Improve knowledge, confidence and wellbeing while your team bonds through music

In our last NMT mini blog, we considered music for parent engagement, identifying how music and movement sessions can benefits early development in relation to the 7 areas of the EYFS.

Team training may feel unobtainable and less of a priority, but it’s more important for your staff now than ever. At Boogie Mites, we have been leading music and movement training for EY practitioners for over 15 years and the benefits stretch further than CPD.

Music and movement training won’t just improve your settings music provision, planning will become easier, you’ll watch your team’s confidence thrive and you’ll see a boost in their wellbeing. And as an added bonus, the training session will provide a team bonding opportunity that lifts morale – something we’ve witnessed through every one of our training sessions.

The benefits of upskilling your team in creative music practise

• Knowledge

 Music covers all 7 Areas

– making your planning easy. Our music training will introduce you to songs and linked activities that you can include throughout the whole day, linking to story time and arts and crafts activities. The whole EYs team will better understand how music support the EYFS and Letters and Sounds (L&S) Phase 1, and they will bring back ideas for introducing them to their everyday practice.

‘So interesting – really excited about using music to cover all areas of the EYFS’.
Kirsty Grenander, Acorns Pre-school

‘Very enjoyable course and looking forward to implementing into my setting. I have been struggling with ideas on how to stimulate my pre-schoolers into Letters and Sounds and Boogie Mites music seems a perfect solution’. 
Practitioner, Epsom Day Nursery.

‘The Boogie Mites Letters and Sounds programme is such a fun and exciting way of developing speech and language skills and really helps children learn to listen and respond.  Boogie Mites songs provide a valuable opportunity for self-expression and creativity in the Foundation Stage setting’.
Alison Prismal, Foundation Stage Advisory Teacher, Portsmouth.

• Confidence

Staff will be given the confidence they need to use music to support EYFS and L&S development and to make learning fun through music. They don’t need prior music training or a sack full of expensive instruments. We believe everyone can sing and home-made props can provide the necessary percussion instruments for working with the beat and the rhythm of music. These home-made materials, when used correctly, can easily harness the brain boosting power of music at this stage.

‘Excellent way of giving confidence to practitioners to take back with them to the setting. The ideas are invaluable! Thank you’.
Becky Staughton, Little Jays Pre-school, Horsham.

‘Absolutely fantastic! I have really enjoyed the training and it has made me feel more confident using music’. Jo Lovegrove, Children’s Centre Outreach Worker, Merton, London.

‘As a primary teacher and early years specialist as well as the setting’s SENCO, I recognise high quality resources when I see them and can’t thank you enough for the great learning and fun we have using your materials, particularly as I am not gifted musically one iota’. 
Faye Flude, Bolnore Village Pre-School, Haywards Heath.

• Wellbeing – physical and mental

It goes without saying, but we’ll say it: music makes us happy, and right now, we could all use a little boost.

Innes co-authored a 2016 study that found music-listening could boost mood and well-being and improve stress-related measures in older adults suffering from cognitive decline. Time.com

Our sessions introduce movement and props to music time, so everyone will be up on their feet, shaking and banging! It’s not just the emotional wellbeing of those taking part that will be affected. They will be raising their heartbeat whilst feeling the musical beat.

‘Excellent. Very interactive, physical, great resource, super ‘feel good factor’ for everyone taking part. It will have an impact on all areas of learning but especially PSED and CLD. An innovative approach to music in Early Years’.
Martine Horvath, East Sussex Early Years Advisor.

‘Staff have been inspired by being able to teach our children new songs, actions and movement. They feel good that they are promoting children’s learning and development through play and having fun. It encourages us to ‘feel like a child again, be able to act silly and care-free in a professional way’.
Tooting Looking Glass Bright Horizons Nursery.

• Bonding

And finally, music is an all-inclusive activity. We love to see practitioners laughing and having fun with music together. For our twilight training sessions, we see them arrive exhausted from a day in the nursery and leave elated and energised.

‘We had a fantastic training with Tamsyn and Sharon, everyone really enjoyed it’. 
Emma Watson, Sapphire Nursery Surrey.

‘The team-building session run by Boogie Mites was great.  It was fun, energetic and an excellent way to start the year.  I cannot recommend it highly enough.  Tamsyn – our session leader – was a highly-skilled practitioner who sang like an angel but was relentless in finding great ways involve ALL the team.’
Terry Sullivan, Hackney Early Years Manager.

You can find out more about the 5 different forms of training on offer or make an enquiry for your team with Boogie Mites. There are even opportunities for online training while social distancing prohibits onsite training. https://bit.ly/BMOnlineTrainingforPractitioners

To discuss options and create a bespoke training solution for your team, simply contact Sue Newman, Boogie Mites Director: [email protected].