Trainings
Are you a music teacher who wants to learn more about music and language development in refugee children, and how to work with them in a trauma-sensitive and non-verbal way?
Do you want to develop your skills so that you can also teach and support refugee children in the future?
In the 2025/2026 school year, Sounds for Freedom is once again organizing a series of training courses where you will gain valuable knowledge and experience. The courses are given by experts in the field of music and language education, who will share their years of experience working with refugee and newcomer children.
Does this sound interesting to you? Then sign up for the training sessions! You’ll discover inspiring new teaching methods and ideas that you can apply directly in your daily work.
Participate?
For the 2025/26, four training sessions are scheduled. You can sign up for one or more training sessions! Below you will find an overview with the date, type of training, trainer and costs.
Trainings
Tuesday 25 november 2025
Time: 10:00 - 13:00
Training: Culturally Sensitive Teaching, Multilingualism, and Music for Young Children
Trainer: Frederike Groofhoff
Zaterdag 24 januari 2026
Time: 13:00 - 16:00
Training: Language-Oriented Music Education in Practice
Trainer: Diana Mol
Saturday 11 April,
2026
Time: 13:00 - 16:00
Training:
Songwriting and trauma-sensitive teaching
Trainer: Sander van Goor
Tuesday, 2 June,
2026
Trainers
Frederike Groofhoff
Frederike is a linguist and former primary school teacher. She has experience in various educational contexts, both in the Netherlands and Aruba, ranging from primary school to university. Her expertise lies in child language, second language acquisition, and multilingualism. In addition to her work as a researcher at Utrecht University within the project Meertaligheid & Medenzeggenschap, she runs her own company, LangWhich, through which she trains and advises education professionals on how to better support multilingual students and their families, and how to give the home language a place in education.
In this training, Frederike focuses on cultural and linguistic diversity in the classroom. How can you take into account the cultural background of children, along with the songs, instruments, and musical traditions they grew up with? The importance of multilingualism is also addressed — using the home language to explain something, paying attention to non-verbal communication, and incorporating non-Dutch words when they better fit the sound or meaning. During the training, participants will create a song together and share practical tips and activities for shaping music lessons for young children.
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Diana Mol
Diana was a teacher for many years at ROC Mondriaan Educatie, the Taalplusschool in The Hague, where she taught language classes from 2001 onwards. Today, she is active at the Cosmicus College and works as an advisor for Stichting Sounds for Freedom. In addition, she is a choir conductor and provides voice training at the Soeficentrum in The Hague.
This practical workshop focuses on the connection between language and music. Participants explore how language objectives can be naturally integrated into music lessons. The workshop involves formulating concrete, measurable goals that can be followed up in subsequent lessons. Using existing lesson examples, participants examine which tasks and activities work well and where there is room for improvement. The workshop provides a clear model for lesson design and analysis, enabling music teachers to make their lessons more language-oriented and effective.
Sander van Goor
Sander van Goor is qualified as a music therapist and provides music therapy to children and young people with a refugee background, both in the Netherlands and abroad, using his method Safe and Sound.
He specializes in trauma processing, resilience, and music therapy.
As a trainer, he is affiliated with organizations such as Sounds of Change, where he trains professionals in conflict areas to work with people who may be traumatized, for example in refugee camps. In addition, he is a guest lecturer at institutions including Codarts en Zuyd Hogeschool.
In his training, Sander focuses on songwriting: How do you write a song with children? How do you record it? He demonstrates how to do this with children in a trauma-sensitive way.
Suzan Lutke
Suzan Lutke is a creative thinker, advisor, teacher, trainer, and coach in the field of music, art, and cultural education. She fulfills these roles with a focus on innovation and renewal, describing herself as a bridge builder between tradition and innovation. As program leader, lecturer, and coach in the Master of Arts Education at HKU University of the Arts, she guides students and professionals in their development within the field of arts education.
In this training, the focus is on the children. How can you use each child’s creativity and individuality as a starting point? Suzan focuses on process-oriented didactics: not the end result, but the learning process itself is the main focus. During the training, participants are encouraged to explore their own creative process and collaboratively formulate design criteria for lessons.
Practical information & Registration
Have you become enthusiastic and would you like to participate in one or more training courses? Then buy a ticket for separate or all trainings!
Your investment: € 60 per training / € 45 for students per training.
Location: Amsterdam, for the first training: Kantoor Sounds For Freedom, De Klenke 4, 1083 HH, Amsterdam
Duration: each training session lasts 3 hours (including break)
Good to know: with a simple request to WerktuigPPO , you can get up to 50% of the costs reimbursed.