will also run bigger sessions in the schools of individuals with sensory loss, doing whole class sessions. As it is important to provide for sensory loss, but it is also important to educate and raise awareness, and that can only be achieved by the school communities also getting involved.

The Market

It is hard to find resources for a lack of a market in rural Scotland, as there is nothing particularly written about it, and since there isn’t a Music charity for sensory loss at all in Scotland (not just rural, there is none in Scotland). My reference for my charity and Market research has been based around the existing Deaf music charity “Music and the Deaf” (1988). Music and the Deaf focuses only on providing access to music for the deaf community, this is an English based service and is currently the only deaf charity in the UK using music to aid people with hearing loss. With this being the only charity in the UK to provide music to aid with hearing loss, it proves that this is a limited service, as there is no service like this in Scotland, and definitely no service which can consistently reach rural areas. While the numbers are significantly lower in rural areas of those with sensory needs, and a less saturated market for music therapy and sessions, I feel it is still an essential market to consider. As even if the market is smaller, why should rural schools, or individuals who live rurally be forced to be without support because of lack of convenience. So far, a market hasn’t emerged due to the lack of profitability from it, as well as a lack of awareness of the situation. I feel it is imperative to change this narrative and take an example from Music and the deaf, and create a market, just because it doesn’t exist doesn’t mean it has to stay that way.

Operational requirements

The operational requirements in the initial phase of development can be broken down into 4 key factors-

  • Space- The sessions will have to run somewhere, location will vary as with discussions with sensory services in Scotland, sessions could be run in the schools. This will help cut costs, as it means that I am not having to pay for spaces. Though when interest rises in the service, it will be important to fund and find a space which can function out of school hours. This is where becoming an SCIO will help.
  • Equipment- the initial equipment will be percussive instruments as these need little to no amendments to be made accessible for sensory loss. Most schools have percussive instruments readily available as part of their equipment. But I will also provide a variety of instruments, all which will have to initially come out of pocket.
  • Travel- to get from school-to-school travel will become a big part of the operational requirements, so a valid driver’s licence will be necessary as well as a vehicle which can transport equipment.
  • Time- an overlooked requirement but arguably the most important. When working with a school you are working on their time, and as eager as they will be to get involved with services there are still lessons and general day to day running’s. So timetabling when appropriate times to deliver sessions will be important, especially when considering the time it takes to travel between schools, especially if delivering multiple sessions in a day.

Marketing and funding

Music and Me Scotland will have an active marketing strategy, instead of promoting on flyers, or social media. Our main focus initially will be community outreach, this is contacting schools and sensory services, opening dialogue and discussions about the services we provide, and offering said services. Music and Me Scotland for me, is something I never want to make money off of, as I only ever want the charity to make enough to help it run and provide an accessible service. Because as soon as a service starts having a charge, it starts to become inaccessible to certain individuals, and Music and Me Scotland will be a charity that provides regardless of financial backing or location. For Music and Me Scotland to receive funding from the government, we will have to prove ourselves as a needed community service. There are multiple ways of doing this, but in my experience, I have always preferred the active approach, as I believe this builds better credibility. So, for Music and Me Scotland to receive funding, for the initial phase, we will have to work without funding relying on the community and whatever resources are readily available. Slowly building credibility and proof of service until it is undeniable that this is a service which is of benefit to the public.

Group work

During the class group work session, the main point of help I found was in regard to- CIC (Community Interest Company). A CIC would aid in the funding of my charity especially when looking at expansion and providing job opportunities. Since my charity is focused as providing a social service, it is possible to use a CIC where it is focused on benefiting the community instead of private shareholders (mygov.scot 2022). But, during my private research of Community Interest Companies, I found a financial framework which I feel would be more fitting for Music and Me Scotland. This financial framework would be, becoming a SCIO (Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation). A Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation is a legal entity, treated like that of a natural person, so it can employ staff, enter contracts, incur debt, and own property (OSCR 2025). Becoming a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation is the best fit for Music and Me Scotland as a SCIO is dependent on its charitable status, so any financial backing collections from the public have to be used to further the charity for public gain as opposed to personal profit.

With regards to the group work, most of my discussions on the refinement, and the idea for starting this charity has been my own personal experience working in education in rural Scotland, conversations with the deaf community, and prominent deaf individuals like Paul Whittaker (OBE), who I have personally worked with in a few of his projects. Part of my inspiration for starting Music and Me Scotland came from a discussion with Paul Whittaker, where we discussed the need for more access to music for deaf individuals in rural areas, and we talked about how he founded his own charity in 1988 “Music and the Deaf”. Following this conversation, I used his charity to see how I could apply it in Scotland, and following discussions from the Head of Sensory services in Morayshire, and me providing a group music session to 3 individuals all with various sensory loss. I decided that this service is something that I would like to pursue, and is something that the services are willing to work with me to accommodate.

I found the class group work, a good place for me to talk through my project and to gain interest. But as far as aiding me to justify or refine my ideas it was of little help. As due to the nature of what I’m doing, everything is based in Scotland and the Scottish systems work different than England. It is also focused on Sensory loss and needs, and this is a subject with little awareness, hence why there is a market for Music and Me Scotland as it will help raise awareness as well. The other focus of my charity is for the rural areas of Scotland, and for a lot of people if they haven’t been to very rural areas, it can be difficult to understand certain issues and problems that arise from being rural.

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