The Wales Care Awards 2025 – a celebration of excellence across the Wales care sector – included a win for the co-operative sector, with an award presented to the founder of the North Wales Music Cooperative.
Heather Powell (pictured) won gold in the Sir Bryn Terfel Foundation Wales Care Award for Promoting the Arts in Social Care at the ceremony, held in Cardiff.
Founded in 2015 following cuts to music teaching jobs in Denbighshire, the co-op comprises a group of music tutors offering weekly music lessons to around 7,000 pupils across 100 primary schools and 18 high schools in Denbighshire, Conwy, and Wrexham.
Since its launch, the co-op has reportedly delivered more than half a million lessons to young people and provides work for around 70 freelance musicians.
Powell, who is now the co-op’s head of service, told LeaderLive that she was “shocked, but really proud, to win the award”.
“The award is recognition of all the effort that goes in by everyone who is involved here, week in, week out,” she said. “I don’t think any of us thought it would be what it is today and become a cherished organisation in North Wales, which means so much to so many.”
Powell added: “We don’t want music to be elitist; we want everyone to be able to enjoy music. There is music everywhere, all around us, so I think for our children to access music irrespective of their financial background is something which will always be important to all of us and is the essence of what the co-operative tries to achieve.”
One recent project was the Song for Wrexham competition, which saw a local school, Ysgol Rhiwabon, win £1,000 worth of musical instruments for an original song and video that garnered national attention. Last year, the co-op was also called a ‘national treasure’ by royal composer Prof Paul Mealor and artistic director of the North Wales International Music Festival in St Asaph.
At the time, Mealor told the Wrexham Herald: “Before this organisation was formed, we were at a precipice where music could have died in schools for children from my background. Only the very rich could have afforded it, but this group has made sure that this isn’t the case and that’s benefited so many children and young people in North Wales.”
The Wales Care Awards were founded by Mario Kreft MBE, chair of Care Forum Wales, in 2015, to celebrate the dedication of social care professionals in Wales, and this year they recognised organisations and individuals across 20 categories.
Winners also included colleagues from Pobl Group, a not-for-profit social landlord registered as a co-operative with the Welsh government. June Tong won join gold for Excellence in Catering; Erika Davison received silver in the Excellence in Mental Health and Wellbeing category; and Selomy Dampies picked up silver for Exceptional Newcomer;
From employee-owned Shaw Healthcare, Sarah Jane Lees won silver for Independent Sector Nurse, and Emma Allford won bronze in the Care Practioner in Residential Care category.
