Updated 31st December 2020
2020
Musical Learning & Progression in the Early Years
2 part online training workshop 
with Zoe Greenhalgh
Sunday 28 February & 7 March 2021, 10-12am £30
**Please note that attendance on both dates is essential **
Zoe will look at ways to support young children’s musical development using joyful approaches that engage both children and adults in playful, confidence building learning.
During these two sessions Zoe will lead us in singing games and rhymes to support children’s musical development and:
- show how material can be developed to deepen & progress musical skills
- develop understanding of the planning, structure & delivery of music sessions
Who is it for?
Early years practitioners & teachers, musicians working with children 0-5 years , anyone working with this age group. No musical knowledge required.
What will you gain?
- information, ideas & resources
- increased confidence through a better understanding of how to use singing games & rhymes to support musical & holistic development with links to the EYFS framework
- the development of knowledge, skills & understanding of selecting quality songs & rhymes & using songs & rhymes appropriately for different age groups.
Comments from previous training:
- Wonderfully inspiring and everything felt achievable
- Fantastic training, well presented, questions answered
- Very good training, feel inspired and refreshed
- Great session, highly motivational
Zoe Greenhalgh is an early childhood music educator, author, consultant and researcher with wide experience of working with babies, children, parents, carers and educators in early years and community settings. Well known for her work in the North West, Zoe also enjoys a national reputation as a consultant, workshop provider and author; her book “Music and Singing in the Early Years” (Routledge 2018) has been well received. Zoe is a Course Director for the Certificate for Music Educators: Early Childhood (CME:EC) at the Centre for Research in Early Childhood (CREC) and an Associate Tutor in Early Years Education at Edge Hill University. She is also Early Childhood Tutor for The British Kodály Academy.
Practical information
We will be using online video software Zoom, so please ensure you have downloaded the app on a desktop or mobile ahead of the session.
For security, we’re asking you to sign up via Eventbrite and you will be emailed the Zoom ID and password after you register.
Connecting Threads – The Big Sing!
Thursday 14th January 2021 from 7-8.30pm
An opportunity to share your favourite Early Years music material and pick up some fresh new ideas for the New Year.
We invite you to bring a song from each of the following categories:
- ‘Chant-a-rhyme.’
- ‘Your favourite prop songs.’
- ‘Simple songs that burst with endless possibilities.’
We will have 3 breakouts during the evening, one for each of these categories, and hope to put together a recorded archive of this new collection of songs and rhymes for those who attend.
Come and join us for some conversation and inspiration. We are looking forward to singing with you!
This is the 5th Connecting Threads session from Note Weavers
*Please be aware that this event is for North West England practitioners only.
Practical info
We’ll be using online video software Zoom, so please ensure you have downloaded the app on a desktop or mobile ahead of the session.
For security, we’re asking you to sign up via Eventbrite and you will be emailed the Zoom ID and password after you register.
Find out more about the Connecting Threads community here
Vocal & Instrumental Musical Play in the Early Years
2 part online training workshop with Jane Parker
24th & 31st January 2021, 10-12am
£30
**Please note that attendance on both dates is essential **
Jane is Early Years Music Lead for Take Art’s ‘The SoundWaves Network’ Youth Music funded programme which involves Early Years Music practitioners working alongside Early Years practitioners in settings. The ethos of the programme is very much the belief that babies and very young children are spontaneous music makers. As facilitators, we don’t need to start from scratch when we ‘do’ music, but support, reinforce and extend what our little music makers can already do. Our work aims to brings together a community of learners – learning with, from and alongside each other.
These two sessions will provide opportunities to:
- Notice and understand the musical behaviours of babies and very young children.
- Think and discuss how best to support and value our babies and very young children’s spontaneous music-making
- Ask questions on the design of the SoundWaves Network Early Childhood music programme and how it works ‘on the ground’
Who is it for? Early years practitioners & teachers, musicians working with children 0-5 years , anyone working with this age group
What will you gain? An understanding of:
- the musical abilities of babies and very young children
- that music is play and reflect on our role to be musically playful
About Jane Parker: Jane comes with a wealth of specialist Early Years music experience and knowledge, as a project coordinator, an educator training practitioners and a researcher practitioner with very young children. She firmly believes we should recognise in all our work and resources that everyone is born musical.
Having completed an MA in Early Childhood Education, Jane possesses both a theoretical knowledge and practical understanding of current issues in the Early Years music sector. As well coordinating Take Art’s ‘The SoundWaves Network’ – Early Years Music Network for the South West – Jane is also one of the tutors on the Certificate for Music Educators (CME): Early Childhood course.
Practical information
We will be using online video software Zoom, so please ensure you have downloaded the app on a desktop or mobile ahead of the session.
For security, we’re asking you to sign up via Eventbrite and you will be emailed the Zoom ID and password after you register.
CPD series for 2021
We are delighted to unveil our plans for an online CPD series running from January 2021.
The series which will be open to all, will include:
- Musical Play with special guest Jane Parker from the Soundwaves Network
- Kodály inspired music practice with Zoe Greenhalgh
- Music in the Outdoors with Sally-Anne Brown
- Singing with Picture Books with Ben Lawrence
- SEN/D workshop – details coming soon
Connecting Threads – Early Years Music & SEND
Thursday 19th November 2020 from 7-8.30pm
Free session for classroom teachers, music leads, music practitioners and anyone currently planning and delivering music in the classroom (EY & KS1) in North West England.
Facilitated by Martha Thompson and Georgina Roberts, both music therapists state registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC), this session will discuss how we can be more inclusive when working with young children who have SEN/D.
The session will include discussions around:
- Making a music session more inclusive
- Planning for children with SEND
- Ideas for adapting resources
Come, join the conversation and share your experiences with colleagues and peers.
This is the fourth Connecting Threads session from Note Weavers for practitioners throughout the North West.
*Please be aware that this event is for North West England practitioners only.
Practical info
We’ll be using online video software Zoom, so please ensure you have downloaded the app on a desktop or mobile ahead of the session.
For security, we’re asking you to sign up via Eventbrite and you will be emailed the Zoom ID and password after you register.Find out more about the Connecting Threads community here
Support for Connecting Threads from MERYC England
Connection has been very important throughout the Covid-19 pandemic and Note Weavers have been working hard to ensure that we can remain connected to the Early Years music community here in the North West. For everyone working in EY music this has been a particularly tough time and being able to reach out to our colleagues in the region has been very important. We have done this in two ways:
- Connecting Threads: In July Note Weavers launched Connecting Threads a networking support page specifically for people working in EY music in the North West. Through this page people have been engaging with each other over a wide range of topics that are important to us; ideas on current practice, online session insurance, song sharing, government guidelines and links to pertinent webinars and courses.
- Note Weavers online events: In August Note Weavers learnt that we had been successful in our bid for a TeachMeet grant from MERYC-England.
A “Teachmeet” is an organised, informal meeting to share good practice and we have used the grant to subscribe to a video conferencing service which has enabled us to reach the North West EY music community during the Covid-19 pandemic. Note Weavers has already had two open to all sessions, offering support, CPD and a discussion forum, with two further sessions in the pipeline around face to face class teaching and SEND.
Feedback has been positive with practitioners feeling supported and enjoying being able to meet others in the same situation in our area.
As we do not currently know when things will be able to get back to normal both Connecting Threads and Note Weavers Online will continue to be vital in reaching and connecting with music practitioners in the North West. Further information can be found on the Connecting Threads page here
Learning English Together
Note Weavers are delighted to have been commissioned by Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council to be involved in the delivery of a ESOL Social Integration Project ‘Learning English Together’ [LET]. This is a government funded programme which support adults who are new to learning English to access opportunities more widely in the local community alongside a more formal learning programme. Note Weavers will be part of a team of ‘social mixing’ partners who provide six-week courses for the learners, running weekly music sessions for parents with their young children at The Bureau Centre for the Arts with two courses starting in November 2020 and January 2021.
The LET course delivers English Language learning and support for those learning English at a beginner level who have arrived in the UK in the last three years. The music sessions will offer supported interaction for learners to engage in conversation as they take part in a programme of music activities with their pre-school children. The musical material will be based on simple, easily accessible songs with repetitive language and simple melodies. Often, a song can be repeated with a slight variation each time – the change of an animal name for example – allowing the words to become familiar, accessible and well-practiced. Using a new language within a rhythmic and simple melodic framework also allows the learner to hear the separation of the words and syllables, enabling accurate understanding and reproduction, and all within the playful activities shared and experienced with their young child.
Many songs which we use with the early years involve key words which are also ideal for beginner English language learning – colours, animal names, body parts, weather related words. In addition, participants will be encouraged to contribute their own songs in their mother tongue, and will be involved in discussion and conversation with the other learners in the group. To support their wider engagement with music, participants will have the opportunity to loan ‘Music Bags’ which we use in other Note Weavers programmes. These contain instruments and props as well as pictures and activity sheets enabling families to revisit songs and engage in some of the musical activities while at home. Simple craft activities linked to the music session will be developed and demonstrated for completion at home as a shared activity for families.
The Note Weavers team are really excited to be delivering this part of the Learning English Together programme. We look forward to bringing our experience to a new partnership and to learning from an opportunity to deliver music sessions in a new context and with a new focus.
If you would like to find out more about this work please get in touch with:
sue@noteweavers.org sorrel@noteweavers.org
If you would like to access any of the Facebook live online sessions you can find them here:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbQoQaEw1Q0FTGSoPM0DqdA
Sorrel Harty
Sue Ridyard
Note Weavers CIC
October 2020
Connecting Threads – Music Face 2 Face
A support and discussion session for anyone currently delivering music sessions within settings (EY-Yr1)
Come and join us on October 15th for the third Connecting Threads session from Note Weavers for practitioners throughout the North West.
This free event is for classroom teachers, music leads, music practitioners and anyone currently planning and delivering music in the classroom (from EY to Year 1) here in the North West.
At the current time there is uncertainty and confusion around what can be delivered during music time in the classroom. This session is lead by Note Weavers Directors Sorrel Harty, Georgina Roberts and Sally-Anne Brown who are all working face to face with children in early years settings and schools.
The session will include:
- useful examples of songs and activities that we ARE able to deliver at this time,
- idea sharing
- discussion
Please come along and be part of the conversation, we want to hear your experiences of working with music in the classroom at this time.
Practical info
We’ll be using online video software Zoom, so please ensure you have downloaded the app on a desktop or mobile ahead of the session.
For security, we’re asking you to sign up via Eventbrite 
*Please be aware that this event is for practitioners working in the North West of England only.
Connecting Threads – Moving Forwards
Tuesday 1st September 2020 19:00 – 20:30
This second Connecting Threads event includes CPD sessions from Note Weavers directors
Sorrel Harty and Zoe Greenhalgh
Sorrel has been delivering live Facebook sessions each week for the last two months as part of Shared Sounds, a Youth Music funded project in collaboration with Note Weavers, adapted due to Covid-19 into a blended delivery. During this CPD she will share the ways she has used songs and developed musical activities using found objects to support and enable families to engage and explore music together at home during lockdown.
Zoe’s session will focus on planning for musical learning and include:
- choosing songs & rhymes and their associated activities
- things to consider when presenting these planned activities to children
Everyone will have the opportunity to attend both sessions which will be around 30 minutes long and include 10 minutes for questions.
- how updates in government guidelines might effect the delivery of music sessions in early years settings
- What protective measures do we as practitioners need to implement
- What about risk assessments?
- Can we or can’t we sing and chant?
Come, join the conversation and connect with other practitioners across the region.
Practical info
We’ll be using online video software Zoom, so please ensure you have downloaded the app on a desktop or mobile ahead of the session.
For security, we’re asking you to sign up via Eventbrite
*Please be aware that this event is for practitioners working in the North West of England only.