Musical pre-school charity gets £32k lottery grant

The musical sessions support children up to the age five

A Manx charity is to extend its musical pre-school learning sessions after receiving a £32,750 cash boost.

Singing Jo and Co classes help children build vocabulary, learn to count and develop social skills.

A Manx Lottery Trust grant means the service can travel to extra locations across the island.

The charity said it will be able to work with more children whose development may have been affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

A spokeswoman said the charity was "particularly mindful of the impact following Covid-19".

The sessions aimed to "address the effects on social interaction and language development skills, particularly in babies and toddlers", she added.

Charity head Jo Jackson said the pandemic had been "a very difficult time for children not being able to socialise with other children".

The "incredibly fun" sessions provided "valuable" pre-school learning, she said.

"We’ve seen how they can positively impact on children's development," she added.

The cash boost will enable the sessions to be held in more areas

Set up in 2018, the charity currently organises free musical sessions in Laxey, Douglas, Port Erin, Peel, Sulby and Ramsey for more than 600 children aged under five along with their parents, grandparents or carers.

The classes use singing and dancing to help develop language, communication and social skills to build self-confidence in children.

Manx Lottery Trust chairman Stephen Turner said the impact of the pandemic was "clear to see", particularly on the "youngest of generations".

The initiative would "make a great difference to many families across the island", he added.