Sankofa Songsters intergenerational musical experiences (0–99 years)
Intergenerational sessions in care settings
I lead two intergenerational musical experiences which are stay and play sessions and inclusive choirs in a growing number of care settings in the Chester area. I work in partnership with the national charity Ready Generations who work to connect people of all ages. The charity also operates the UK’s first fully integrated intergenerational nursery within the Belong Care Village, Chester. The Nursery in Belong is a multi-award winning research setting working alongside a number of UK universities to explore the benefits and impact of connecting generations around meaningful invitations, experiences and opportunities.
My partnership with Ready Generations has allowed me to work with multi agency professionals, creatives and researchers to ensure all my work is evidence based and aligned with research into current best practice. This helps me to ensure I am constantly learning and developing my practice and am involved in ground breaking innovations and projects.
A range of perspectives
My intergenerational experiences are attended by nursery aged children, older people, carers and their families. A significant number of the older people are living with dementia and attend alongside their carer. This creates a dynamic and responsive group who certainly bring a rich diversity and range of perspectives!
Most recently, we have been joined by adults living with disabilities and this had enriched the groups still further. There is a growing sense of a shared, dignified community which is wonderful to see! Everyone takes care of everyone else!
One of the greatest benefits of taking part is the sense of belonging, identity and attachment that this ‘togetherness’ offers.
"Don’t we have a lovely time when Amanda’s here?"
(Doris, a resident in the care village living with dementia.)
The impact for individuals and the groups can be both significant and life enhancing.. The children develop their understanding of others, empathy, communication , social interactions and also their self-awareness, regulation and confidence. The older people develop lasting friendships that help to combat social isolation and loneliness. They also find a deep value in not only seeing the children but supporting them to develop and make progress. This helps bring purpose and meaning to their lives which, in turn, supports wellbeing and health. . Music is such a powerful and inclusive connector and enabler for everyone irrespective of age, situation or circumstance!
Shared joy
Beautiful interactions
The impact of musical experience extends beyond the session with older people saying they feel brighter, more involved and more hopeful as a consequence of engagement and consistent participation. Within the sessions, I encourage older people to co-create the sessions with me. This might involve such things as choosing songs and instruments and even writing new words to traditional songs! This results in older people feeling their voice is listened to and they have greater control and independence. Likewise, musicality helps the children with their early literacy and numeracy development. Interactions with older people also facilitates the critical oracy skills of speaking and listening, increasing vocabulary and using sentence structures correctly.
All of this promotes a real sense of shared joy that can be witnessed in the form of smiles, laughter, and beautiful interactions between young and old.
Stay and play in your care village
With the support of local nurseries, I lead stay and play music sessions which centre to promote learning for all within the care setting. We use a range of familiar and modern songs to develop our singing voices whilst using a selection of high quality props and instruments to bring an additional element of interaction and physicality. Interaction and relationship building are a crucial element of each session so that there is a growing sense of shared trust and safety as well as frequent opportunities to develop the speaking and listening skills of everyone.
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Content creator spotlight: Creating harmony together | Early Years Educator
Embracing the past for a bright future
The Sankofa Bird
What is Sankofa? Sankofa is an Akan word from Ghana and means "go back and fetch it". It is a symbol of a bird with its head turned backward, carrying an egg in its mouth, representing the idea of looking back at our past to learn from it and move forward.
Sankofa Songsters Intergenerational Choir
I work with local schools to establish sustained links between the young and old for the intergenerational choir. There are opportunities to practise separately and also to come together to share the joy of singing within the care setting. Larger scale and more formal experiences like concerts give everyone something to work towards and show progress and achievements to loved ones.
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Intergenerational Choir at Belong Care Village (tomorrowscare.co.uk)
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"Ready Generations is a national charity working to connect people of all ages. Our largest project is an intergenerational nursery in the heart of a care village in Chester. Amanda has been working alongside us as the project has grown over the last two years and been involved in the associated research. She has helped us to develop an inclusive weekly musical stay and play experience as well as an intergenerational choir, the Sankofa Songsters, both of which are going from strength to strength.
Amanda understands the importance of making sure everyone is able to make a contribution whatever their age or situation. She is passionate about what she does and everything is sensitively and thoughtfully planned. This results in wonderfully engaging opportunities for children older people, carers and families and to come together in ways that make learning fun and provide care that is both nurturing and enabling. We love having Amanda as a key member of our tribe!"
Sue Egerdorff Ready Generations Co-Founder
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