Sing Up NCB Looked After Children Programme Evaluation Pat Petrie Centre for Understanding Social Pedagogy Youth Music Seminar June

Sing Up NCB Looked after Children Programme Sing Up: national programme to ensure that all primary school-aged children are able to access high-quality singing activities Sing Up NCB aimed to promote the well being of looked after children through singing Seven very varied projects Details of how evaluation conducted contained in the report – visits, interviews, reflective journals

Music and singing are good for people! Evidence of outcomes: – Dillon, L. (2010); Hallam (2009); (Welch 2010, IOE 2011 So children ‘beyond the mainstream’ - looked after children and others - should be included, too

Evaluation within the framework of social pedagogy - the education of the ‘whole child’ The arts are not an optional extra They engage the feelings and senses as well thoughts Wonder Sense of wider possibilities and identity Social pedagogy builds on respect for children, lack of hierarchy, team work

Singing for looked after children needs care A respectful approach to children Attention to setting up –Sufficient start up and recruitment time –Bringing in and working with partners –Required procedures –Working with carers –Transport

Benefits Many reports from foster carers, from other adults and children about their enthusiasm for singing and music making. Other benefits such as enjoying interesting venues, making friends, being excited about performance and becoming generally more confident.

What children said

I enjoyed recording and completing a song I like my song what we did today... Writing the song, playing the drum Happy today – I wrote my own line It was fab... It was so cool... It was fun because I love the songs... It was good fun... It’s fun, good to learn to sing. I love Voice Box! It was awesome... It was really good and I enjoyed it Today is the best session we had. Glad I came on my birthday... I really enjoyed it today and now I am really happy It was good songs. I did not know it but I know it now I really tried my best today.

What adults said These were children who were always being sent out or excluded from school. We decided we would find other ways, other strategies, to contain them (Artist) I’m a great believer in singing... it puts your brain in a different place and it gives opportunities to kids who’ve had fragmented and difficult experiences in their lives, gives them a chance to be somewhere else for a time, all the head, heart and hands stuff... For looked after kids – like other vulnerable groups – music as an art form makes a real bloody difference – invest in it. (Children’s services officer)

I don’t want to walk away in a year’s time without knowing there’s a massive need for this to be part of the Personal Education Plan for young people. We want to make sure that music is integrated. (Children’s services officer) These children and young people are not particularly trusting of the adult world and to see them work together is great; the musicians’ genuineness has rubbed off on them (Children’s services officer) It was just glorious, and when they walked forward for the first number, they were so connected. (Musician)

Sing Up/NCB Looked After Children Programme Evaluation Pat Petrie Centre for Understanding Social Pedagogy Youth Music Seminar June