North West
- Our base: Chetham's School of Music
- Adlington Manor, run by Barchester Healthcare
- Park Lane School, Macclesfield
- Grange School, Fallowfield, Manchester
- Piper Hill High School, Northern Moor
- Royal Manchester Children's Hospital (RMCH)
- Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital School
- The Waterside Resource Unit, Swinton
- Young Oncology Unit (YOU) Christie Hospital NHS Trust
- Harvey Early Years Children’s Centre, Bolton
- Neurological Rehabilitation Unit, Walton Centre, Liverpool
Music therapists:
Oksana Zharinova-Sanderson (Regional Head Music Therapist)
Richard Sanderson
Brigitte Schwarting
Felicity North
Rebecca Sayers
Robin Mitchell
Mary Clayton
Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy in the North West is growing rapidly. Currently seven music therapists between them provide music therapy every week to people of all ages in many different settings.
In addition to our work within host institutions, we are also able to offer a number of places for privately referred music therapy sessions in Manchester. Please contact us for further details.
This hard work is supported locally by a recently formed Fundraising Committee, chaired by Howard Sharrock. This amazingly energetic, determined and imaginative group of people have already organised a “Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy Launch”, some enjoyable and very successful fundraising events, and great publicity.
As a result, a network of people is developing in the area who are interested in the work of Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy and who are willing to support our growing remit in the region.
Our base: Chetham’s School of Music
We are grateful to Chetham’s School of Music for providing us with a base in the centre of the city. The students at Chetham’s are offered a weekly class, “Therapeutic Use of Music”, in which the students experiment and discover ways of using music creatively with people. The teaching includes aspects of improvisation, group work and understanding of disability and illness. The experiences gathered in these lessons are used by the students during music-making events in hospitals and schools, organised by us in collaboration with Chetham’s Outreach Department.
Where we currently offer music therapy in the North West:
Adlington Manor, run by Barchester Healthcare
Adlington Manor is a care home for older people and those suffering from dementia, based in Poynton, Cheshire. It offers a range of services to residents including nursing, dementia care, respite stay and specialist care including complementary therapist and music therapy. Since July 2006 NRMT has provided music therapy services at Adlington Manor. This is used both in individual and group settings, and the music therapist is also involved in other music making activities such as church choir, theme days and celebrations.
Park Lane School, Macclesfield
Music therapy sessions are provided at Park Lane School for children with severe, profound and multiple learning difficulties.
Grange School, Fallowfield, Manchester
Grange School is a school for children with complex learning difficulties, particularly those with autistic spectrum disorders. Since 2004 Nordoff-Robbins has provided a music therapist to work with children of all ages in individual and group settings. There is very good cooperation between music therapist and teachers, who acknowledge the value of music therapy for their students.
Piper Hill High School, Northern Moor
Piper Hill High School is for children aged 11-19 with severe learning difficulties that is based in Northern Moor, Manchester. It is a very successful school and has won awards and distinctions for the quality of its provisions. The staff at Piper Hill are supportive of, and enthusiastic about, music therapy. Nordoff-Robbins has provided music therapy at the school since April 2005. The music therapist works in the classrooms using guitar and voice and small percussion instruments with children who have profound and multiple disabilities. With children who have severe learning disabilities, the work takes place in a school hall where the music therapist uses piano and drums. Music has a high profile in a school and the music therapist is also involved in organising various music events.
Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital (RMCH)
NRMT currently offers music therapy at three Oncology and Haematology Wards at RMCH (Borchardt Unit, Short Stay Unit, Bone Marrow Transplant Unit). This work is supported by NRMT in conjunction with CLIC Sargent, a charity aiming to support children and young people with cancer and leukaemia as well as their families. The Oncology and Haematology Wards at RMCH are highly specialised units providing first-class medical care to the young patients up to the age of 15. Apart from medical staff these units benefit from collaborations with various specialists, including play therapists and teachers, who cooperate closely with music therapists. The music therapist works in a variety of different situations including: by the children’s beds, with groups and individuals, with parents and siblings, involving the nurses and the carers, using songs that children know and improvising, accompanying the storytelling session.
Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital School
Since April 2007 we are also offering music therapy on three more wards in the RMCH as well as for young people who attend RMCH School. This project is supported by the school and we collaborate closely with teachers who work there and who actively support music therapy work.
The Waterside Resource Unit, Swinton
The Waterside Resource Unit is a part of City of Salford’s New Directions Learning Disability Service, based in Swinton. It is a specialized unit offering all intensive therapies required for those individuals over 18 with multiple disabilities needing a complex package of care. Since September 2006 Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy North West has offered weekly music therapy in Waterside, focusing particularly on enabling the most disabled clients access to communication, relationship and expression. The staff of Waterside are very supportive of music therapy.
Young Oncology Unit (YOU) Christie Hospital NHS Trust
Following the completion of a successful pilot project in 2005 we are now offering 2 days of music therapy at YOU. The Christie's NHS Trust is the largest single-site cancer treatment centre in Europe and internationally recognised. The Young Oncology Unit at Christie’s Hospital is one of the eight units in Britain supported by the Teenage Cancer Trust. The Teenage Cancer Trust focuses on the needs of teenagers and young adults with cancer, leukaemia, Hodgkin's and related diseases by providing specialist teenage units in NHS hospitals. The music therapist at YOU works in a specially designated space for music therapy, and by the patients’ beds or in the outpatients waiting area. The work ranges from patients listening to music played by the therapist to patients actively improvising, song writing and recording. Music composed or sung during the sessions was performed during the Teenage Cancer Trust National Conference in 2007, and some of these songs are also available for listening on the internet.
Harvey Early Years Children’s Centre, Bolton
This project is supported by Bolton PCT and aims to create a music therapy base in the Bolton area, serving both users of the Early Years Children’s Centre and also other children in the community. The music therapist has also set up music therapy sessions in a special needs school in the area, Green Fold School (see below).
Neurological Rehabilitation Unit, Walton Centre, Liverpool
In September 2007 we began offering music therapy on this Unit, which provides rehabilitation services to people with various forms of brain injuries, including strokes.
If you are interested in finding out more about the work of Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy North West, or if you would like to set up or request a music therapy service, please contact us on:
Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy in the North West
tel - 0161 8387231
fax - 020 7267 4369
email - nrmt.northwest@nordoff-robbins.org.uk
For ideas and suggestions on Fundraising for Nordoff-Robbins in the North West please contact the Manchester Fundraising Committee at howard.sharrock@ntlworld.com.