Transforming music-making in Essex special schools
Essex Music Education Hub realised that opportunities for music-making in the county’s special schools were patchy at best. They knew things needed to change, and they embarked on a strategic plan to ensure children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEN/D) don’t miss out.
The resulting project is a fantastic demonstration of what musical inclusion looks like in practice.
We spoke to Charly Richardson, Music Service Lead Officer for Essex County Council, lead partner in Essex Music Education Hub, and Mark Burke, Director of project partner Charanga, to find out more about it.
What do we mean by ‘musical inclusion’?
It’s an approach to music teaching and learning that means all children and young people can make music, whatever their background or circumstances. It’s about embracing every style and genre of music. It’s about creating access to music-making in the first place, and providing the right support and opportunities so that young people can progress on their individual journey. And it’s about music leaders having the right skills and resources to help each young person fulfil their potential.
Addressing a clear need
The Hub began by carrying out research, working in partnership with the Royal Opera House Bridge and the neighbouring Music Education Hubs in Southend and Thurrock. They discovered that 47% of the county’s special schools spent less than an hour on music every week, and in 42% of schools these sessions didn’t benefit all pupils.
What’s more, only around one-third of schools reported that their staff felt confident delivering music sessions, highlighting a real need for more training.
While many Hubs invest in music-making for young people with special educational needs or disabilities, pressure on resources often means that it’s only possible to fund one-off projects with an external provider. This can limit the long-term impact on the overall quality of music provision.
Now that the Hub had clear evidence of the need for change, and a plan to tackle the problem, they were ready to apply for Youth Music funding. They were successful and received a grant for the next three years.
Building from the ground up
The project involves every special school in Essex, Thurrock and Southend: 25 schools with around 2,000 pupils in total. The schools support young people with a vast range of needs, including physical impairments, autism, and profound and multiple learning disabilities.
“Every special school is different, and every child is different,” says Charly. There’s no such thing as a ‘one size fits all’ approach to music-making in SEN/D settings. Instead, it’s about finding what works for each young person – and finding the best way to help the teachers help them.
Essex Music Education Hub began by offering a wide range of training to the classroom teachers at each school and to the music tutors employed by the county. The tutors are specialist musicians of course, but they don’t necessarily have much experience of working in SEN/D settings. With the special school staff, it’s the other way round – most of them aren’t musicians, and they might not feel comfortable teaching music in the classroom, worrying that they lack the skills.
Developing new skills
The training was offered in collaboration with a number of other organisations who are experts in delivering music in SEN/D settings. These include a number of Youth Music’s strategic partner organisations.
Drake Music helped to train staff in using ‘assistive music technology’: instruments or software specially designed or adapted so they can be used by disabled musicians, whatever their needs. These range from devices like the Soundbeam (which uses sensors to pick up movement and play notes accordingly) through to sequencing apps for the iPad. The below video, courtesy of Drake Music, shows accessible music-making in action, including a demonstration of the Soundbeam.
Sound Connections brought on board their expertise in SEN/D music-making and have run ‘inclusive singing’ workshops tailored to the young people’s needs. Soundabout provided training in using Sounds of Intent, the musical assessment framework for children and young people with learning difficulties. Teachers at the schools had the opportunity to train in delivering Arts Award qualifications. And digital experts Charanga worked closely with teaching staff to develop new resources (more on this below).
There was a lot more on offer in addition, and you can find a full list of partners on the project’s website.
Staff had the opportunity to try various approaches, to see what suited the needs and interests of the young people they work with, and then to develop their knowledge of the most effective techniques and tools.
Putting learning into practice
“We’re already seeing a vastly increased capacity to provide better music opportunities for young people,” says Mark. “Particularly for non-specialist staff, the training has enabled them to feel confident teaching music in schools.”
The next step is for the different groups of teaching staff to work together and put what they’ve learned into practice. Based on the needs and interests of the young people, each school is being paired up with: 1) one of the county music tutors, and 2) a specialist in delivering music in SEN/D settings.
The SEN/D music specialist will work in the school with specific classes or groups for a whole day, once a fortnight, for 10 weeks (5 full days). They’ll lead activity with students and share their practice with teachers and with the music tutor.
The music tutor will work in the school for a whole day, once a week, for 10 weeks (10 full days). They’ll work alongside, support and learn from the specialist on days when the specialist is in school, and will lead activity with students on the interim days, working alongside the teachers.
The teachers will work alongside the specialist and the tutor when they are in school. In between sessions, the teachers can try out what they’ve learned with their students, so when the sessions come to an end they’ll feel equipped to carry on independently.
The project has a dedicated online forum where teachers, tutors and partner organisations can upload images, videos and case studies – sharing things they’ve learned, challenges they’ve faced and examples of good practice.
The role of Essex Music Education Hub is crucial, bringing together all the different parties involved. “It’s about professionals talking to each other and bringing expertise together,” says Charly. By getting everyone talking and sharing ideas, the Hub is helping to build a network of skills and experience that will continue even after the project ends.
Thinking bigger
As well as ensuring music-making in SEN/D schools becomes more inclusive, this project could also lead the way for teaching practice in mainstream education. The hope is that other Music Education Hubs will join the conversation too, so that new ideas and resources can be shared on a national level. Excitingly, that’s already begun to happen.
One of the key project partners is Charanga, an organisation that creates digital music teaching resources. Early on, Charanga spent time in the schools identifying examples of good practice and gaps in provision, and asking staff about the kinds of teaching resources they’d like to use.
With the help of Youth Music’s investment in the project (alongside a significant investment by Charanga itself), Charanga have now developed a whole new set of SEN/D-focused online resources. These include listening, composing and performing exercises, and fully adaptable lesson plans. All schools across Essex, Southend and Thurrock (including mainstream schools) now have free access to these resources, subsidised by their hub. “The scale of the project has enabled some truly innovative stuff to come out of it,” says Mark.
And the best part: Charanga have been able to take what they’ve developed while working with the Essex schools, and share it through the Charanga cloud-based learning platform used by over 100 Music Education Hubs nationwide. Already, over 7,000 schools around the country can now access the new teaching resources, and there are plans to expand the scheme even further.
The project will finish in 2018 with a series of celebratory performances by the young people and a conference featuring all the schools and partner organisations. And what’s really promising is the potential long-term impact: successful partnerships, a highly-skilled and confident workforce, and a legacy of greater musical opportunities, achievement and enjoyment for young people.
Image from London Symphony Orchestra’s ‘LSO On Track Special Schools’ project, which also featured collaboration with Drake Music. Photo by Kevin Leighton.