SiFly DJing, health and education, music production

Future Pathways Alternative Provision

Good to be back with young people in a local School for young people who have experienced issues with mainstream education.

We had open discussions on places they would like to visit and what the attraction of those places were.

Amsterdam and California were some of the areas mentioned, so we discussed how much they were looking forward to the Tulips and Cali sunshine. We used this as an inspiration to create.

We had lots of laughs as we did the Speed Boat Ride excercise, which brings us out of our comfort zone and focuses us on being creative with what we have, whether our resources are limited or not.

There were a couple of young people who showed a real feel for the DJ elements of 90minutemusic and I look forward to to our paths crossing again in the future.

I was really pleased that the young people were open about challenges they faced with reading, writing and ADHD. It gave me an opportunity to share some of my personal experience and knowledge on the subject.

Thanks to Lauren for inviting us to a great facility in a good central location in Doncaster. Thanks again to Well Doncaster for their continued support.

SiFly health and education, music production

Brownies, Guides and Rainbows

Over the past couple of weeks we have been supporting one of the local groups.

My parents encouraged me to join the cubs as a young lad and it proved a good way to mix with other kids and learn about the outdoors.

Working in St Michael’s church in Skellow was a pure joy as we explored songwriting and beatmaking along with some electro acoustic Jams.

Thanks so much to Gemma and Fiona for inviting us. We met at a local Community gala organised by Well Doncasters’ Lauren Beaumont.

We met some young people who we had worked with previously and it meant a lot to us to witness them flourishing.

When parents get their children to participate in out of School activities they are giving them an opportunity to widen their social circle snd boost opportunities to develop support networks. This is increasingly valuable from a mental health perspective.

So a big thanks to all the parents out there who are putting the effort in, you will be rewarded with healthier more resilient young people.

SiFly DJing, health and education, music production

Adwick Primary School

“When we started I was quiet and didn’t want to talk much, but now if our teacher asks a question I will answer, I used to be scared to do things but now I find it easier to get involved, I enjoyed the beat pad most.” L.M aged 9

We asked if they felt anything had changed since we started 6 weeks ago.

It was our final session of 6 on Tuesday and I asked the children if they felt anything was different from when we met 6 weeks ago. 6 out of the 9 pupils recognised that they were more confident socially.

For us building strong social bonds and supercharging confidence are among our primary aims, but to hear them mirror back their understanding of it really made my day.

Over the past 6 weeks we have covered communication and discipline. Learning and development. Music from around the world. Songwriting and Music Production, DJing and the connections between Maths, Science, Art and Music.

We have Jammed, laughed, learnt about each other and explored the building blocks of Music.

Thanks to Miss Jenkins for taking part as well as supporting us through the sessions and thanks to all the School staff who made us feel welcome.

SiFly #SEND, DJing, health and education

Cura-Care Music Sensory group

“I love bringing him here, it gives him time away from me (mum) and gives him space to be himself.”

So nice to hear one of the mums appreciating the work of Paige and Rachel who share in our passion for supporting young people.

It was encouraging to hear from the ladies that there have been some positive leaps forward today.

Massive thanks to Well Doncaster for supporting us over the last few months and allowing us to work with so many different groups.

The highlight of my day today was just after the photo above, this young fella began to get creative and when he started to do some thing above and beyond, he turned to me and said “high five”

I gave him some skin and we carried on.

Thanks to everyone who who joined us today.

Upcoming sessions this week are.

Woodlands Library from 2.45 Monday, mixed age Askern Shakers from 7.00pm 11 to 16 Monday, Adwick Primary After School Club closed session, Tuesday Bullcroft Memorial Hall from 4.45pm Tuesday 7 to 11 Highfields Boxing Club from 4.45pm on Wednesday mixed age.

Free to join us. See you then

SiFly health and education, music production

Adwick Primary After School Club

Back at Adwick Primary today and a proud moment for us as Volunteer Matt finally got his chance to shine.

Loads of creative conversation about swimming with pigs and visiting far off lands as we discussed what the future might hold.

We have learnt a lot about each other and also focused on the importance of discipline and communication, we are all looking forward to getting stuck in with the technical equipment next week.

Thanks again to Miss Jenkins for leaving us a fantastic review on our Facebook page and for posing for the pic above.

SiFly health and education, music production

Adwick Primary, Askern Shakers, Woodlands Library.

Supercharging development in young people who don’t always engage is an important part of what we do.

At Askern Shakers youth club we worked on communication and respect. The mixed age group worked well. We talked about our connections to music and examined how music can support brain development. Our first visit to Shakers and what an asset for Askern, thanks to Mitchell for inviting us and thanks to Isiasha from Heal Me Happy for passing on our details.

At Woodlands Library we were joined by a group of 10 who had come from the Outwood Academy next door. They wanted to produce a Darkzy style tune, We identified the sounds and techniques and began emulating it using the technology. I explained to them that there would be a challenging journey ahead, but we use state of the art music production equipment, so coupled with our 25 years experience, we are able to get them there fast.

Week 4 of 6 and the Adwick Primary group are coming along as we expected, the initial shyness has become a burgeoning confidence and their coordination physically and socially is an achievement we are proud to play our part in.

The Charity Hub

We have also found time to update our level 3 safeguarding and visited The Charity Hub this week where we met with some local and national organisations and got to share our experiences while learning from theirs. Thanks to Vicki Beevers from The Sleep Charity and Nathan Kennedy from D. I. C. E. for guest speaking. And Brett Riley-Tomlinson and Clynton Johnson for inviting us.

And finally awesome to see our volunteers developing fast and getting a real insight into the research and skills which back up what we do, so big thanks to Dennis and Matt.

Upcoming workshops đź‘€

Me Project from 2.15 on Sunday Woodlands Library from 2.45 Monday, Askern Shakers from 7.00pm Monday, Adwick Primary School from 2.55 Tuesday, Bullcroft Memorial Hall 4.45pm Tuesday, Highfields Boxing Club 4.45pm Wednesday

SiFly Uncategorized

S.T.E.M……..THE FLOW.

Instant engagement is the key to delivering any kind of work with young people. Over the past 3 years our partner organisations have shared the benefits of our work such as reducing anxiety and building social confidence.

It’s fulfilling to hear the positive feedback we have received and we are blessed to have found partners who share our passion.

When you work with tools everyday they can almost become invisible to you, I think we sometimes take for granted our privilege of being able to use state of the art equipment and we often ignore the obvious elements of Science and Technology in our work.

  • This week we have given an opportunity for young blind people to closely communicate using the technology as a tool. We were Invited by the Ridge Employability College who are focused on giving young people employment opportunities in the community.
  • We have also spent time at Highfields Boxing Club where we opened up the conversation about how young people used technology and we all had different views of what a mobile phone is for.
  • We embraced sound design at Bentley Myplace this week and came up with a classic house groove. We sculpted sound using a synthesiser and made collaborative choices on what we were aiming for.
  • The STEM acronym is used a lot nowadays and there can be a fear factor surrounding maths and science, our focus is on the fun, so we feel the flow rather than the…….. Errrrrrrr no.

We have places available at Highfields Boxing Club on Wednesday night from 4.45pm

Also Bentley Myplace from 7.00pm on Wednesday.

SiFly health and education

The Ridge Employability College

An absolute joy to be invited this morning. The college specialises in supporting young people with additional needs in getting ready for employment and further training.

Great to meet up with former colleagues and reconnect with pupils who I worked with over the past 10 years while we have been developing 90 Minute Music.

We worked on communication and talked about how we feel when we are out of our comfort zone. Everyone engaged well and showed respect to myself and each other.

The importance of inclusion within the community is sometimes overlooked, but we share the passion of the staff here as they understand the value of giving opportunities for young people to develop into employment.

Big thanks to Team Ridge for inviting us and can’t wait to work with you again soon.

SiFly health and education

The ME-Project

A quick selfie!!

I have always been reluctant to share the awesome!!! work of The ME – Project. I have been working with them over the past couple of years with their Artfully Adapting programme.

It is a targeted programme which practically highlights artistic activities to support specific areas of young people’s lives. I always commend the participants for just turning up. The difficult part of the work for us, is sharing with the public just how much fun it is, while respecting confidentiality of the attendees.

When parents say to their kids “hey go down and try it” it must fill them with dread as they don’t know what they are walking into. I think everyone who joins is pleasantly surprised. The facilities are awesome and I always look forward to returning for a chocolate cookie, they always get the really nice ones.

Kat, Paige and the team are like a family. I think what has made it work so well is that they do it like us, they carry the deep knowledge and experience, which they keep inside like a book on a shelf, while being more focused in the moment of having fun and engaging.

So far every participant has enjoyed it, we have had a lot of fun, and at one point last night we had a 5 minute laughing fit with tears rolling down cheeks as I looked back and shared one of my stories from my school days.

The latest 6 week programme to support 12 to 16 year olds may still have a place left as I write this, check below for details.