Part of the Power of Music Fund, the new centre will operate alongside the first Centre of Excellence for Music and Dementia, announced in May, which is led by Manchester Camerata, sharing learning and helping generate a national step-change in how healthcare utilises music for people with dementia.   

Further details about the second centre are due to be unveiled in mid-September, opening for expressions of interest in October. It aims to be a transformative force in dementia care over the next three years, and will be focused on one place or region in England. 

The initiative will focus on the following key areas: 

• Enhanced access: Empowering more people with dementia to experience the health and wellbeing benefits of music, facilitated by trained health and care staff. 
• Workforce education: Equipping health and care professionals with the knowledge and skills to incorporate music into their everyday practice, enhancing support for those living with dementia. 
• Curriculum integration: Embedding the value of music in dementia care into training materials, workforce development programs, and educational resources. 
• Systemic change: Encouraging health and care commissioners and providers to recognise and invest in music as a vital component of dementia care, ensuring it is integrated across workforce training and development systems. 
• Social prescribing: Promoting the value and cost-effectiveness of social prescribing, including music-based interventions, as a critical aspect of dementia care. 

Charlotte Osborn-Forde, CEO of the National Academy for Social Prescribing, said: “We are very excited to be working with the Rayne Foundation, a hugely impactful funder with a wealth of experience in this area. This partnership will help us achieve a real step change in this sector, and further cement our work to influence national policy and practice to make music accessible for everyone with dementia. The new centre will build on the work of the first centre in Manchester, producing comparative evidence and enabling successful approaches to be scaled up across the country.” 

Further information on the Centre of Excellence, including detailed application criteria and outcomes, will be released in the coming weeks by the National Academy for Social Prescribing.