Music leaders skilled in working with younger children have been visiting early years settings and working with practitioners to bring the magic of sound and rhythm to children in nurseries and schools across the South West.
To support the development of confidence and skills for early years staff, CPD opportunities from short 1.5 hour sessions to a 6-week evening course are also offered throughout the year. These sessions are designed to be really accessible for all, including people who believe they are 'not musical'.
It has been a wonderful experience taking part in the project. We are very grateful for all your support – right from the start. The training has been inspirational and all we have learnt will continue to inform our practice and have enduring impact.
Willow Childcare, Plymouth
Our next event:
Supporting Musical Play via Zoom at 7.30 pm on 19 September 2022, tickets £7 -book here
Partnered by Music Education Hubs and music organisations across Somerset, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Southampton and Isle of Wight, Bristol, Bournemouth and Poole, this project continues in the Autumn 2022 with more musician residencies and training courses. See our website for details.
New National Plan for Music Education - What This Means
The government has released the new long awaited updated National Plan for Music Education, which you can see here.
The good news is the refreshed national plan has now been extended to cover 0-5 year olds, placing a renewed emphasis on opportunities for all - from early years through to further and higher education and careers. The plan sets out the DfE’s vision to 2030, stating that it wants to see ‘music valued and celebrated in every early years setting and school' and for ‘all children [to] receive a high-quality music education.’
At Take Art we welcome the news that the new National Plan for Music Education has been extended to cover the early years, although there is not much detail on the additional funding/resources available. We are pleased to see Music Education Hubs are being encouraged to work in partnerships to include supporting the early years sector.
This is very much what our current SoundWaves Network SW programme is about - eight Music Education Hub partner organisations all invested in and committed to supporting and developing high-quality Early Childhood music infrastructure across the South West.