South East
- Nordoff Robbins Music Therapy Unit, Croydon
- Horsham Nursery, Children and Family Centre
- St Giles School, South Croydon
- Selhurst Children's Centre, Selhurst
- Tunstall Nursery School and Children's Centre, East Croydon
- Winterbourne Nursery, Thornton Heath
- Wolfson Neurorehabilitation Centre, Wimbledon
- Ellenor/Lions Children's and Adults' Hospice, Dartford
- Scream Studios Community Drop-In Group, South Croydon
Nordoff Robbins Music Therapy Unit, Croydon CR0 2HN
Nordoff-Robbins in collaboration with the BRIT Trust has opened a new Music Therapy Unit in the grounds of the BRIT School for Performing Arts & Technology in Croydon. The Unit opened in January 2009 at 62, The Crescent, CR0 2HN.
The Croydon Unit houses a music room, an office and a waiting space. The team of four Nordoff Robbins music therapists offers music therapy sessions 5 days a week for children and adults, in addition to developing music workshops, presentations, training, and research. Please contact Harriet Crawford (see end of page for details) if you would like to make a referral for music therapy sessions or to find out more about what we offer.
The Unit is also the base for a larger team of music therapists providing a Nordoff Robbins Music Therapy service in collaboration with partner organisations over a wider area of South London, Kent, Surrey and Sussex to people of all ages in local health, social care, educational and community settings. Harriet Crawford is currently developing the Nordoff-Robbins music therapy services in the South East. See below for details of current projects.
Nordoff Robbins music therapists will also be involved in projects within the BRIT School in 2009, working with BRIT staff to raise the students’ awareness and understanding of music therapy through educational sessions and observation of work. BRIT School students can also be offered music therapy as part of the established counselling service in the school.
St Giles School, South Croydon
St Giles School is a Special School for young people aged 4-16 who have physical disabilities, and may also have complex medical needs and associated learning difficulties. There has been Nordoff Robbins music therapy at St Giles over several years.
It is with gratitude that we acknowedge the generous support of the Relief in Need Charity, Croydon. Relief in Need has made it possible for Nordoff-Robbins to employ a music therapist to continue the music therapy provision at St Giles School. Pavlina Papadopoulou will work with students of all ages, including those children and teenagers in the school's new PMLD (profound and mulitple learning disability) unit.
This quote is from one of the teachers about a boy at St Giles with severe physical disability who had music therapy:
“It’s so amazing to see and hear D having the motivation to communicate like that with you at the piano. For anyone who has worked with him it is very inspiring to know how much such a withdrawn, disabled boy can communicate in music; in his expression, his voice and his playing.”
The BRIT School for performing arts also runs an outreach programme at St Giles. Harriet Crawford, Head Music Therapist in February 2008 took a group of 9 year 12 BRIT students into St Giles School for 2 weeks to make music with some of the pupils there. This was the culmination of several months' experiential work with the BRIT students on the Nordoff Robbins approach to musical improvisation.
Selhurst Sure Start Children's Centre, Selhurst
Work started in November 2005 at Selhurst Early Years Centre with nursery age children, many who arrive at nursery from backgrounds of social deprivation, and some with developmental delay.
After an initial 6-week pilot project, staff noticed positive changes in the children’s confidence, social skills and communication. The Early Years Centre has now increased the music therapy provision to one full day per week, which is provided by music therapist and cellist Melanie Wells. Melanie works in a specially designated music therapy room with individuals and small groups of children. She also gives open sessions in the classrooms, working together with staff, and runs a weekly drop-in group for parents/carers and young children.
Tunstall Nursery School and Sure Start Children's Centre, East Croydon
Music therapist Neil Foster has been working at this thriving children’s centre since January 2007. After a successful six week pilot period Neil began working with children both individually and in group settings, working closely with staff to assess the needs of the children. He works with the children in a variety of settings in the school, and music therapy takes place in the classrooms, including a large weekly drop-in group for perents/carers and children, and sometimes even in the playground as well as in the music therapy room.
Winterbourne Nursery School, Thornton Heath
Winterbourne Nursery School caters for young children on the autistic spectrum. Following a successful pilot project in the summer of 2006, Winterbourne Nursery decided to provide Nordoff Robbins music therapy for their children on a longer-term basis, to support and complement the work of the staff by offering communication through music. Lindsay McHale is the music therapist.
Wolfson Neurorehabilitation Centre, Wimbledon
Music therapy began here in November 2006, for one year initially, funded jointly by the St George’s Charitable Foundation and Nordoff Robbins. The Wolfson Centre provides rehabilitation to adults who require intensive therapy following acquired neurological conditions resulting in physical or psychological disabilities.
The music therapist, Shlomi Hason, works as a member of the multidisciplinary team in the hospital for one and a half days every week. He offers music therapy as part of a programme of care and rehabilitation for patients, which also includes neuropsychology, physiotherapy, speech and language therapy and more. Sessions can be one-to-one or in groups - sometimes including staff and/or relatives of the patients. The format chosen depends on the specific therapeutic needs of each person.
Ellenor/Lions Children's and Adults' Hospice, Dartford, Kent
Clare Greaves is the music therapist at Ellenor/Lions Hospice, working with children and adults with life-threatening illnesses and their families. She has worked since January 2007 as part of a team of nurses, counsellors and a play therapist. Working at first with young children, she is now developing and expanding the service to include music therapy with teenagers (using the latest in music technology!), with adults, and also music therapy sessions with bereaved siblings.
Horsham Nursery School, Children and Family Centre, Horsham, Sussex
Melanie Wells set up work here in the summer term of 2008. She works with a range of children in groups and individually, supporting communication, social and emotional development through the use of improvised music and structured musical activities and song.
Scream Studios Community Drop-In Group, South Croydon
This group runs in partnership with the South London and Maudsley NHS Community Mental Health team in Croydon. Music therapist Harriet Crawford co-ordinates a weekly afternoon of music-making for mental health service users in a space rented from local Scream Studios. The service users range from skilled musicians to complete beginners - all are welcome.
Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy South East
If you are interesting in finding out more about any aspect of the work of Nordoff Robbins in the South East, or you would like to set up or request a music therapy service, or refer a child or adult to the Nordoff Robbins BRIT Unit please contact the Head Music Therapist.
Harriet Crawford - Head Music Therapist
Tel: 020 8665 8636 / 07841 997894
Email: nrmt.southeast@nordoff-robbins.org.uk
Harriet Crawford studied clarinet and piano performance at the Guildhall School of Music and then worked for several years in London as a musician and music teacher before training with Nordoff Robbins. Since training she has worked as a music therapist with children in mainstream and special schools and also with adults in community and in-patient mental health settings. In 2005 Harriet started working as Head Music Therapist for Nordoff Robbins South East, developing music therapy posts in partnership with education and health organisations from South London to the Kent and Sussex coast. As part of this role, she heads up a team of music therapists working at the Nordoff Robbins Unit based at the BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology which opened its doors in January 2009.