Listening Together: Researching a Music Therapy Continuum for Children’s Wellbeing in Mainstream Schools
National data show that over a quarter of a million children in England are currently waiting for mental health support (Children’s Commissioner, 2024). At the same time, schools are increasingly playing a central role in early intervention through statutory wellbeing education and policy reforms (Department for Education, 2021; Gov.uk, 2024; NHS Digital, 2020). In response, ARU and West England Music and Arts (WEMA) led research into the Nurture Programme, an initiative delivering music therapy–informed practice to support children’s wellbeing and engagement, within mainstream primary schools. The programme reframes music therapy services as a continuum of support embedded within therapy, nurture groups, classroom routines, and whole-school practice.
This presentation explores how collaboration between a music therapy provider and an academic research institution enabled the co-development, evaluation, and refinement of an innovative research project that evaluated a service model extending beyond traditional one-to-one therapeutic provision. The programme integrates music therapy principles across nurture groups, classroom practice, and whole-school approaches, supporting preventative and relational work within education.
Drawing on findings from a mixed-methods evaluation, we discuss how practitioner expertise, organisational knowledge, and academic methodologies were combined to evaluate outcomes and implementation processes. The presentation highlights opportunities and challenges of researching complex, embedded interventions in schools, and the value of collaborative inquiry in generating robust, practice-relevant evidence.
The presentation also considers questions around the transferability of music therapy knowledge and skills. Discussion explores how music therapists can collaborate with educational professionals through training, consultation, and shared practice, and how music therapy-informed approaches might be ethically embedded within educational structures while maintaining therapeutic integrity. In doing so, the session contributes to conversations about interdisciplinary partnership, service innovation, and the evolving role of music therapy in supporting children’s wellbeing at scale.