Appeal for votes in a good folk music and children's education cause. Martin Graebe sent this to Bob Berry (Wiltshirebob), who forwarded it to me. NWS is entered in the Arts section of the National Lottery Awards. Wren Music play a major role in keeping Sidmouth festival going and in promoting folk arts generally.

Kitty

WREN MUSIC
Folk and community arts developments
1 St James Street, Okehampton, Devon EX20 1DW    Registered Charity No. 297257

Please accept our apologies if you have already received this message

Nice Warm Socks has been voted through to the final of the National Lottery Awards 2007

Thank you to all who voted in the last round

Please vote once again for Nice Warm Socks, and circulate to your friends and colleagues

Vote for Nice Warm Socks until 31st August at http://www.lotterygoodcauses.org.uk/awards/project/27

or call 0845 386 8062 - calls are charged at a BT local landline cost of 1.5p

Devon-based folk and community arts development charity Wren Music has been voted through to the finals of the National Lottery Awards 2007 for its Nice Warm Socks project. It is one of only three arts projects across the whole country to be selected, and now needs votes from the public to stand the chance of winning the two thousand pounds first prize, which will go towards further work in arts education.

The Nice Warm Socks project uses singing to develop the basic communication skills of children with severe learning difficulties and physical impairments. With funding from the National Lottery Awards For All scheme, the Wren Music team of professional composers, musicians, songwriters and educators worked together with Speech & Language Therapy specialist Shan Graebe, and staff and students from the Ellen Tinkham School in Exeter, to create songs relevant to young people with special educational needs.

The success of the project led to wide interest from other special needs schools and from Speech & Language Therapists across the UK and farther afield. With their advice and feedback the complete package was developed, which includes a professionally recorded audio CD with seventeen songs, backed up by a range of free resource materials, scores, and notes for teachers on the website http://www.nicewarmsocks.org.uk/ as well as training for teachers and language therapists in using the songs effectively.

Since the CD was released in late 2006, interest has continued to grow. It has received very good reviews in specialist journals, and is now being used as far afield as Australia, Canada, USA and Italy. It has also been widely used in mainstream education, where it is valued for its usefulness in developing early-years language skills.

Further information on Wren Music is available at http://www.wrenmusic.co.uk/
Tel: 01837 53754    Email: info@wrenmusic.co.uk