Breakout Youth are hiring for two roles, please find full details below.

Breakout Youth offers confidential support for young people aged 11 to 25, who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning or unsure of their sexuality or gender identity; across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. They run confidential youth groups based in Southampton, Basingstoke, Andover, the New Forest and the Isle of Wight.

Young people who identify as LGBTQ+ or are unsure often feel isolated and alone with their sexuality or gender identity. At Breakout Youth, you will find a group of likeminded young people that you can socialise with safely. You’ll also find help with those feelings of isolation or confusion.

The Roles

Operations Manager

We are excited to recruit for an Operations Manager to support and manage the team at Breakout Youth including: line management (supervision, absence management, expenses, appraisals) of youth workers and administration Officer, taking the lead on Safeguarding, the management of our youth group delivery program and 121 support (including risk assessments, session plan programme and staffing), management and delivery of Breakout Youths’ Youth Board, planning and delivery of events (such as our annual Pride Prom, Pride events) and LGBTQ+ Awareness training delivery and accreditation across Hampshire and the IOW.  

This is a hands on and engaging role, managing specialist LGBTQ+ youth workers, who are supporting vulnerable LGBTQ+ young people.  The Operations Manager will also be responsible for managing partnerships and relationships with external organisations and partners.  The role will lead on the ongoing development and delivery of these projects in line with our strategy, helping to improve outcomes for LGBTQ+ children and young people.

Hours: This role is a one-year fixed term contract (we hope to attract funding to make this a permanent role) and is for 28 hours per week. 

Wage: The salary starts at £36,625.25 (Pro Rata for 28 hours per week)

Closing date for applications: 9am on Monday 9th February 2026

For more information, please visit our website:  Job Opportunity - Operations Manager • Breakout Youth

Admin Officer

We are excited to recruit for an Admin Officer, to support the team at Breakout Youth, taking the lead on answering the phone, actioning email enquiries, referral processing, data entry, consent form management, preparation of meeting minutes, and supporting the Breakout Youth team. The role contributes to the ongoing development and delivery of Breakout Youth services as part of the wider team, helping to improve outcomes for LGBTQ+ children and young people. The role requires working under pressure, meeting deadlines with an ability to prioritise workload and have a methodical and efficient approach. The role can be very busy and challenging- so being calm under pressure and able to prioritise workload will be essential- but also highly rewarding working within a supportive team.

Hours: This role is a permanent contract and is for 18 hours per week. 

Wage: The salary starts at £24,307.67 Pro Rata for 18 hours per week The pay rate is £12.60 per hour

Closing date for applications: 9am Monday 9th February 2026

For more information, please visit our website: Job Opportunity - Admin Officer • Breakout Youth

Operations Manager

28 hours per week, one year fixed-term contract.

£36,625.25 (Pro Rata)

Closing date for applications:

9am Monday 9th February 2026

Apply Now

Admin

Officer

18 hours per week, permanent contract.

£24,307.67 (Pro Rata)

Closing date for applications:

9am Monday 9th February 2026

Apply Now

Next autumn, the Isle of Wight celebrates all that the Island is with “Can You Hear Us?”, a six-week celebration of creativity and culture taking place across the Island funded by Arts Council England. 

Our Partners at Creative Island are offering micro-grants and a fully funded leadership programme as part of this celebration.

Micro-Grants

“Can You Hear Us?” micro-grants programme is offering 20-25 grants of between £500 - £1,000 to support local groups to deliver creative activity, anywhere on the Isle of Wight, between March and October 2026. 

Deadline: 30 January 2026, 11.59pm

Full information on how to apply and FAQs can be found on Creative Islands’ website here.

Cultural Leadership Programme

As part of “Can You Hear Us?”, Creative Island are running a fully funded leadership programme for 12 individuals on the Isle of Wight from March to October 2026.

Who is it for?

We are looking for participants who want to make a positive difference to life on the Island and who are ready to grow and develop their skills as leaders.

You might not think of yourself as a leader, or feel that the word fits, but you might be someone who brings people together, makes things happen, or has a vision for how culture on the Island could grow and evolve.

Participants might include freelancers, artists and people working within organisations.

When we talk about culture, we mean the creative, heritage, environmental, social, education and library sectors, as well as the many community spaces where people come together, get involved and share what matters to them

Deadline: 25 January 2026, 11.59pm

Full details on what to expect and how to apply can be found here.

Micro Grants

Between £500 - £1,000 to support local groups to deliver creative activity on the Isle of Wight, between March & October 2026. 

Deadline: 30 January 2026, 11.59pm

APPLY NOW

Cultural Leadership Programme

We are looking for participants who want to make a positive difference to life on the Island and who are ready to grow and develop their skills as leaders.

Deadline: 25 January 2026, 11.59pm

apply now

In 2026, SIOW Music will be delivering ‘Song of Place’ an exciting song-writing project for Island of Culture on the Isle of Wight.

Song of Place is a cross-generational creative music project which will allow young people and communities across the Island to become the lead artistic voice in celebrating Island music and finding new audiences.  Multiple groups will delve into different aspects of the island drawing inspiration from the environment, island life and the trailblazing communities that exist here, creating songs and soundscapes. 

Who will we be reaching with this project?

Song-writing project work will intersect with a range of cross arts cultural partners and local ensembles (brass and marching bands, choirs, Folk on the Wight, carnivals) alongside schools, young people and their families with a particular focus on working in areas of the island in the highest indices of deprivation and those most unable or unlikely to access music making. 

We will aim to reach over 3500 children and young people (half the school age population) with song-writing workshops and activities during 2026 across all phases from Early Years to HE including SEND and AP settings. 

Activity will also take place in hyperlocal areas of the Island, in school settings, village halls, libraries and community spaces, inviting the Island’s amateur musicians to collaborate with nationally significant musicians and composers and to intermingle with communities not normally connected with music.  Environmental sounds will be sampled from the Island’s mosaic of habitats and represented as soundscapes.

Exciting Outcomes & Working Together

A contemporary composer will be commissioned to write an ambitious new commission featuring the Island’s amateur ensembles and children.  All the project strands will come together in a curated and digitally distributed Island of Culture album and playlist. 

The content will be recorded, mixed and mastered during delivery in 2026 and extracts and the World Premiere will be performed at a one-of-a-kind large-scale event in Ventnor Exchange’s Big Top during Autumn 2026. 

The project work, performance and recordings will feature local professional and amateur musicians and groups, schools, bedroom producers, emerging talent, young people and community groups, all working together to produce an ambitious and lasting work listened to, performed and remembered for years to come.

Listen on

Vectis Radio

Nia chats to Macca on Vectis Radio about the upcoming project! Listen from about 6 minutes into the episode.

Listen Here

Sign up for Songwriters Den in 2026! Unleash your creativity and write your own songs!

What is it?

• Group sessions, where you can:

  • Learn different lyric writing techniques

  • Find out how to create melodies

  • Create chord progressions

  • Try out new instruments

  • Perform your songs at events and festivals

  • Meet like-minded people and share ideas!

Who can attend?

• 8-16 year olds

• No experience necessary

Where is it?

• Newport Congregational Church, Isle of Wight

When is it?

• First Wednesday of every month, from 4pm - 6pm

How much does it cost?

• These sessions are £15 per month, or £10 if you are in receipt of support services.

How to sign up?

• contact islandmusicmakers@gmail.com to book your place!

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Festival Of Music In The West Wight will take place on 15 November 2025, including performances from solos, ensembles, duets, choirs. On 15 November 2025.

This festival welcomes an audience with a suggested entry donation of £5.

All proceeds are going towards The West Wight Dementia Friendly Choir in Freshwater. The aim of the choir is to keep raising funds to set up other dementia choirs on the island. To date they have been instrumental in supporting the Parklands Alzheimer centre and are working towards supporting a new choir in Ryde.

Performers and Musicians are encouraged to sign up to take part in the festival.

This can be done by filling out the Entry Form (downloadable via the button below) and emailing it to pamwedgwood@yahoo.co.uk

Information about the Festival

Where: The festival will be held at Christ Church, Alum Bay New Road, Totland Bay, PO39 OES

When: Starts at 10 am and finishes at 6pm.

Entry: The performances will be open to the public throughout the day. Entry by donation only at the door.

Performers:

Each performer(s) will be given an allocated slot to perform. This will be sent out as soon as we have an idea of how many performers wish to take part.

If you are involved in a choir, it’s likely that your allocated time will be in the afternoon.

Accompaniments:

If you need an accompanist there will be Dik Wilkins on hand to help you out.

Please let me know if you need to contact him before the day. Prior notice would be helpful.

Instruments:

There is a recently purchased Yamaha C3 grand piano. OR a digital piano available for performances.

Big Sing

At approximately 5pm there will be “A Big Sing” where hopefully anyone who has been involved in the festival, instrumentalists, singers or volunteers will join forces to have a fun mass sing to finish off the day. The chosen songs will be. “Let’s Go Fly a Kite” from Mary Poppins and “California Dreaming.” There will be words and scores available for anyone wishing to sing in parts!

Full details can be found via the button below.

Please contact pamwedgwood@yahoo.co.uk OR Hill View House, Bedbury Lane Freshwater. PO40 9PD for any further enquiries regarding the festival.

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This week marked the culmination of the Sound Out! Project, delivered by London Sinfonietta in partnership with SIOW music and Turner Sims.

Children from IOW and Southampton were entertained at Ryde Academy, Medina Theatre and Turner Sims by  Patrick Bailey, London Sinfonietta musicians and the Sound Out Young Ensemble which was made up of pupils from Carisbrooke College and Upper Shirley High School.

Pupils explored how to compose and create new music, led by presenter Patrick Bailey.

They listened to pieces by living composers, joined in with the performance and heard new work by young people from Southampton and the Isle of Wight.  Pupils from Ryde academy and Bassett Green heard their music created in workshops led by the composer come to life in the performances. The compositions were environmentally themed, continuing to embed SCMP's environmental focus. 

Last Thursday we celebrated the hopes and views of young people in primary education on the Isle of Wight at “Our Day will Come”, a school and singing event led by Southampton and Isle of Wight Music (@siowmusic) and staged at Carisbrooke Castle with @englishheritage with Isle of Wight Cultural Education Partnership ‘Creative Island’.

Around 600 pupils from 15 schools took part in the preparation and performance of the event. The Cultural Education Partnership (Under @creativeisland_iw) were proud to help fund the commissioning of five original songs by local songwriters and songwriting workshops with the pupils.

These workshops produced work that reflected how the children feel about growing up here and making plans for the future. In addition, art workshops with @new.carnival enabled pupils to express these ideas through the production of their own colourfully illustrated flags, that went onto decorate the staging area at the Castle. They asked pupils:
1) What’s your favourite thing about the Island?
2) What’s your favourite thing about school?
3) What are your hopes for the future?

A big well done to all the young people who took part and for their loved ones who came along to support.

You can view Creative Islands instagram post (which includes a video from the event) below.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by IWCEP (@iwcep_creativeisland)

Young Sounds UK: Paid opportunity for 18-25 year old mentor 

We are recruiting for an 18-25 year old Mentor to support our Young Sounds UK Connect programme. 

About the Role 

Musical potential is everywhere but opportunity isn’t: financial and social obstacles too often get in the way. Connect aims to effect significant change in how the musical potential of young people from low-income families is identified and supported.

You will play a central role in supporting the Connector on the day-to-day planning and delivery of the Connect programme in your Hub. You will agree specific areas of work as per need and capacity. You will also be a highly visible contact for the families and young people accessing Connect which will help you to foster new mentoring relationships with the young people on the programme.  

The Commitment

Isle of Wight Mentor: 

• Hours of work: 2 hours per week x 35 weeks per year for general programme support. Individual mentoring sessions with young people are offered in addition to these core hours. Sessions will be for one hour and offered on a case-by-case basis.

Southampton Mentor:

• Hours of work: 2 hours per term x 3 terms per year for Get Together event support. Individual mentoring sessions with young people are offered in addition to these core hours. Sessions will be for one hour and offered on a case-by-case basis.

How to Apply

Please fill in the application form by following this link, by Wednesday 23 April at 12pm. https://forms.office.com/e/LtkZQqH9KJ

Interviews will take place either online or in person at the start of May. 

Download the full job description below. To find out more, get in touch with Frankie McCormick at frankie@siowmusic.org .  

Young Sounds UK - Connect Mentor

Download the full job description and person specification here.

DOWNLOAD HERE

Southampton and IOW Music are looking to appoint to the following positions for 1 year’s fixed term maternity cover for the academic year 2025-26.

Job Vacancies:

Connector – Young Sounds 1.5 days per week term time only (IOW)

Connector – Young Sounds 0.5 days per week term time only (Southampton)

Project and music education co-ordinator – 2 days per week term time only (Southampton)

How to apply:

Applications, in the format of CV and covering letter, to be emailed to graham.hesp@southampton.gov.uk by Friday 28th March (Southampton) & Friday 18th April (IOW) at 12pm.

If you wish to apply for more than one role then please send a separate covering letter for each.

Interviews to be held on Friday 2nd May.

Job descriptions and person specifications for the roles can be found below.

Furthering Talent Connect: Local Connector

Download the Job Description and Person Specification. This is the same for both Southampton and IOW roles.

Download / View here

Projects and Music eDUCATION cOORDINATOR

Download the Job Description and Person Specification.

Download / View Here

Thursday 5th & Friday 6th February KS2 & KS3 in partnership with IWCEP and Creative Island

"An Audience With..." is Southampton & IOW Music's flagship vehicle to help schools connect the areas of the National Plan for Music Education focused on Music Industry roles with children and young people. 

In partnership with IWCEP and Creative Island, we will be delivering workshops on Thursday 5th & Friday 6th February for young people on the Isle of Wight in KS2 & KS3.

These will be hands-on sessions outlining some of the job roles available in the music industry (both technical and performance based) through practical activities and digital video content which will inspire young people to work in the music industry and develop aspirations for the future

Find out more via our hub menu.

Pathways to music industry workshops

In partnership with Isle of Wight Cultural Education Partnership & Creative Island

Find Out More & Book