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October 2020

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

 

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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

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