Supporting Families Through Community Collaboration

Throughout the week, across the Illawarra, a coastal region in the southeast of New South Wales, small community centres come to life with the voices of children and families engaging in Sing&Grow. Families gather for one-hour group music therapy sessions, led by Registered Music Therapists, once a week for eight weeks, for hands-on music activities that encourage participation, play and shared experiences while fostering parenting confidence and connection through music.

Community organisations play a vital role in this process, reaching out to families in local communities and recommending they come along to Sing&Grow sessions. This approach provides an accessible, non-judgemental entry point for families who may experience barriers to engaging with support services. It creates a welcoming, inclusive space to play and connect.

In Port Kembla, the Sing&Grow group session begins in the back room of a local café, where Our Community Project (OCP) has partnered with the program for several years. The partnership has been mutually beneficial, with OCP describing hosting Sing&Grow as a way to “advocate for equitable access to early intervention programs and build connections between families.”

By midday, Sing&Grow Registered Music Therapist Louise Blanch is on the road, travelling south to the second delivery location of the day, Albion Park Rail, where the school’s community centre, located within the school grounds, is ready to welcome families. There she meets Claire, a long-standing partnership facilitator who has watched the sessions become something families genuinely look forward to. She describes them simply as “a feeling of joy, energy and connection that lingers in the room long after the music stops.”

Both centres tell a similar story: families who may arrive feeling busy and uncertain, with many competing demands on their time and attention, are provided the opportunity to engage in shared music experiences. Children participate in activities at their own pace, exploring music and play alongside their families and other group members.

At Albion Park Rail School, Claire has received feedback from families who “appreciate learning songs and activities that they can continue at home.” Over time, she has observed children becoming increasingly comfortable participating in group activities and families engaging in shared experiences together. Watching the sessions unfold, she says she has seen families supporting one another and new friendships taking shape over the course of the program.

At OCP, similar experiences are evident. Louise often sees families become more comfortable participating in the shared music experiences, moving from observing activities on the edge of the room to joining others in songs, movement and play. Many families talk about taking songs and activities home and incorporating them into everyday routines with their children.

These experiences reflect the core values of Sing&Grow: Play, Praise and Consistency. When Louise leads a Sing&Grow session, it’s clear every activity is responsive to the families in the room. The location of delivery shifts throughout the year, depending on host organisation funding and community need, but Sing&Grow Registered Music Therapists tailor each session using an evidence-informed framework to ensure sessions are meaningful, engaging and relevant for participating families and host organisations.

Louise describes one of her favourite Sing&Grow tools as the Pack-Away Song, a simple rhythmic cue that helps signal transitions between activities during the session. It is also an example of a practical music experience that families can continue to use at home as part of their everyday routines.

Ultimately, the impact of Sing&Grow extends beyond the eight-week sessions. As Louise highlights, “the most meaningful outcomes happen when partner organisations lean into the sessions alongside families,” creating opportunities for genuine connection, shared learning and lasting relationships.

While the program itself is not designed to be a constant presence, it provides opportunities for community organisations and parents to engage in shared learning and connection through music. By fostering strong partnerships and embedding music experiences within local settings, Sing&Grow supports opportunities for relationships and trust to continue developing after the program concludes.

The community organisation remains the consistent presence in families’ lives, with connections formed during the program continuing through local services, networks and community activities.

Feedback from partners such as OCP and Albion Park Rail School highlights the value of these collaborative relationships, demonstrating how partnerships can foster ongoing connections and continued opportunities for engagement within local communities.

If you are an organisation interested in partnering with Sing&Grow, you can find out more here.

This article was written by Ingrid Neilson who undertook student placement with Sing&Grow in New South Wales as part of her Master of Creative Music Therapy at Western Sydney University

Sing&Grow is proudly funded by the Australian Government Department of Social Services.