Our Interactive Music-Making (IMM) programme has come a long way in its 12-year history. The award-winning annual training course for early years practitioners has seen 59 practitioners receive training, providing thousands of young children access to meaningful music as part of their early development opportunities.

Set up in direct response to demand in the South East London early years sector, served by Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust, IMM was devised by our director, Alexia Quin, and Sarah Hadley (Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust). We have been proud to deliver the course as a joint initiative with Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust over the years and we have welcomed the contribution of their music therapists to our teaching. Together we have championed the training and the use of interactive music-making across early years settings in South East London and beyond.

This year marks an exciting new chapter for IMM, as we seek to extend the reach of the training with the introduction of a new “Associate” model. This development will see us establish new working relationships with Music Therapy and Early Years organisations, alongside our continued association with Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust, across London and further afield. 

Post-lockdown, many music therapy providers report a heightened demand for their services, while Early Years setting continue to juggle tight budgets to support young children and their families at a very difficult time. We believe that raising awareness of the role interactive music-making can play in supporting young children and access to our IMM training is particularly relevant now. Working together with organisations who share this view is a proactive, collaborative way to enable more children to benefit from targeted, early intervention interactive music-making can offer when embedded into early years provision by graduates from our training.

Additionally, we have noticed growing interest in our IMM programme outside London, with practitioners joining the course from as far afield as Scotland, Bradford, Crewe, Bedfordshire, Oxford and the South West. Creating a UK-wide network of associate organisations will increase visibility of the training among Early Years Settings up and down the country and may help us identify pockets of demand in particular areas to guide where we deliver the course in the future.

But what is immediately exciting is that Associate organisations will strengthen our teaching, with opportunities for guest lectures from a range of music therapists, bringing a wealth of contemporary expertise.

We are therefore thrilled to welcome our first three associate organisations:

Nordoff Robbins is the UK’s largest music therapy charity, with an approach shaped by more than 60 years of practice. Their vision is to live in a world where through music therapy, people’s true potential is realised regardless of disability, illness, or exclusion. Working one-to-one or with small groups, their therapists create a platform for people to express themselves and share a connection.

We are grateful to Nordoff Robbins for introducing us to Music Therapist Harriet Crawford and supporting her contribution to our teaching during this year’s training.

North London Music Therapy CIC provide music therapy for anyone, of any age, with a mental health condition such as stress, anxiety or depression. They also work with people living with conditions such as autism, stroke and dementia. Their main clinic is based in Finchley, North London, and their Outreach Service takes place in multiple venues with partnership organisations across North and Central London.

We are grateful to North London Music Therapy CIC for introducing us to Music Therapist Marina Emmanouil and supporting her contribution to our teaching during this year’s training.

Quaggy Development Trust provide services to support young children and their families in the Royal Borough of Greenwich. Our thanks to Quaggy Development Trust for hosting this year’s Interactive Music-Making course at Pound Park Children’s Centre.

This promises to be a very exciting time for our Interactive Music-Making course as we enrich its foundations with new working relationships, additional expertise, and a wider reach. Building a network of Associate organisations is an ongoing priority for us, so look out for further announcements as additional organisations join us to strengthen our Interactive Music-Making activities.