A diverse group of people in a music classroom, some playing instruments like guitars, violins, and percussion, with a few standing and others sitting, engaging with a musical performance in progress.

MUSIC TREEHOUSE

A logo for Music Treehouse featuring a green house with a musical note inside, surrounded by musical notes, on a bright yellow background.

for SEN/D students aged 2-25
developing music-making expression, communication and skills

“Music Treehouse has definitely developed my daughter’s love of playing and she can now play a tune and never stops singing!”
— PARENT
Young girls playing violins in a classroom or music room, some smiling and focused, surrounded by chairs and musical equipment.

Music Treehouse has offered a much-needed SEN/D extension of our Saturday Programme since 2015, enabling us to broaden our inclusion to students who are often isolated and overlooked outside of the school environment. 

What does Music Treehouse offer?

Music Treehouse offers children aged 2-25 with a wide range of mild to severe, profound and complex needs the opportunity to develop their creative music-making, expression, communication, and social skills through working with a team of experienced musicians, renowned workshop leaders and uniquely, the option of individual sessions with a music therapist.

  • Music Treehouse focuses on interaction and basing the learning around the students, rather than the students learning a set curriculum. Music’s multi-dimensional tools are proven to be hugely motivational enabling SEN/D students to develop skills faster than any other activity by engaging several modes of learning including multi-sensory, tactile, visual, auditory and kinaesthetic.

    Working together to create music is integral to the Saturday Programme, which is hugely sociable for both parents and students, and we aim to provide a sense of community for everyone that attends. 

The Music Treehouse Programme

  • Our Music Box programme has been specifically tailored for young children with SEND, focusing on sensory play and song.

  • Our primary stream of Music Treehouse focuses on storytelling, sensory play and song, using music as a tool in order to develop creative expressive and key life-skills. 

  • Within our secondary stream of Music Treehouse are two groups; Beech and Cedar. Both sessions allow our young musicians to explore instrumental improvisation and composition, with many of our young musicians progressing from playing percussion to playing violin, guitar, clarinet, flute and keyboard, as well as writing and performing their own songs. Cedar allows those with more profound needs, or those who are new to Music Treehouse, to develop skills in a smaller group setting.

  • Working alongside the sessions a HCPC registered Music Therapist from one of our core partners Music Therapy Tree, offers 1:1 support or small group Music Therapy sessions for those who are unable or not yet ready to access group sessions or for those who require tailored support.

Apply for Music Treehouse
“My son is always excited about coming to play an instrument and really enjoys the tutors. At Music Treehouse his anxieties simply melt away.”
— PARENT

Thanks to our funders, Music Treehouse is offered free of charge to all participants.

We are very grateful for the support of:

Richer Sounds

The Community Fund

City Bridge Foundation

Arts Council England

Richersounds logo with tagline 'Experience Better'
Logo with a cartoon hand making a finger-crossed gesture and text that reads 'Community Fund' with 'Community' in pink and 'Fund' in black.
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“K has enjoyed the group sessions very much and always looks forward to the next session. It’s so nice to see her being so happy and taking part. The music therapy intervention offers a powerful way to improve language skills and social pragmatic skills through conversational lyrics, imitating body movements, language cooperative play and group activities and participation. Her ability to communicate as well as her speech has improved so much since joining. ”
— PARENT
A group of children and an adult woman playing violins during a music class or rehearsal, sitting on chairs in a room.
A man and a young girl playing musical instruments in a room with chairs, guitars, and a person sitting at a table in the background.
“I had fun and I enjoyed Music Treehouse because I did very well.”
— PARTICIPANT
Two young girls sitting on chairs, playing musical instruments; one with a clarinet, the other with a flute, in a classroom setting.

Timetable

SATURDAYS

The Music Box SEN/D – 11:00 – 11:30

Saplings A – 11:35 – 12:15

Saplings B – 12:20 – 13:00

Beech – 13:00 – 14:30

Cedar – 15:00 – 15:45

Music Therapy sessions take place between 12.00 – 16.00.

Please arrive 15 minutes before your session begins.

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CYMH
Jena and The Stem Sisters
Trenchbrothers
Music Treehouse
ICS - Music Theatre
JJJA
ICS Minis
ICS
Music Treehouse
One SPirit
A young child playing drums with two drumsticks, focused on the drum set, wearing a yellow knit sweater, standing on a checkered pair of shoes. An adult's leg and hand are partially visible next to the child.

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A group of children singing or performing on stage with blue curtains in the background.

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Group of children singing on stage, with some raising their hands and others with expressions of concentration, during a performance.

The Minis prepares Year 1 and Year 2 children for both music theatre and instrumental studies through a fun, structured 2-year programme.

Children performing on stage during a play or musical, with varied expressions and gestures.

Music Theatre School for students in Years 3 – 13 offering students the opportunity to experience the excitement of musical theatre training and performance.

Orchestra rehearsing on stage with conductor, diverse group of young musicians playing string, woodwind, and percussion instruments, stage equipment, and large blank screen backdrop

HMDT’s Instrumental School offers students ages 5 upwards an extensive curriculum including group and individual instrumental tuition, singing, musicianship and ensembles

Group of young musicians performing on stage, with saxophone, trumpet, double bass, and drum set.

Offering talented young instrumentalists and vocalists an amazing opportunity to work with some of the world’s top jazz musicians

A diverse group of people in a music rehearsal room, with some playing instruments like drums, guitar, violin, and flute, and others sitting or standing, listening and participating in a music session.

A new method of integrating music therapy into regular activity for Students with SEN/D needs

APPLY FOR THE SATURDAY PROGRAMME
APPLY FOR THE MUSIC TREEHOUSE
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Home of The Saturday Programme

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HMDT Music, twice winner of the prestigious Royal Philharmonic Society Award for Education and winner of the Excellence in Music Theatre Award is a leader in creating inspiring projects for young people, particularly those facing challenging experiences, through which it aims to enrich learning, broaden awareness of and help fight inequity and transform lives.

> Read more about HMDT Music here

Three award badges for music and education awards, including RPS Music Awards 2008 and London Youth Quality Mark, and a black rectangular WINNER award for music and drama education.