Tameside Music Service and their students are “Too Great For Hate”

Tameside Music Service (TMS) has been commissioned by the education charity Manchester Music Foundation to lead music projects across the borough coinciding with ‘Too Great For Hate’, an anti-hate awareness week organised by Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA).

The week, running from 3 to 7 February, is an opportunity to highlight the region’s zero tolerance to hate crime and encourage both victims and witnesses to take a stand and report hate crime.

TMS has also partnered with Charanga, a software company who have developed an award-winning educational learning platform for music, to provide free use of their teaching materials for the projects. The young people will be using a track titled ‘STOP!’ to write and develop their own raps considering what bullying is and how they might ‘STOP!’ it. The resources have also been sent to all schools in the area, whether or not they engage with TMS for their music sessions, meaning everyone can join in working with their classes to help raise awareness of a vital subject.

“We are really looking forward to hearing the fantastic music that will come from Tameside’s young people. Uniting with Charanga as part of the GMCA ‘Too Great For Hate’ campaign, shows that music can help shed a light on vital issues and help to bring about change where it really matters,” said TMS Head of Service Kate Campbell-Green.

It’s one of a number of activities being held by Tameside Council during Hate Crime Awareness Week.

Tameside Council Executive Member for Lifelong Learning and Culture, Councillor Leanne Feeley said: “Music is a great way to bring people together, so I’m delighted that Tameside Music Service is leading this project to help young people be creative and raise awareness. There is no place for hate crime in Tameside and we’re determined to do all we can to support people to take a stand.”

The Greater Manchester Hate Crime plan aims to improve the education around hate crime, focusing on various key priorities: prevention and early intervention, increasing communication and awareness of hate crime and its consequences, and to increase the confidence to report hate crime and improve support for victims.

For more information on the initiative please visit www.letsendhatecrime.com, and for information on Tameside Music Service, please visit www.tamesidemusicservice.com