Category

• Promising Local Practice

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Poverty impact

• Mitigation
• Reduction

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Poverty driver

• Provide benefit in-kind (experience)

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Keywords

• Arts
• Community – Place-based
• Criminal Justice
• Trauma
• Education

Aim

- Heavy Sound aims to support children, young people, and adults experiencing multiple disadvantage through trauma-informed alternative education, mentoring, creative engagement, and community-based support. The organisation seeks to reduce exclusion, improve wellbeing, strengthen relationships and communication, support positive transitions into education and employment, and create safer pathways away from offending, violence, and social isolation.
- Through teaching them new skills in music and sport therefore allowing them to become contributing citizens and have a positive outlook on their future.
- Heavy Sound strives to create a safer, more equal and fairer society.
- Help individuals who struggle with mainstream education due to lack of focus/Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and difficulty building trusting relations are re-engaged through a developed vocational learning programme.
- Participants are taught new skills in creative arts and sports whilst also addressing issues around self-confidence, self-esteem, improving general health, mental health and wellbeing.

Summary

Heavy Sound is a community interest company delivering trauma-informed alternative education, mentoring, creative engagement, and community-based support for children, young people, and adults experiencing multiple disadvantages. Working across Edinburgh and the Lothians, the organisation supports individuals affected by poverty, trauma, educational disengagement, offending, poor mental health, and social exclusion.
Through music, sport, mentoring, creative arts, and relationship-based support, Heavy Sound helps participants build confidence, improve wellbeing, gain qualifications, and progress into education, training, and employment. The organisation aims to create safer pathways away from exclusion, violence, and instability through long-term community-based engagement.

What difference does it make?

• Improved engagement in education among children and young people previously disengaged from mainstream learning.
• Reintegrated young people back into mainstream school following prolonged periods of educational disengagement.
• Supported progression into employment, further education, and training opportunities.
• Increased confidence, communication skills, emotional literacy, and self-esteem among participants.
• Developed trusted relationships and safer support networks for children, young people, and adults experiencing trauma and exclusion.
• Improved wellbeing through trauma-informed mentoring, creative engagement, physical activity, and community-based support.
• Reduced social isolation and increased positive participation in community life.
• Trained lived experience mentors to support others within communities.
• Supported families experiencing poverty, instability, and financial hardship.
• Provided throughcare and mentoring support for individuals involved in the criminal justice system.
• Improved access to alternative education for young people struggling within formal school settings.
• Supported individuals affected by trauma, offending, addiction, violence, and poor mental health through long-term relationship-based support.
• Attendance within Additional Curriculum provision reached 81% between January 2022 and February 2023.
• Heavy Sound estimated savings to the public purse of over £2.6 million in one year through interventions with 12 young people.

Key take-aways

• Relationship-building and trust take time and must remain central to delivery.
• Trauma-informed and non-judgemental approaches improve engagement among individuals excluded from mainstream systems.
• Creative engagement can provide effective pathways into learning, communication, and personal development.
• Long-term preventative work cannot always be fully understood through short-term outcome measures alone.
• Young people should be actively involved in shaping services and decision-making processes.

 

Organisations

Heavy Sound

Location

Headquarter: The Cockenzie Hub, Suite 18, Edinburgh Rd, Cockenzie, East Lothian, Scotland.

2012, then was incorporated in 2015 by Jordan Butler.

Contact