Glastonbury wakes up to the sound of children singing

But the Kidz Field will definitely boast a first - a government-sponsored initiative to get children to sing.

There were about 5,000 children (the exact number is unknown because they can enter without charge) at last year's festival. Now, alongside the chance to have their faces painted, write a haiku and build a totem pole, the under-12s will be offered daily singing workshops and the chance to take part in a live performance on the Leftfield stage on the final day of the festival, courtesy of the government-funded programme Sing Up.

The workshops - Wake Up and Shake Up morning sessions and wind-down Evening Lullaby - will include warm-ups, games and group performances in front of parents. All of the children who take part will be given a pack to take away to encourage singing at home and at school.

"Our presence at Glastonbury," says programme manager Baz Chapman, "brings the Sing Up experience to children outside the classroom, in an environment that nurtures creativity and expression.

"Glastonbury is the perfect place to support and encourage children. By taking part, parents and kids should be able to experience how easy, fun and beneficial group singing can be."

Think choirs, and you might think of ruffs and surplices, Benedictus and Ave, Maria, but with today's schools in mind, Sing Up have created a music-for-all policy. Since its launch last year, it has managed to reach nearly 10,000 schools, using many different ways of working from CDs and printed song sheets, to downloadable MP3 accompaniments.

The scheme is part of the government's commitment to provide £332 million to support music-making in schools over the next three years. Singing's ability to nurture confident, positive, motivated children who feel good about themselves is well-documented.

Research suggests such children are less likely to engage in harmful or risky behaviour, all of which can help prevent bullying and peer isolation.

Craig Tunstall, the head of Kingswood primary school in south London, says: "We have an intake of pupils from an extremely wide variety of backgrounds. We've found singing provides an uplifting, motivating opportunity for all pupils to feel included. And everyone joins in without being coerced.

"It's really inspirational to see children who have no English humming along and trying to form some of the words."

Chapman hopes the Glastonbury project will similarly get kids singing as part of the festival experience, and encourage them to meet other children outside their usual circle, in a safe environment.

"Children who have a tendency to be shy around other children are suddenly incredibly open-minded," says Chapman. "They learn to be adventurous. It contributes hugely to their self-confidence."