Meet the MBE-winning local mums whose classes have transformed the lives of children with special needs
I have fond memories of taking my youngest daughter to Singing Hands baby and toddler classes when she was little.
Wonderfully uplifting sessions for both children and carers alike, everyone in the room was united as we sang and signed our way through a repertoire of familiar songs from Wheels on the Bus to Wind The Bobbin Up.
For many of us, the classes were simply a fun way to entertain our little ones but. For others, it was so much more than that and I shall never forget overhearing a mother of a child with special needs telling Singing Hands’ founders, Suzanne and Tracy how their classes had transformed the lives of both her and her daughter in a way that she never imagined possible.
Ten years on, the Singing Hands duo have touched the lives of countless more and it is no surprise to hear that Suzanne and Tracy have just been awarded MBEs for services to Children and Young People with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities.
The story of Singing Hands’ journey goes back to 2000 when Suzanne Miell-Ingram and Tracy Upton first met at a playgroup for children with special needs in Richmond.
Their eldest children, Ella and Miles were born with additional needs and both mums had recently started learning Makaton, a language programme that uses symbols, signs and speech to enable people to communicate.
When the leader of the playgroup suggested Suzanne and Tracy took a turn leading the regular music session, they rose to the challenge.
“We started putting Makaton signs into our favourite rhymes and songs and the response from all the children was just fantastic,” remembers Suzanne.
Such was the positive reaction and, with Ella and Miles heading off to mainstream nursery, Suzanne and Tracy decided it was time to teach all children how to sign, irrespective of whether they had a disability or not.
Calling themselves Singing Hands, they offered free drop-in sessions across the borough of Richmond. This led to them starting up their regular baby singing and signing classes in Twickenham and, due to popular demand, toddler classes were added to the timetable.
Tamra Cave
As word spread about Singing Hands’ unique approach to helping develop a child’s communication potential through music, songs, games and activities, Suzanne and Tracy were soon being invited to run workshops in nurseries, schools and special needs groups in the local area.
“Right from the start, our focus was always to be motivating, engaging and fun,” explains Tracy. Guest appearances followed on CBeebies’ Tikkabilla as well as Something Special with Mr Tumble and, growing in confidence, Suzanne and Tracy decided to produce their very own Singing Hands DVD.
It was an instant hit and led to us getting requests from schools and groups that were much further afield. Before we knew it, we were flying up to Scotland with suit cases full of toy crocodiles, frogs and other random props,
Singing Hands has gone on to produce two more nursery rhyme DVDs, two Christmas DVDs as well as a collection of pop songs for older children, teenagers and adults. In addition, their YouTube channel now has nearly 200,000 subscribers.
Of huge importance to Suzanne and Tracy are the sessions they run at Great Ormond Street Hospital and Evelina London Children’s Hospital. “Having spent so much time at Great Ormond Street with Ella when she was younger, I was always very keen to go back and we have been going in every week for the last 14 years,” says Suzanne.
“As well as running sessions in the school, we sing and sign on the wards with our trollies full of of exciting props. The play team sing along and, quite often, the doctors and nurses join in too; it’s really very special.”
Suzanne remembers another significant occasion when they were asked to record a song for Organ Donation Week. “We sang You’ll Be In My Heart and everyone at Great Ormond Street was involved, even the hospital porters.”
It is their work at Great Ormond Street Hospital which has led to Suzanne and Tracy being awarded MBEs in this year’s New Year Honours List. The awards came as a complete surprise and Suzanne and Tracy have since found out they were nominated by one of the families they worked with at Great Ormond Street.
“The family have a little girl with Down’s syndrome who, a few years ago, was battling a rare form of leukaemia. We sang and signed with her in her room along with her mum and dad every week for many, many months while she waited for a stem cell donor match.”
The nomination was accompanied by a collection of supporting letters including one from American comedian, actor and writer Rob Delaney who came to know Suzanne and Tracy when his son was being treated at Great Ormond Street and who described the pair in a recent congratulatory tweet as ‘my heroes’.
Tamra Cave
Speaking of the moment they received news of their awards, Tracy says, “Initially I didn’t believe it, then I was shocked and overwhelmed, even cried a bit but, now the dust has settled, I am simply delighted. We are proud to have been able to have such a positive impact on so many people’s lives, particularly those with learning and communication difficulties.”
The pandemic hit Singing Hands hard and even more so when they discovered they did not meet the criteria for a much-needed government grant. A Help Save Singing Hands GoFundMe was launched and Suzanne and Tracy set about finding ways to reach those who needed them more than ever during such a difficult time.
“We are parents of disabled children ourselves and, with schools closed and no respite, we knew it was going to be really hard for families. If we could provide some joy and structure each day, we knew that would be a really positive outcome. So, through a combination of Zoom and YouTube, we created a lockdown schedule of learning which everyone could access."
“We made the sessions as participatory and multi-sensory as we possibly could, telling parents and carers in advance what songs we would be singing and asked them to get a particular toy ready, grab a hat, find a colourful scarf. We also set up a UK-wide virtual signing choir, pop parties for teens and young people and Friday night ‘wine and sign’ kitchen discos for parents and carers.”
Another huge blow was the cancellation of the Singing Hands annual Christmas concert, usually a highlight of the calendar year and attended by hundreds of people.
Not to be defeated, Suzanne and Tracy hired an empty theatre and – joined by fellow Makaton patron Dave Benson Phillips – a live Christmas show was successfully streamed all over the UK.
Looking to the future after such a turbulent year, Suzanne and Tracy are naturally bubbling over with excitement at the thought of their trip to the Palace to collect their well-deserved gongs. But, as Tracy explains, top of both of their wish lists is the desire simply to get back to normality.
“Zoom is great, but we’ve really missed the face to face contact and we can’t wait to get back to the smiles, the hugs and the kisses."
Suzanne and Tracy are patrons of Makaton.org and ambassadors of Skylarks a Charity which provides activities and therapies for disabled children and their families; singinghands.co.uk; uk.gofundme.com/f/help-save-singing-hands