A musical way to share stories

Описание: National Storytelling Week invites us to think beyond books and words — and to notice how everyday routines quietly shape who feels able to belong.

In this weekly Diversitybuds reflection, Clare explores how inclusive musical story routines can embed belonging into daily practice across EYFS and KS1.

National Storytelling Week often raises a familiar question for DEI leads in schools and Music Hubs: how do we move beyond one-off events and embed inclusion into everyday practice in ways that genuinely shape children’s lived experience?

Long before children encounter formal curriculum content, they are already learning something fundamental — whether their voice belongs, and whether they belong, in the spaces they inhabit. Who speaks first. Who waits. Who joins in without being asked. Whose culture or language feels familiar. These everyday routines quietly shape access, confidence and identity, becoming part of the system children are growing into.

In this weekly reflection, Clare from Diversitybuds shares how inclusive musical story routines can help shape the conditions for participation and belonging. Rather than focusing only on books and words, these story-songs celebrate how children live story through music, voice, movement and shared group experiences.

The Diversitybuds National Storytelling Week collection brings together a small, carefully curated set of story-songs from around the world. These musical stories support emotional readiness, attentive listening, confident oral participation, identity and belonging, and culturally representative everyday practice — not as an add-on, but as part of how a setting functions.

For DEI leads, these are not “special activities”. They are daily, repeatable access builders — practical examples of how inclusion can be embedded through routine, rhythm and relationship across EYFS and KS1. The resources are flexible and accessible, whether used in whole-class routines, small groups or online delivery, making them easy to share across teams as part of a wider inclusion strategy

🌿 Explore the full Diversitybuds National Storytelling Week musical story collection here: https://www.musicbuds-learning.org/co...

In this Diversitybuds reflection, Clare explores inclusive storytelling, belonging in education, systemic DEI practice, and how everyday musical routines support equitable participation in early years and primary settings.

#EarlyYearsEducation #Belonging #InclusiveEducation