Drake Music is a national charity, dedicated to breaking down disabling barriers to music, whose Curriculum Development Initiative is pioneering more effective ways of integrating SEN/Disabled (SEND[1]) pupils into the music curriculum, particularly at KS3/4.
 
SEND pupils can face a range of barriers to the music curriculum; from a lack of accessible learning and assessment resources, to insufficient training for staff and parents in accessible approaches and technologies, to low expectations of pupil’s potential, to exams which although technically ‘accessible’ as required under SENDA legislation, have not actually been tested by a wide range of SEND pupils. Moreover, there still seems to be confusion in some quarters about the distinctions between and the different efficacies of music as therapy and music as a creative and academic area of study in which many SEND pupils can actively and fruitfully participate, and achieve to a high standard.
 
Drake Music associates are working with teachers in three South West schools to create resources, strategies and schemes of work that can be freely shared with other schools and colleges around the country. While all three of these settings are SEN schools, the outcomes should benefit almost any school catering for SEND pupils, and as such represent a decisive step in the direction of more inclusive music classrooms for all secondary schools.
 
1.   At St. Rose’s School in Stroud, Drake Music have created and piloted an accessible four-unit NOCN ‘Introduction To Music’ course, accredited at Entry level, Level 1 & Level 2. The pilot ran with a single student who has Cerebral Palsy and uses a VOCA (Voice Output Communication Aid) to speak. He achieved Level 1. St. Rose’s school is now delivering the course to a whole class of students with a range of SEND.
 
2.   At Barrs Court School in Hereford, Drake Music are creating and piloting a suite of accessible activities and resources linked to QCA units and suitable for pupils labeled ‘SLD’, ‘MLD’ and ‘PMLD’ at KS3/4. Although Drake Music associates were involved in classroom delivery at first, Barrs Court teachers are now in control, using the accessible resources.
 
3.   At Claremont Secondary School in Bristol, Drake Music are creating and piloting accessible learning and assessment resources for BTEC music from November 2010. Drake Music associates will deliver the course jointly with school staff to a class of pupils with a range of SEND.
 
The accessible resources consist of much more than examples of lesson plans, schemes of work and activities. They include ready-made learning and assessment set-ups for software packages such as Clicker 5 that provide a useful classroom delivery framework for teachers, are accessible to pupils with a variety of access needs, and are also useful for non-SEND pupils. In the interests of an inclusive music classroom, good quality accessible resources should be useful for everyone, not just SEND pupils.
 
One key issue for teachers to have emerged from the work so far is that, when determining the best approach for each pupil it’s useful to try and distinguish between: a) Access Needs, and b) Learning Needs. Although the two are often interrelated, challenging yourself to make this distinction can begin the process of cutting through what might otherwise seem to be impenetrable complexities, and help to establish a) how the pupil is practically and physically going to learn and be assessed, and b) which academic level is appropriate. Access needs will always require a degree of specialist knowledge, whether in assistive/adaptive technologies, Braille or sign language for example. However, Drake Music’s work at St. Rose’s, Barrs Court and Claremont schools clearly demonstrates that if access needs are adequately met, it is possible to define realistic curricular pathways for pupils with a wide range of learning needs. For pupils labeled ‘SLD’ or ‘PMLD’, the activities developed at Barrs Court School provide a framework for achievement and assessment against ‘P levels’. For disabled pupils with less complex learning difficulties (or none at-all), the NOCN and BTEC courses provide opportunities to gain nationally recognised qualifications which, in the case of BTEC can potentially lead on to higher education.
 
In addition to piloting and distributing accessible courses and resources, the Curriculum Development Initiative is also providing training and support for teachers, promoting greater awareness of accessible music education in teacher training institutions, and creating an online Accessible Music Courses and Resources Directory to serve as an interactive resource for all information relating to SEND pupils and the music curriculum.
 
The NOCN ‘Introduction to Music’ course will be ready for free distribution from November 2010 and the online Accessible Music Courses and Resources Directory goes live in early 2011. The Barrs Court School activities and resources should be available from mid-2011 and the BTEC resources from summer 2012. If you would like further information, advice on training or if you have your own accessible music curriculum experiences to share, please get in touch with Drake Music!
 
For more info please contact: jonathanwestrup@drakemusic.org 

www.artsprofessional.co.uk/Magazine/
 
The Curriculum Development Initiative is funded by a three-year New Approaches to Learning grant from the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation and a donation in memory of Jason Morris.

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[1] We’re using the SEN/Disabled ‘SEND’ description to encompass pupils facing a range of barriers and to acknowledge that not all SEN pupils are disabled and not all disabled pupils necessarily have SEN (depending on the breadth of your definition!)