Musicbuds Learning

This course is designed for all the practitioners, students, parents and carers of 3 - 7 year olds. It provides you with small 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

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

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

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.

Firstly, on a practical level, it offers you the opportunity to focus on the issues surrounding Diversity. Just for 3 x 5 minutes every other 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.

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!

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!

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!