Steve Grocott

Steve Grocott

Early Education Associate

Steve is a professional musician, composer and qualified teacher who specialises in music and storytelling in the Early Years. He has appeared on television, radio and concert venues throughout the country and recorded many CDs for the Educational publishers A&C Black including the widely used Music Express and Singing Phonics series. He has given practitioner training for over twenty institutions and universities including local authorities, The Institute for Education, The Child-minders Association and for The Centre for Literacy in Primary Education, who use his CDs in their own courses. He has written articles for publications such as Nursery World and presented papers to conferences for BECERA (British Early Childhood Education Research Association) and MERYC (Music Educators and Researchers of Young Children). During thirty years of making music in Early Years settings he has collected and recorded more than a hundred of the best songs, rhymes, games, and stories. These appear on his Sparks series and Story Song CDs and form a basis for his courses. The material is accessible, infectious and multicultural ensuring that practitioners are keen to get back to their settings and share it with their children. His courses are highly enjoyable and full of simple practical material and ideas that practitioners who are not confident in their musical abilities are able to use. In addition, each activity illuminates a general pedagogical principle such as: how children learn, the connections between music and all areas of the EYFS, ways of structuring music sessions and how to value and encourage children’s innate musicality and creativity. “Steve is a superb musician, and has a wonderful way with both children and adults. His songs combine two of the most important things in children’s music education: subtle but well-targeted pedagogy, and great fun!” Nikhil Dally – Stepping Notes Music School

Areas of expertise​

  • Music across the EYFS

  • Music for phonics and communication

  • Music for health and well-being

  • Music and maths

Sample courses

Music and the Early Years Foundation Stage Statutory Framework - delivered by Steve Grocott

From before the moment of birth music and movement are integral to the healthy growth of the child both as an individual and in connecting with others and the outside world. This course provides the means for practitioners to foster that growth during the baby stage, through the early years and beyond.

While it is stressed that music making is a holistic thing this course gives activities that specifically address the three prime and four specific areas of learning, the three learning characteristics and the four guiding principles specified in the EYFS.

Aims and objectives - Delegates will have opportunities to:

  • Gain a repertoire of tried and tested multicultural songs, games and rhymes that is rich in content and that children enjoy
  • Learn how to use this new material (and the songs they already know) to address each part of the EYFS statutory framework
  • Learn to provide opportunities for musical play and ideas for extending that play
  • Take away simple ideas and techniques that increase their confidence in their innate musicality including help with developing lively rhythm work and using instruments

There is a CD/booklet that contains the material in this course.

Audience: All Early Years practitioners

Music and Phonics - delivered by Steve Grocott

This highly enjoyable and accessible course focuses on ways of fostering early phonological development using carefully chosen musical activities and play. It follows the “Letters and Sounds” document Phase One. Steve recorded the CDs for A&C Black’s Singing Phonics series. While there is a focus on laying the foundations for phonics the activities are holistic and will contribute to all aspects of children’s development.

Aims and objectives - Delegates will have opportunities to:

  • Learn tried and tested songs rhymes and games that their children will love to sing
  • Gain an understanding of the integral relationship between music and early phonological development
  • Boost their ability and confidence in all their musical activities with ideas linked to “Letters and Sounds”
  • Learn simple ideas for using body percussion and rhythm sticks that will make a big difference to their sessions
  • Learn how to encourage children’s experience of instrumental sounds and using instruments

There is a CD/booklet that contains the material in this course.

Audience: All Early Years practitioners

Music and Stories to Support Communication and Language - delivered by Steve Grocott

Sharing stories and music is arguably the primary method we have of passing culture on to our children.  Including stories in our early years music making enriches the activity immeasurably. This practical workshop is about how to bring the story out in our songs and how to put music into our stories.

Aims and objectives - Delegates will have opportunities to:

  • Learn new highly tellable and memorable stories and story songs
  • Learn ways to encourage children’s own stories and story play
  • Learn about acting out stories and how music can help
  • Think about telling stories without books – creating magic and shiny eyes in the room
  • Discuss the usefulness or otherwise of props and costumes
  • Gain a mental toolbox of basic story elements and structures and see how this helps with an improvisatory approach to story telling and making

The CD/ROM that accompanies this course was made with Pie Corbett and forms part of the Early Years element of his Talk for Writing project.

Audience: All Early Years practitioners

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