UpRising 360
Dedicated to to improving the quality and consistency of inclusive music-making across the East Midlands and beyond, ensuring every young person has the chance to take part, create, and thrive.
UpRising 360 is all about opening up music for everyone. We believe that every young person should be able to experience the joy of making music, whatever their needs or background. This space is here to share ideas, inspiration, and practical support to help make that happen.
By working together and learning from each other, we can build music-making environments where every voice is valued and every learner has the chance to shine. UpRising 360 is here to celebrate creativity, encourage confidence, and make music accessible to all.
Discover UpRising
Training and Events
hands-on, inspiring training that helps every teacher and tutor make music inclusive and accessible for all. →
Research Blog
Sharing insights from our work embedding music specialists in schools to make inclusion the norm. →
About UpRising 360
UpRising360 is a 3-year programme of action-research, workforce development and school-based projects that will culminate in the development of a new in-service training programme for all practitioners making music with pupils with additional learning needs in the UK. The project has secured £200k from Youth Music and aims to further strengthen inclusion provision in the East Midlands and beyond.
The challenge
UpRising360 is based on the premise that effective inclusive music teachers have a strong grounding in both inclusive practice – how to work effectively with pupils with additional needs – and music theory and practice.
Some teachers, such as music specialists working as subject leads in special schools, have both of these areas of knowledge, but many classroom teachers and instrumental teachers – those tasked with delivering the majority of music provision in schools – do not.
I have learnt so much about music and working with students with additional needs, and also about myself. Entering every space with an open heart and mind is something I will always carry with me.
Participant – Great Little Orchestra Project 2025
The change
The first four years of UpRising addressed this challenge by training over 900 instrumental tutors and classroom teachers across the UK, and developing resources such as the Resource Balloon.
However, lasting change requires more than one-off training, particularly in schools with minimal provision. UpRising360 will embed hub music specialists in 20 East Midlands schools for a year, building communities of practice and knowledge sharing between instrumental tutors and classroom teachers.
Alongside supporting music-making across each school, this will act as action-research, enabling the UpRising research team to explore in detail the skills needed to work effectively with the diverse cohorts found in specialist provision, how these are articulated by practitioners, and how they can be shared. The findings will underpin a new in-service training programme for music hubs across the UK.
The best thing was realising I wasn’t on my own. Sharing ideas with others gave me practical strategies I could use straight away.
UpRising Delivery Staff Member
The impact
Backed by Youth Music, thanks to the National Lottery via Arts Council England, UpRing360 builds on a fantastic network of school and hub-based practitioners that has been growing since the project began in 2020.
It will also expand programmes supporting some of the most underrepresented groups within SEND, including young people with profound and multiple learning disabilities (PMLD), and those experiencing mental ill health or who are care-experienced.
Building on the successes of the first four years of UpRising, this next phase aims to create a step change in inclusive practice across the East Midlands and beyond—turning best practice into common practice and ensuring every young person can access a high-quality, equitable education.
We’re delighted to be supporting this project, that will bring significant and lasting benefits for young people who would otherwise miss out. Having supported the original 3-year project, we know the learning and impact will be of national significance.
Carol Reid – Programme Director (Youth Music)
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The award-winning UpRising Resource Balloon
Inclusive music-making resources, designed with teachers and tutors in mind. Discover a practical collection created through MEHEM’s UpRising project to help you engage young people with additional learning needs.
From working with pupils with complex needs to building inclusive ensembles and special school curricula, these resources put the learner at the centre — grounded in the Social Model of Disability and shaped by real classroom experiences.
UpRising 360 Research Blog
UpRising 360 began life as a three-year programme, but its success and impact have ensured that it continues to grow and develop. Rooted in collaboration and shaped by lived experience, UpRising 360 is about breaking down barriers and ensuring that inclusive music-making becomes the norm across schools and communities.
