The Rayne Foundation is delighted to announce that Hertfordshire has been selected as the second Centre of Excellence for Music and Dementia through the Power of Music Fund.
The new Centre will focus on developing and rolling out a robust training package to support health and social care staff to integrate music into dementia care. It aims to create Music Champions within 100 care homes across Hertfordshire, training 6,000 staff to embed therapeutic music techniques, benefiting approximately 5,800 care home residents. The long-term aim is that this training could be rolled out to care home staff across the country.
The Centre will be led by Age UK Hertfordshire, in partnership with the Hertfordshire Care Providers Association (HCPA), Music24, Hertfordshire County Council and other expert organisations, and forming part of the Hertfordshire Dementia Strategy Delivery programme led by the Hertfordshire Mental Health, Learning Disability and Autism (MHLDA) Health and Care Partnership.
It builds on the work of the first Centre of Excellence for Music and Dementia, which was established in Manchester in 2024, led by Manchester Camerata. The first Centre supports community-based music cafes across Manchester, measuring their impact and their potential to improve lives and reduce pressure on the NHS.
The Power of Music Fund was established by the National Academy for Social Prescribing, and the second Centre of Excellence has been funded by the Rayne Foundation and the Utley Foundation.
Find out more here.