Hope Creative: Flagship music programme for children in care to expand after 10 years of impact

Bristol Beacon’s Hope Creative is the only programme of its kind in the South West, offering sustained creative support for care-experienced children, young people and families.

For over a decade, Hope Creative has transformed the lives of children in care, care-experienced young people and foster families across Bristol. Now, as the flagship programme celebrates its tenth anniversary, it is preparing for its most ambitious chapter yet – expanding to support even more creative, talented and vulnerable young people across the city.

Delivered by the not-for-profit music venue and education hub Bristol Beacon in partnership with Bristol City Council Children’s Services, the Hope Virtual School and Barnardo’s, the programme began with just four children in a single room. Since then, it has grown into a long-term creative journey that has supported over 400 participants aged 0 to 25 – from babies and toddlers through to care leavers – as well as foster carers.

One of those original four participants was Benji Dorney. After joining Hope Creative as a child in care, Benji remained involved for years, eventually completing a structured work placement. Today, he works at Bristol Beacon as a Music Centre Assistant, contributing to the very programme that helped shape his own journey.

In 2025, Benji gave a powerful speech at Bristol City Hall that helped influence a landmark policy change. As a result, Bristol joined over 100 other local authorities in recognising care-experience as a locally protected characteristic – a move designed to reduce discrimination and break down barriers in education, employment and housing.

“Benji is looked up to by our young people,” said Lu, Bristol Beacon’s Creative Producer for Hope Creative. “He brings real insight to our work and shows what’s possible when support is sustained and rooted in creativity.”

Hope Creative is unique in its approach. It uses the power of music, creativity and play to offer young people a consistent, nurturing and joyful space in which to express themselves. Through long-term support, it helps young people build confidence, explore identity and feel part of something meaningful. 

This consistency – often missing in the lives of children in care – is what makes the programme such a vital and stabilising force. Hope Creative is one of the only programmes of its kind in the UK and the only one in the South West delivering this level of sustained, person-centred creative support.

Sessions are tailored to different life stages, including early-years music play for infants, songwriting and performance for older children and teens, and creative career support for young adults. The early-years strand, known as Hope Minis, supports communication and language development in children aged 0–5. Foster carers also take part in music-based group sessions designed to offer peer connection, solidarity and shared experience.

A 2025 evaluation of the programme showed its significant impact: 88% of children in care reported improved social skills. Every care leaver surveyed said they had developed new skills. All infants in Hope Minis demonstrated improved communication and language development, while 93% of foster carers reported feeling more connected to others in similar roles.

As one participant put it: “It feels amazing to be heard and not be hidden. It makes me feel like we belong. In a world where we’re different and unique, we’ll still be a family.”

As Hope Creative enters its second decade, Bristol Beacon is hoping to scale up the programme in response to growing demand. With a long waiting list and limited capacity, the need for this kind of sustained, community-rooted support has never been greater.

A major focus of the expansion will be on helping care leavers transition from the creative space into the world of work. Many face significant barriers in employment, training or education. To support this, Hope Creative has piloted trainee programmes offering paid placements and mentoring at Bristol Beacon in areas such as front-of-house, bar service and session-leading. In 2025, two care leavers completed structured placements, with plans to grow this strand significantly from 2026.

In a city known for its independent spirit and cultural leadership, Hope Creative is a quiet success story – one that proves music, trust and continuity can change lives. This initiative has been made possible thanks to the generous support of a number of charitable trusts and foundations, including the Beaverbrook Foundation, Garfield Weston Foundation, Rayne Foundation, S. A. Watson, The 29th May 1961 Charitable Trust, The Austin and Hope Pilkington Trust, The Linder Foundation, The Morel Trust, The Nisbet Trust, and The Portishead Nautical Trust.

Read the BBC News feature here