This 15 minute film is part of the five 'Best Practice' case studies made to accompany the 2012 Ofsted report into Music Education ('Music in schools: wider still, and wider')... Whitefield Schools and Centre in NE London is the largest special school in Europe with more than 300 pupils on roll with a wide range of Special Educational Needs. The film shows a range of musical activities catering for the varied musical interest and needs of the children who attend the school.
Makaton
Disabling barriers to formal music education - consultation
By dougbott - 08/03/2012In Autumn 2011, DM Education carried out a nationwide consultation into disabling barriers to formal music education. The consultation findings are posted here in the 'Experiences' section of the DM Education web pages becuase they represent a signficant insight into the experiences of the SEN/Disabled young people / musicians, teachers and music educators who shared their views.
Worcester Snoezelen Centre and LCM Leisure Play music exams
By jonathanwestrup - 18/11/2011Like many I suspect, my first question about the small, Worcester-based charity ‘Snoezelen’ was ‘What does Snoezelen mean?’ The word - a mix of two dutch words for sniffing and dozing – perfectly evokes the experience offered by the charity: a multi-sensory environment for people with severe
P Scales Level Descriptors
By Alex Ivanovich - 27/10/2011P Scales are a format for assessing progress for students who are operating below National Curriculum Level 1. This useful document (which can be downloaded as a pdf file here) describes how to assess what level a student is at for a wide range of subjects. Level descriptors for music are on pages 27-29.
ABRSM Performance Assessment
By dougbott - 10/09/2011ABRSM offer the Performance Assessment as an alternative to their Graded Music Exams in acknowledgement of the fact that 'an exam is not always the most appropriate kind of assessment'. Participants can play their own choice of repertoire and come away with a written report containing constructive comments and advice from a member of the ABRSM examining panel.
ASDAN short courses
By dougbott - 06/09/2011ASDAN (Award Scheme Development and Accreditation Network) offer a wide choice of flexible, activity-based curriculum programmes that can be used in a variety of educational contexts with learners working at a range of levels.
AQA Unit Award Scheme
By dougbott - 05/09/2011AQA (Assessment and Qualifications Alliance) offer an extremely flexible accreditation framework called the 'AQA Unit Award Scheme'. The scheme includes scores of ready-made music awards, as well a system that enables music educators to create their own awards, which can then be accredited by AQA.
Figurenotes
By dougbott - 05/09/2011Figurenotes is an alternative to conventional musical notation which has been used successfully by young people with learning difficulties (including some on the autistic spectrum) in Finland and Scotland. Figurenotes can enable the use of notation within formal music education where conventional notation might otherwise present a barrier.
Sounds Of Intent
By dougbott - 31/08/2011The aim of Sounds of Intent is to investigate and promote the musical development of children and young people with complex needs (e.g. learning difficulties ranging from PMLD to SLD to autism).
BTEC Entry Level Award in Performing Arts (Entry 3)
By jonathanwestrup - 08/08/2011Drake Music are currently delivering BTEC Entry Level Award in Performing Arts (Entry 3) to two classes of students at Claremont Secondary Special School in Bristol. The school have not run an accredited music course before and Drake Music are piloting accessible, re-usable teaching and learning resources as part of the delivery.