Become a confident and inspiring Diversity practitioner
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Learn about Diversity and how it relates to child development
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Identify the challenges you need to look out for
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Build strategies and methods to support Diversity understanding
Do you feel uncomfortable talking about Diversity with your 3 - 7 year olds?
Do you feel really awkward when the children point out another child's skin is a different colour? Or that their hair is different? Or that they dress differently?
(And you can always guarantee the children will use their loudest voice and ask these questions in the most public and difficult settings!)
Are you embarrassed and self-conscious when it comes to answering these questions? You want to be open and honest in the way you reply, but really don't feel confident that you're addressing their curiosity in the best way?
When thinking about Diversity, are you paralysed by the fear of 'doing it wrong' even though you really really want to get it 'right'?
If, after sighing heavily, you have said 'yes' to any or all of these questions, then don't worry any more. We have just the information you need to become confident, skillful and assured in the way you respond to these questions.
We all know we need to get better at positively promoting diversity. And yet, many of us struggle with how to do this respectfully to such a young age group.
So, how can we help? By offering you this 'simple-steps' approach to increasing your Diversity awareness and understanding.
As educators, parents and carers, we need to make it easier to understand and promote Diversity awareness to everyone.
What will I learn?
Over the 15 sessions you will develop:
- greater confidence in your knowledge and abilities to promote Diversity positively
- an understanding that Diversity is a fluid term encompassing a wide range of aspects and perspectives
- strategies and skills that help you to share your understanding effectively with your children
- an awareness and recognition of the unconscious biases that operate around us which sometimes 'derail' our good intentions
- the skills to apply your knowledge effectively and efficiently in your setting
- a set of reflective tools that you can use to support yourself and your children as you continue to grow
- the skills you need to draft your own, personal, Diversity policy to use both in your professional practice and for your daily life too!
After participating in this fascinating course you'll have a deeper understanding of how to promote diversity, and a new-found confidence in how to explore and share all these wonderful resources in your practice!
What materials will I have to take away from this course?
Your own Diversity Awareness Toolkit to use
In addition to all the skills and confidence you will have developed, you will also have a variety of materials to refer to including:
- Your OWN set of strategies to use when you meet challenging questions and situations
- Your very own Diversity Policy to guide and support you throughout your daily practice
Come and join us!
We'd love your company on this journey!
We know how difficult it is to 'do' Diversity understanding with our 3 - 7 year olds. That's why we've designed this introductory course! If you are a practitioner, parent or carer for 3 - 7 year olds, then this is for YOU!
Who is your guide?
Dr Clare Seymour; Co-Founder of Musicbuds.
Clare has spent much of her professional career (over 30 years) in international settings. Part of her Doctoral research involved exploring the often hidden aspects of institutional racism. As a result she has a longstanding interest in, and passion for, promoting positive Diversity.
In addition to school music-teaching, Clare also has over 10 years' experience working as an international music examiner - an understanding and respect for Diversity is so crucially important in every aspect of her practice.
She's also a mentor and trainee-examiner supervisor and has provided teacher-training workshops and seminars across the world. She has also completed a number of Early Years' music-education consultancies and song commissions for the BBC.
In this simple, but thought-provoking course, Clare combines her Doctoral knowledge (in music-education, social psychology and child development) with her extensive practical teaching experience in diverse settings. In this course her aim is simply to support others in developing their understanding and confidence in promoting the benefits of equitable diversity for all.
She demonstrates how you can easily transform your beliefs about your own efforts - from doubt and uncertainty to vision and confidence - so that Diversity becomes an integral, sensitive, successful and enjoyable part of your everyday practice.
Clare is a Fellow of the Incorporated Society of Musicians
What do people say about this course and about working with Clare?
So many great ideas!
"There were so many great ideas packed into one spontaneous session. Thank you so much for sharing your time and expertise with all our teachers - we can't wait to use them in our lessons."
Thanks for your hard work
"Thank you so much for your work, and it’s great to hear that the workshops are going so well!"
We love your sessions!
"We love your sessions! We both love coming and discovering new music activities that we can carry on at home. Looking forward to the next sessions!"
I thought you were brilliant!
"I had a great time under your tutelage and, if I had any doubts about wanting to do this job (or not), your input, guidance, expertise and good humour have erased them. You are such a professional! I thought you were brilliant at conciliating the seriousness of the job with being relaxed and focused at the same time."
The students had a great experience!
"Clare Seymour had a lot of comments from candidates about how nice she was. One even came out of her exam and said 'I didn't feel nervous at all, because she was so nice'. The students had a great experience & they all loved her as their examiner. If you continue to have such examiners like her, for sure it will be most popular music exam board. :-)"
Just what I've been looking for!
This is a great course! At last you've done what we talked about so many times, and you have done it so well. The content is clear, the chunks of learning are manageable and you have made me think so deeply about the things I say and do with my pupils!
Got a question?
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Who can join this course?
This course is designed for all the practitioners, students, parents and carers of 3 - 7 year olds. It provides you with small daily snippets of information about Diversity awareness, suggests ways in which you can include these aspects into your own daily practice, and then gives you some ideas to think about on how to carry on improving your delivery
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Why is Diversity-understanding important for educators and carers of 3 - 7 year olds?
Because of our own unconscious biases (we detail these during the course) it is likely that we're not even aware of the ways in which we may be behaving differently towards children of different races, ethnicities or cultures. It is important to question ourselves on these issues, but we need to do so in a caring, supportive and respectful space. That's why we've designed the course in the way that we have - so that you can digest the information and reflect privately on your own responses and behaviours towards others who are different
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How much detail do you cover?
We define many of the different aspects of Diversity as it relates to us both personally and within our Musicbuds setting. We look at institutional and unconscious biases and the ways in which some common behaviours can actually be prejudicial towards others. We reflect on these findings and then suggest ways in which you can apply your understanding to your own daily practice
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So what do I come away with?
Besides a deeper understanding of Diversity issues, you will receive a variety of resources and guides, packed full of information and tips about how to take your knowledge and apply it in your own setting. Towards the end of the course, we start to think about our own Diversity practice - what informs it and how we can employ strategies to help us when we encounter awkward situations and when we need to respond to challenging questions.
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How does this help me?
Firstly, on a practical level, it offers you the opportunity to focus on the issues surrounding Diversity. Just for 5 minutes every day. On a psychological level, it takes away the anxiety surrounding your discussions with the children and replaces this with confidence and security. Socially, it makes you the person that your children want to come to in order to discuss issues that concern them - they know you will listen without judgement, provide them with perspectives to think about and offer them respectful ways of relating to others.
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15 minutes a day is too difficult to manage
That's why we will drip-feed the content to you every other day. It gives you some thinking time and space between each topic. Also, it's entirely up to you how you consume this course. You could complete the 15 minutes over lunch all in one go, or you might choose to use the 5-minutes reading time as a coffee-break, and then think about the application topics and reflections while you go about your other daily tasks - exercising, doing the chores, shopping etc. Alternatively, you might like to follow the course every few days and devote bigger chunks of time to it less frequently. We have designed this so that you can use it in whichever way suits you best!
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What if I've got questions or don't understand something?
You can message us directly from the course if you have any questions at all - we'd be very happy to help you or discuss any thoughts you may have. We want to serve you in the best way possible, so all your comments, observations and questions are very welcome!
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Why have you designed this course?
Because we know, from experience, how difficult it is to 'do' Diversity respectfully and sincerely in our settings. We identify with so many of the feelings and anxieties practitioners have around this difficult topic, and we know there has to be a way to do it differently, and more easily - in smaller steps and with direction. On this journey, we want to provide an honest, open and supportive space where we can all explore and improve together!
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*What is a BETA version?
Why would I want to join?
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What is a Beta course? This is, basically, our final 'dress-rehearsal' before we launch it to the educational market as a valuable paid-for CPD course. We want to add the finishing touches by addressing any parts of the content that don’t resonate with you, or glitches that you experience. We'd also like to respond to any ideas and suggestions you may have, so that the course can continue to improve, evolve and grow as we move forward together.
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Why should you join? Well, first and foremost, this is a heavily-discounted version of what will be a more expensive course later in the year. We want to serve you and give you the best experience possible. If you are committed to working through the modules conscientiously, then we would love you to participate and share your opinions with us!
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How can you offer feedback? Each section of the course has a Discussion option so you can comment as you work through the course. Alternatively you can email us. There will also be the opportunity to join in with some Zoom session discussions too.