Sound Start

At Creative Futures we believe every child should have the opportunity to experience and take part in the arts from the earliest age. ‘Sound Start’ addresses the lack of training that Early Years Practitioners (EYPs) receive in music and creativity – despite the mounting evidence of the powerful ways in which music can support early childhood development. In partnership with the London Early Years Foundation (LEYF), we are working with 3 cohorts of their apprentices every year through a mix of CPD sessions and in-setting workshops in which our music practitioners interact with children alongside mentoring the apprentices on placement in that setting. We are also collaborating with LEYF’s Music Champions who have been trained through the Royal College of Music ‘Sparks’ programme.

Apprentices receive a course of 3 practical CPD sessions providing an introduction to the ways music is intertwined with all areas of child development and can support all areas of the Early Years Foundation Stage. We explore musical interaction between baby and carer, children’s home musical cultures, enabling environments for music, observing musical play and the role of the adult, multimodality in children’s music-making, and encouraging improvisatory and creative approaches to music-making. Apprentices develop the skills to notice musical play, find opportunities for music-making within the day and build confidence to set up and facilitate music activities in their settings.

We’re delighted to be working with Dr Mona Sakr and Kayla Halls from University of Middlesex who are leading the evaluation of this project. Their findings to date suggest that the project has nurtured children’s language development, promoted a sense of togetherness and community, supported emotional regulation, created moments of joy, and made spaces for children’s self-determination.

“They’re communicating and teaching each other without saying a word. It was magical!” (EYP)

In addition, we provide training for ‘Emerging Music Leaders’, who receive bespoke training alongside paid shadowing of in-setting sessions. Our EMLs observe the wider professional collaborative role of a musician in a nursery and develop their confidence in delivery, particularly in play-based interactions. EMLs begin to link music to the Characteristics of Effective Learning and Teaching and think and reflect with the Creative Futures Practitioners they shadow about why they made the choices they did.

Sound Start In Action

As part of the evaluation process, the team have captured some examples of music making in Sound Start, based on their observations. They include written vignettes, illustrations, and offer some points that practitioners might like to reflect on.

Click on each image to scroll through and read the vignette and see the reflection point. You can click in again to enlarge.

Vignettes and reflection points by Kayla Halls and illustrations by Taisiya Lipkin

From "An Evaluation of Sound Start: Building Practitioner Confidence in Music for Early Years (Halls, Sakr & Lipkin, 2025)