Learning & Development: Music - Your song

An ongoing project to explore how artists and practitioners can work together to engage with hard-to-reach families through music has proved invaluable in building relationships with parents and their children.

The Haringey Nursery Schools Training and Development Consortium has been working with Angeline Conaghan of Groundswell Arts to compose and record bespoke lullabies and songs for children, based on close dialogue and partnership with parents.

Funded by children's charity Youth Music, the Lullabies Project was developed out of a two-year British Council study involving Haringey in London and Sabadell in Spain, which demonstrated how music can be used to successfully engage families and parents with their children's nursery.

Over six sessions, Ms Conaghan works with parents or carers whose children attend Pembury House, Woodlands Park and Rowland Hill nursery schools and children's centres - the three locations that make up the consortium - in Haringey to construct a lullaby or song for their child depicting who the child is, and who and what is special to them in their world. The project is currently taking place as a two-year pilot.

'Through the Lullabies Project, practitioners are able to get to know families on a personal level by learning about their culture and background, which makes parents feel that their home life is valued and deepens the trust between them and their child's setting,' explains Ms Conaghan. 'Some parents taking part may not have had a good education experience themselves.

'The weekly sessions aim to make parents feel comfortable and help promote discussion. Often when parents register their child at a setting they have to fill in a lot of paperwork and are asked standardised questions by staff. The sessions help open up dialogue between parents and the setting. It is common for parents to raise any concerns they might have about their child with me while discussing their lullaby or song.'

At the first session, Ms Conaghan invites parents to have a conversation about their child, asking questions such as why they chose their child's name, what nicknames they have for them, what they like to do together and what music they sing or listen to.

They also talk about parents' culture and traditions and songs or tunes they recall from their own childhoods - information which is translated into a lullaby or song about the child and their family.

At Pembury House Nursery School and Children's Centre, staff have introduced Heritage Bags. These are filled with items that are special to the children, and Ms Conaghan uses this as a starting point for her work.

'The Heritage Bags, which are derived from treasure baskets, have proved to be a valuable link to the project', says Sandie Jeeto, Pembury's deputy nursery officer.

'They capture the families' background, their heritage and people and objects that are special to that child. Heritage Bags are way of celebrating the children's and families' culture, but at the same time hearing about who the child is.'

After speaking to parents and gathering information about what is special to their child, Ms Conaghan composes the tune and writes the lyrics for their lullaby or song.

'I like to take rhythms, beats and lyrics from songs the children listen to. I also try to include any phrases the children say and the names of those that are special to them.

'Some parents like to help develop the lullaby or song and choose to record it with me. After hearing the lullaby or song, parents can choose to add or take things away', she says.

The lullaby or song is then put on to a CD for parents to play at home and the setting to play for children to dance to or before they take a nap. Nursery staff are also provided with the lyrics to each song.

'When we first play and sing the lullaby or song to a child they are normally a bit confused, although over time they grow to love it', says Ms Conaghan.

'There was a little boy whose mum hadn't been well. She used to do a specific dance with phrases with him. We included the phrases in the boy's song and as soon as he heard it he got up, danced and then did a bow.'

Staff at Pembury House Nursery School say that children come to learn their own songs and those of their peers. 'The children can sing the songs back and take pride when other children hear their own song,' explains Ms Jeeto. 'The children often ask for their song or other children's songs to be played.

'Through the lullabies and songs, children have their voice heard. This gives them self identity and builds their confidence.'

Ms Jeeto says that the Lullabies Project has also helped practitioners build their relationships with the children's families.

'The sessions have provided a relaxed and supportive forum in which key staff can get to know the families and relationships can be developed,' she explains. 'You learn about the families' journeys and their life stories. The project has proved invaluable in promoting cultural exchanges and shared understanding through songs and music.'

She adds that the bespoke lullabies and songs have also had enormous benefits in terms of developing children's speech and language.

Peter Catling, head of Woodlands Park Nursery School and Children's Centre, which is also involved in the Lullabies Project, says that the sessions have enhanced the children's communication and they are now more interested in song and rhyme and tuned into listening and repeating words. Children have also settled into nursery more quickly and confidently.

Mr Catling says that the project has had many positive outcomes for both children and parents. 'The project has helped parents understand more about the way their children are learning, their needs and what happens at nursery. They feel more involved and that their contribution is valued, and as a result there is more trust. Children's attendance has also increased.

'The sessions have helped parents to bond with each other and provided a route to support parents to access other services, such as speech and language therapy.'

More information

• Groundswell Arts www.groundswell arts.com

• Woodlands Park Nursery School and Children's Centre www.woodlandspark-nur.haringey.sch.uk

• Youth Music www.youthmusic.org.uk

WHAT THE EXPERTS SAY...

An evaluation of the project, carried out by Canterbury Christ Church University's Sidney De Haan Centre for Arts and Health, found that for the majority of children the songs became important symbols of transition, where new words, verses or changed names represented changes in their life circumstances.

According to the research, the songs were also used to build specific aspects of resilience for some children.

University senior lecturer Jonathan Barnes, who led the study, says that parents, carers and grandparents commented on the cultural significance and emotional support the songs had given their children. They also reported that children were highly engaged when listening to their lullaby, which calmed and entertained them.

He explains, 'The research demonstrates the power of music to involve, include and support emotional development. The findings suggest that, at least with the early years, efforts should be made to use music more widely and in more personally targeted ways.'