Aimed at children aged 4 to 14 years attending out of school clubs and holiday play schemes, Come and Play provides children who have had little access to music making out of school hours, with a unique opportunity to learn about the different aspects of music through creative and informal workshops, led by experienced musicians. The innovative programme is run by 4Children with support from Youth Music.

With finance and support from the All Children’s Fund Partnership in Plymouth and the Come and Play programme, music workshops have been staged at the Granby Island Community Centre and instruments bought for the children and t-shirts produced, to give the crew their identity. The music workshops have been led by the Plymouth Music Zone and the children have been inspired to come up with their own ideas of how the music should be performed.

Local people have been able to see the samba talents of the children at two performances held in August at the National Play Day in West Ho Park in Plymouth and the Fun Day, held by the Devonport Regeneration Company at Brickfields in Devonport. The Devonport Samba Crew’s performance so impressed the Devonport Regeneration Company that they have provided £500 of funding for the continuation of the crew’s music activities.

“Come and Play is a fantastic scheme which all the children have thoroughly enjoyed. The children have come on leaps and bounds since they first started taking part in the music sessions. I have noticed that the quiet children have developed confidence and now come forward full of creative ideas. The children just love it”, said Caz Horsford, playworker and senior youth worker at the Granby Island Community Centre.

Peter Garden, Head of Programmes at 4Children said, “I am delighted the Come and Play programme has reached the Granby Island Community Centre and 15 children have had the unique opportunity to form the Devonport Samba Crew. This demonstrates that Come and Play is reaching out to more children than ever before giving them valuable and different musical experiences out of school hours”.

For further information contact the Media Team at 4Children on 020 7512 2112.

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