Early Years Foundation Stage

In 2018 the Barking and Dagenham music hub commissioned an independent review into the current music provision in school Early Years settings. The scoping and research carried out via questionnaires and interviews with Early Years practitioners identified three particular areas of interest that were highlighted in the resulting ‘Acoustic Futures’ report:

  • The classroom activity of listening and responding to music and sound
  • The musical environment and creating effect learning spaces in the classroom
  • Need for CPD, resources and networking for EYP

Following the report, the music hub wrote a bid to the Arts Council and received funding to trial the Acoustic Futures pilot that would pull together these strands.

Acoustic Futures was a year-long pilot of professional development for Early Years Practitioners delivered by Barking and Dagenham Music Hub and Creative Futures, funded by Arts Council England.
The pilot ran for a year in three settings and explored different ways of embedding music in the Early Years Foundation Stage, strengthening the music skills of the Early Years workforce and their ability to create musical environments and use play-based approaches in settings. The children aged 4-5 were offered new opportunities to listen to and make music, including making and using instruments and creating musical environments.

The Toolkit for Early Years teachers is the culmination of the project. It is hoped that it will be used by settings both as part of continuing professional development for practitioners, and also as a resource that can be added to by individual settings.

Acoustic Futures Toolkit

Quick Links

Our Partners