New report reveals positive impacts of In Harmony Liverpool on Early Years Education

The report, by evaluation consultant Susanne Burns with input from clinical psychologist Michael Galbraith outlines the positive impacts of the transformational music programme on children, their schools, their families and the wider community in Everton.

Liverpool Philharmonic established In Harmony Liverpool in 2009 with 84 children in Faith Primary School in Everton. With funding from Arts Council England, Department for Education and Paul Hamlyn Foundation amongst others, the programme delivers a comprehensive programme of orchestral music making for nearly 750 children aged 0-18, performing repertoire from across music genres including classical, pop, traditional and new music, to improve the health, education and aspirations of children and young people.

Early years provision has featured in the In Harmony Liverpool programme from the beginning, and in 2015, a major expansion, supported by Youth Music saw Liverpool Philharmonic welcome Everton Nursey School and Family Centre in to the programme, along with The Beacon CE Primary School.

Children under 5 in the three partner schools take part in a range of music-making including musicianship, singing, movement, child-led creative music making, performances and sharing events for families, and live performances by Liverpool Philharmonic’s professional musicians.

The report draws on interviews with teachers and musicians, teacher observations, case studies of children developed by teachers, video footage, a parent survey and direct observation of activities by clinical psychologist Michael Galbraith, and shows:

• Positive changes in personal, social and emotional development and communication skills of children under 5
• Impacts on child development in areas including wellbeing, resilience, confidence, concentration, listening skills and social interaction amongst others
• All parents responding to a survey reporting that In Harmony Liverpool has positively affected their relationship with their child and school and their involvement in the community.

The report cites success factors including:
• Trust, collaboration, communication and sharing of expertise between early years teachers and professional musicians
• Strong leadership at school level
• Child-centred curriculum
• Parent and family engagement

In Harmony Liverpool includes training for established teachers and trainee teachers, and in November 2016 offered its first formal Music in the Early Years training day. Open more widely to early years teachers and practitioners the day was delivered in partnership with Everton Nursery School and Family Centre through the North Liverpool Teaching School Partnership.

‘In Harmony… has been one of the best things that could have happened for him and a great opportunity for him to be the best that he can be.’ Parent

Dr Lesley Curtis OBE, Head Teacher of Everton Nursery School and Family Centre said: ‘Our partnership with Liverpool Philharmonic and our nursery’s participation in the In Harmony Liverpool programme is proving to be a highly engaging and rewarding one. It’s a fantastic initiative that works well within the teaching environment and we are seeing for ourselves the benefits of music on our children and whole school community.’

Matt Griffiths, CEO of Youth Music said: ‘Getting involved in making music has huge benefits for young children and their families - particularly if they’re facing challenging circumstances - and it’s great that these positive outcomes are demonstrated in the evaluation report. Change doesn’t happen overnight, which is why there’s a sustained programme of music-making at the heart of In Harmony Liverpool. It’ll be really interesting to see how the children progress now that their imagination and creativity has been fired up.’

Peter Garden, Liverpool Philharmonic’s Executive Director of Performance and Learning said: ‘We know that high quality music making can be hugely beneficial to very young children, and the support of Youth Music and our partners has enabled us to reach even more young children and families in Everton, working towards our ambition of neighbourhood–wide In Harmony Liverpool provision.

‘What is clear is that the skills, collaboration and creativity of our musicians and early years teachers across our three partner schools is maximising the effect of everyone’s combined expertise, and firmly placing children at the heart of In Harmony and early years education. Now in its eighth year, we remain incredibly grateful to the children, families, school staff, partners and Everton community for their support of In Harmony Liverpool.’

Notes to Editors

In Harmony Liverpool Impact on Early Years Education Report: Executive Summary available here

In Harmony Liverpool

Liverpool Philharmonic has been leading In Harmony Liverpool since 2009 with partner organisations in Everton including Faith Primary School, Everton Nursery School and Family Centre, The Beacon CE Primary School, West Everton Community Council, Resonate Liverpool’s Music Hub, Liverpool Hope University, Beacon CE Primary School, Hopscotch Nursery and The Shewsy.

In Harmony Liverpool is part of the In Harmony national programme, established by Government in 2009 and funded by Arts Council England and the Department for Education. Other Arts Council England funded In Harmony programmes are now established in London, Leeds, Newcastle Gateshead, Nottingham, Telford and Stoke-on-Trent.

Including Arts Council England support, Liverpool Philharmonic has been successful in securing additional support for In Harmony Liverpool in the form of major gifts and donations from its two Principal Partners, Investec Wealth & Investment and Liverpool John Moores University; Paul Hamlyn Foundation, National Foundation for Youth Music, Austin and Hope Pilkington Trust, The Eric & Margaret Kinder Charitable Trust, The Ernest Cook Trust, Everton Nursery School and Family Centre, Faith Primary School, The Beacon CE Primary School, The Granada Foundation, The Henby Trust, Liverpooljazz, Lord Leverhulme’s Charitable Trust, The Oglesby Charitable Trust In Harmony Fund, The Rushworth Foundation, West Lancashire Freemasons Charity and private donors.

Further information from Jayne Garrity, Liverpool Philharmonic’s
Head of Communications: Tel: 0151 210 3791 / 07967 364241,
email: jayne.garrity@liverpoolphil.com