CHHOTU – For Little Ones (Ages 0–5)

• ‘Musical Journeys: A Day at the Pond/Mausam' developed in partnership with OrchestrasLIVE, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment (OAE), and AMP in 2021-22. This multi-part digital resource for early years featuring music and takes young children through a day in the life of a pond, it introduces musical themes and concepts through four bitesize films, which prepare the young audience for a final celebration performance. The illustrated resource is still available for settings to purchase at the following LINK
• ‘Songs from South Asia' compiled and edited by Mona Zeidan and Beccy Owen: this is an older resource we had access to in physical format. To be able to present it to an early years group we needed to review, adapted, and test it. The resource has been used during our 6 free sessions in July 2025.

Our plan to make use of these existing resources has been realised and both ‘Musical Journeys' and ‘Songs from South Asia' were well received by the young children who participated in the project.
 

"The session was so beautifully curated and put together. Very special." – Parent attending live performance of ‘Musical Journeys' at Acland Burghley School in north London, March 2024 (from Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment)
 

“Very nice, Harkirat enjoyed herself. Thanks for having us here.” – Parent attending ‘Songs from South Asia' session in Leeds, July 2025.

Geographically we wanted to create new connections locally, however in Year 1 we started our work by reaching out in North Yorkshire, delivering a tour of the early years resource ‘Musical Journeys: A Day at the Pond/Mausam' with our partners OrchestrasLIVE, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment (OAE), and AMP. This partnership with great creative collaborators brought about meaningful engagement in the cities of Richmond, Whitby, and Skipton, and our alignment of values has been essential in delivering this part of the project successfully. In particular the OrchestrasLIVE team brought with them a set of specialist skills in resource development and delivery, early years work, and CPD training that supported us in positively developing our practice in this area.
 

"The project was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, as it gave us an opportunity to connect with early years. Within 10 weeks we have closely worked with students and discovered so much talent that could blossom with guidance and training in the creative field. Early years students have so much curiosity and have curiosity to know more about South Asian music and dance. It would be great to do more school projects like this one.” - Jyoti Manral, Kathak Dancer and Early Years practitioner.
 

“Our partnership with AMP, OAE, and SAA-uk has explored the blend of orchestral and South Asian music to create a unique early years' experience. ‘A Day at the Pond' featured a new commission by Preetha Narayanan and integrated Kathak dance to bring the music to life for young children. We look forward to collaborating with SAA-uk to expand this project to more communities next year.”- Becky West, Regional Producer North, Orchestras LIVE.
 

“SAA-uk has been a valued partner, enriching our early years project, Mausam: A Day at the Pond, which evolved from an online resource to a live touring performance. Their collaboration with OAE has created a unique blend of music that introduces children in remote areas to different cultures. The inclusion of Kathak dance has been particularly thrilling for them. This partnership has also inspired SAA-uk to develop its own early years program, and we look forward to supporting its growth with training and mentoring.” - Sarah McWatt, Director, AMP.

 

Image Credit: John Henry Baker (OAE)

Following this period of touring and learning, we were able to connect with more local settings throughout the autumn/winter of 2024-25. Based on the local ward data from the 2021 census, we were able to make an approximate estimate of the population we would be reaching in each area:

• Colton Primary School, Leeds (LS15, Temple Newsam ward) – 3% Asian population
• Outwood Primary Academy Ledger Lane, Wakefield (WF1, Stanley and Outwood East ward) – 4% Asian population
• Chapel Allerton Primary, Leeds (LS7, Chapel Allerton ward) – 17% Asian population
• Lapage Primary School and Nursery, Bradford (BD3, Bowling and Barkerend ward) – 54% Asian population

Overall, one setting was located in a ward with majority South Asian population, one had substantial South Asian population, and two with majority White population. The response was positive across the board. The teachers from the school located in an area with South Asian majority population appreciated having access to a resource that was culturally relevant for their specific setting. On the other hand, settings with lower South Asian population were able to access a rich artistic tradition through sound and a story that was universal and highly engaging.
 

Looking back at where we started when we wrote our application for the Chhotu: Little One project, we had a clear goal: to research, develop and embed in our Education work an early years music programme.
 

This has been achieved but not without challenges along the way:
 

• Our team suffered from several internal changes throughout the 2-year project, which is something we would not have been able to predict. To mitigate this we changed some of the timeline to fit opportunities for collaboration and training that presented themselves along the way. We are also pleased to say that the time spent by the delivery artists in training and development has allowed us to spot talent and find the right person for the early years role we needed within the organisation to further refine and embed this new strand of work in our existing academies, in a way that is interactive and engaging.
• We were keen to understand the needs of families with children aged 0-5; their current engagement with arts and cultural activities, and more specifically with music. Working in small group sessions showed us how the interaction between adults and children plays a unique role in early years engagement. During the sessions the adults needed some prompting in order to engage in the activity, which in turn helped the young child learn by imitation. Having observed this, the idea of music as a way to connect as well as entertain is something we will explore further for under-5s engagement and learning.

What's next for Chhotu? Following the conclusion of the project in July 2025, we will present early years activities as part of our yearly music Summer School, opening its doors on Saturday 2nd of August. This week-long summer camp is open to children aged 5 and above, giving us the perfect opportunity the engage with an “older” early years group.
 

From September 2025, with the start of our new academic year, we will kick-start a series of Tuesday sessions for all children aged 0 to 5. The implementation of early years classes in our music academies was a core ambition we had when we began this journey in 2023: we now have the confidence, training, and skillset to deliver these sessions as part of our regular education offer, with the intention of Early Years becoming a permanent strand of our work and legacy of the Chhotu project.