Opportunity
Music Champions Project: Nursery Opportunity
Are you interested in working with a musician to explore
early years music and creativity in your nursery?
At the Spark Arts for Children we believe that everyone is musical and at a key time in their development, we want young children to have access to high
quality, musical, playful encounters.
Over the next year we will be supporting 5 settings (schools, children’s centres and nurseries to explore and play with sound and music. This is the second year of this project, funded by Youth Music and local partners.
We are looking for a nursery to work with from November 2024 – June 2025 on this project.
There is no direct cost to the nursery selected but it will require some in -kind
commitment, including release time for the lead practitionerto attend the
training sessions (see below) and time for them to plan and reflect with their
musician partner.
How will the project work?
Each setting (school/nursery/children’s centre) will identify an early years practitioner interested in developing their skills and confidence in early years
music making. They will be paired with a musician, who will work in partnership with them for a term exploring child-led practice through sound and music.
The project will include:
– 15 x weekly sessions of explorative child led sessions with children, working with a partner musician. Each session will be up to 2 hours, followed by some time for reflection and planning together. The project will start at the end of the autumn term with 2 training days and some initial planning but the weekly sessions will happen in the Spring term.
-3 x days CPD for the early years practitioner music champion – 2 days in the Autumn term (5th & 6th December) and 2 x half days in the Spring term. Each pair (musician and early years practitioner) will also receive mentoring support from early years music specialist Nicola Burke. This will include a visit to observe a session, plus 2 online calls.
-Peer learning and celebration opportunities at the end of the project. This will include a half day sharing event will all of the 5 settings involved in the project plus we will also be hosting an end of project symposium to help share the learning and practice more widely across Leicestershire and beyond.
-Resources for your setting to use during and after the project. Each
setting will have a budget of up to £400 to spend on instruments/resources.
This project builds on the success of a previous project 2020-22. One of the nurseries involved reflected on the impact for them:-
“Children have experienced sincere fun and enjoyment and have made musical
memories. These musical memories in the short term are providing for increased
experimentation, exploration, and creativity.In the longer term we anticipate that the impact of this opportunity will resonate
Amanda (Daisy Chain nursery manager) .
with children, colleagues, and our curriculum. The organisation and
consequently our colleagues have secured improved practices in terms of
musical development. We have woven the need for a sound rich environment
into our policy and practice.”
If you have any questions about this opportunity or would like to arrange a phone call please email Hazel Townsend – hazel@thesparkarts.co.uk.
Key dates
Interested in getting involved?
Please download, complete and forward the the expression of interest form below to hazel@thesparkarts.co.uk by 5pm Monday 7th October 2024.
