Explore Evaluation with Take Art (Early Years) - November 2022

Youth Music supports Early Years music projects and programmes across the country. Over the last three years we’ve invested over £2.8 million (9% of our total investment) in 53 projects, and projects have reported working with over 21,900 0–5-year-olds. This session was developed in response to requests from our funded partners for an Early Years focussed session, giving opportunity for funded partners to ask EY focussed questions. The session was co-led by Remi Fairweather Stride (Insights Manager, Youth Music), and Zoe Kilb (Head of Grants, Youth Music) and Jane Parker and Sue Young from Take Art.

With so much to cover in a limited time we couldn’t answer everyone’s questions in the session. So this blog aims to cover some of those unanswered questions, as well as providing a summary of some of topics covered in the session. There is a list of useful resources and evaluation tools at the end of the blog – which we hope you find useful.
 

Youth Music’s approach to evaluation

Your evaluation is primarily for your learning. We believe you can learn from what didn’t go to plan just as much as what did. Here are some key principles we use within our approach to evaluation at Youth Music:

Flexibility. There are some standard questions you will have answer, but the main part of your report can be submitted in whatever format you choose (e.g. written report, webpage, PowerPoint, podcast, video). We do not require a specific way to conduct or present your evaluation, choose what works best for you.

Multi-purpose outputs. You can create something to use beyond reporting to us (e.g. reporting to other funders, promoting your project, as a training tool, case studies for your website). What audiences and wider communities can benefit from sharing your learning?

Proportionality. Your evaluation doesn’t have to cover every part of your project. It’s better to be focussed and do something really well than do too much and overstretch yourself.

Budget/time. Include budget for evaluation time and roles, and build it into your project timeline. This includes building in reflection time along the way to see if you need to adapt your approach.

Essential monitoring data. There are some data Youth Music asks you to collect and we have tried to make this as light-touch as possible. Make sure you know what it is before you start delivery. You can see which data we require you to collect by looking at our reporting templates here. Other data you collect should be to support your organisational learning and is bespoke to you. It's not solely about providing evidence but how the sources can demonstrate change and progress.

If you’re unsure where to start, take a look at our Trailblazer Evaluation guidance, or if you’re using an outcomes approach use our Plan, Do, Review guidance.
 

SoundWaves Network SW

Take Art is currently delivering the SoundWaves Network SW, which is a consortium of organisations (including Music Education Hubs) who are invested in and committed to supporting and developing high-quality Early Childhood infrastructure across the South West. Evaluation is embedded into Take Art’s approach, it’s part of the planning stage and their evaluator is involved in the design stage. Evaluation is not a separate ‘add on’ process, but learning and reflection is built into delivery.

You can explore Take Art’s work on their website, which includes video resources, case studies and the evaluation report from their 2018-2021 programme.
 

The current context

When developing Early Years work we need to take into account the current context; in particular the challenges and realities for the EY sector. Settings vary – so work needs to take into account these variables, which can include size and location, pupil demographics, whether they are state maintained or part of the private, voluntary and independent sector (PVI) or whether they have access to pupil premium funding. Urban based settings tend to be bigger, better connected and a more diverse intake, compared to rural based ones which are often smaller, more isolated with a homogeneous demographic. Project design and delivery (including evaluation) needs to take all of this into account. Current policy contexts for the Early Years sector present challenges that need considerations; accountability can drive evaluation, alongside expectations that arts activities produce measurable value, and that top-down outcomes (set by government or funders) be met.

Practicalities for delivering music projects in EY settings require management of setting expectations, working around staff’s (limited) availability and thought given to how to music will be embedded once the project is finished. Solutions required good partnership working and communication, understanding a setting’s context and aligning your work with their aims (e.g. lining to the EYFS framework), considering when and how training is delivered, and ensuring learning is embedded into the project, so that music is not just ‘done to the setting’ by an external organisation/individual but can become embedded in a setting.

 

Early years youth voice consultation, useful feedback from participants – practice based evaluation

“Our youth voice consultation includes a taster musical play session in a setting, to understand how the children we want to work with respond to this kind of approach to music making. How to record and explain that response to make it meaningful for evaluation?”

This data can be collected using qualitative data collection tools. Qualitative data usually refers to non-numerical data, such as text or images. Some examples of ways to capture this are photos, interviews, video recordings or observer notes.

Our Qualitative data analysis guidance (which can be found on the evaluation further evaluation resources page on the Youth Music Network) outlines some of the best practices for analysis of this type of data. After completing the analysis, you can narrate your findings to outline the learning and outcomes: how did it shape your programme moving forward? Did you conduct more taster sessions?

 

How to get feedback from parents & carers? (and find space for them to think and reflect when caring for a young child!)

“Just wanted to share that with past projects we have done interviews with parents before, during and after. Short clips about expectations, emotions, thoughts. We found this to be incredibly rewarding. It has become our favourite way of reflecting, development and managing expectations.”

Choosing to collect data from parents and carers can be particularly useful as a data collection point for triangulation or for when you cannot directly speak to the CYP e.g., Early Years participants.

It’s important to acknowledge the capacity of parents and carers, so think about the frequency and moment of collection. One method is to use open diaries set up in the workspace that they can use at their leisure.

 

Additional questions

How to evaluate projects with babies (0-12 month old)

Acknowledging a child’s agency is important when approaching evaluation with babies: they are active, not passive.

There are a few different scales/methods you can use to evaluate your project. Here are some examples:

• Involvement and well-being scale – Ferre Laevers
• Sounds of intent scale – Adam Ockelford
• Musical development matters – Nicola Burke
• Music with the Under-Fours – Susan Young

There are also family therapy approaches which use the emotions of parent[s]/carer[s] as a barometer. Please also see the Early Years evaluation resources at the end of the blog for additional options.

How to make evaluation manageable for Music Leaders working on their own in a setting.

Embedding your evaluation practice into your sessions can be beneficial, particularly if you have capacity or time constraints.

Some funded partner suggestions included:

• Video observations
• A from with a set of questions you can fill out on the go
• Voice notes in-between sessions

 

Confused? Overwhelmed?

Reach out to your Youth Music contact – we can help! Or you can reach out to others in your network/others doing Early Years work (we can put you in contact if you need help). You can explore the organisations we currently invest in with this project map.
 

Early Years evaluation resources

There are lots of resources, research and approaches to evaluation Early Years work. Youth Music does not have a preferred approach and instead encourages you to explore and find what works for you.
 

• Youth voice in early years: Guidance on how to implement Youth Voice in your Early Years work.
• Starcatchers: Offers a set of indicators for work with babies. 
• Leaven Scales: For measuring wellbeing and involvement.
• Sounds of Intent in the Early Years: A framework which explains how young children develop musically. It gives ideas for activities suited to children at different stages of musical development and provides a simple way of recording achievements and monitoring musical development.
• Musical Development Matters: by Nicola Burke has been written to complement Development Matters, providing support for practitioners, teachers, musicians and parents to see the musical attributes of young children, offering ideas as to how they can support and nurture children’s musical development. Accompanying resources are available on the Youth Music Network.
• Music with the Under Fours (Susan Young): Appendix lists musical behaviors of children and of adults being musical with babies, child etc.
• Reggio Emilia Approach: Carlina Rinaldi outlines their Pedagogy of Listening in this article.  More information about the Reggio Emilia approach in the UK can be found on the Sightlines Initiative website.
• Mosaic Approach: A multi-method approach developed by Alison Clark and Peter Moss for listening to and gaining understanding of children’s perspectives. Read more in their book ‘Listening to Young Children’. This article by Alison Clark gives an overview.  
• Tune Into Listening: A resource by Nicola Burke about auditory environments in EY settings. Offer ideas, questions and activities to explore.
• Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS): The statutory framework that sets the standards that school and childcare providers must meet for the learning, development and care of children from birth to 5.
• Development Matters in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS): By Early Education is non statutory guidance to support practitioners in implementing the statutory requirements of the EYFS.
• Birth to 5 Matters: Non-statutory guidance to support practitioners to meet the statutory requirements of the EYFS. Emphasises the child at the centre of practice and the rights of the child.  
• Youth Music Quality Framework for use In Early Years settings: A tool to help you plan for an evaluate quality in your work. Particularly useful for explaining Youth Music’s approach to ‘Youth Voice’ in the Early Years.

If you have any feedback or further questions, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with your Grants & Learning Officer, or the Insights team at insights@youthmusic.org.uk.