The past year has been a difficult one, with many changes taking place to ensure the survival of Aloud. It has been personally and professionally challenging as decisions made to safeguard Aloud affected so many individuals in so many different ways. But we believe that the decisions we have made will make Aloud stronger in the future.
The last ten months have allowed us to reflect on who we are and what we do. We’ve been able to undertake research and have refined our offer. We’ve looked at our core values and mission. And have decided to be leaner, more agile and more embedded in communities.
There will be criticisms of this. There are people asking why we’re no longer working with girls specifically when they have different needs to boys.
And there will be people wondering why we’re no longer pan-Wales when the need is clearly still there.
In answer to the second point, we simply cannot afford to be pan-Wales at the moment. We need to find our feet again and grow a model organically in areas that we know well. This will take time, but we need to be sure our model works first before embarking on any growth journey. It will not be a quick process, but it will be a thorough one, to make sure we don’t find ourselves again in the same situation as we did in early 2024.
To answer the first question (why boys?) is really straightforward for us.
Firstly, we were set up as an organisation to give boys a voice and support the Welsh male choir tradition. Those ambitions have not gone away, but they were being overshadowed by our other projects, with money and effort being directed away from this mission.
There has been well-documented research on the benefits of singing. It reduces stress and anxiety, gives people a sense of purpose and achievement, supports identity formation and self-confidence, facilitates self-development and ways to cope with negative emotions, as well as being an uplifting experience, promoting happiness and well-being. As a mindful activity, singing increases focus and boosts self-esteem, building social cohesion through a sense of inclusion and community. So, we want as many young people as possible to sing with us.
But it’s also emerging that teenage boys were hit hardest by the Covid-19 lockdowns with studies showing that over the long-term, teenage boys’ mental health has been more adversely affected than teenage girls. For those moving between primary and secondary school in the lockdown periods, boys have been least able to form new social groups and friendships. It is also becoming clear that to support this it’s important for boys to have positive male role models in their lives beyond home and school life. We therefore feel Aloud has a critical part to play in making a difference to young boys’ lives.
If we then combine the positive effects of singing with the effects of the pandemic on boys, it is only right that we return to our roots and focus our attention on Only Boys Aloud as our free provision in south east Wales.
But there is an offer for girls and others. Aloud Voices has been established in response to developing a pathway for all the young people we work with through our activities. While we initially thought that this might be met by Only Girls Aloud, following our work with Gendered Intelligence, we now feel a more inclusive approach to this is needed. Aloud Voices will enable any young person between the ages of 9 and 25 to engage with our work in south east Wales, regardless of ability, background or identity. While this is a paid activity, there are bursaries available for families that need it and discounts for siblings participating together. It also supports all our young people to access weekly singing opportunities, something that is not readily available elsewhere and which is greater than the opportunities we could offer through Only Girls Aloud and Only Kids Aloud.
We know that this is not the answer everyone was looking for, but it is the way we feel we will support more young people to sing more often gaining increased benefits from singing while protecting Aloud opportunities for future generations.
