'Five films you must see before you teach another music lesson...'

Newspapers and magazines are fond of making lists of films that you absolutely, completely, without fail must see if you are ever to show your face in polite society again. The film I want to tell you about (http://www.teachingmusic.org.uk/resource/16153) was not made in Hollywood, nor on a huge budget (think me + camcorder + no budget) However, I can report that the subject of the film has unquestionable star quality...

Bradley, who attends St Roses School in Stroud, is the first student to pilot the new 'Introduction to Music' course which Drake Music have written. Why does the world need yet another accredited music course? Well, strictly speaking it doesn't; but what it does badly need are accessible, re-usable teaching and learning resources. After years of making music with physically disabled/ SEN students in both mainstream and special school settings, Drake Music have long noted that many of these students would love to be participating more in the National Curriculum for Music and also achieving accredited outcomes, but that the lack of accessible resources was acting as a barrier.

The resources for the 'Introduction to Music' course have been written using Clicker 5 software, meaning that students like Bradley can access the resources using switch access (in his case using a head-switch). This enables him to work independently, even take work home to do. Equally, the format ensures the course is accessible to any student, disabled or not (for more details about running the course, please contact me at jonathanwestrup@drakemusicproject.org)

And so to the film: using his communication aid, Bradley discusses his work and experiences of taking the course in front of an audience of 30 PGCE Music students at Bristol University. His script was written by him with support from his Speech and Language Therapist at St Roses School (see the description attached to the film for more details of this) Later on in the film he answers questions from the students, displaying a laid-back manner not normally associated with teenagers asked to talk to an audience for 20 minutes. It's an fascinating, funny and entertaining film ("Roy Orbison...") interspersed with examples of his music. It demonstrates so clearly the creative achievements that young people like Bradley are capable of in music when they are afforded equal access to provision. I hope it serves as a real catalyst to all teachers and music educationalists who make music with young people with disabilities/ SEN.

And finally, back to those 'best of' lists; after nearly fifty distinguished (and grizzled) years of making music, American guitar legend Neil Young won his first Grammy this year. In typical fashion, whilst accepting the award he declared that "there is no best in music". However, I'll disagree with Neil here and declare an interest: in my humble opinion, Bradley's work must surely be up there with the best of them.

Inclusive by design? The future of Music departments

The music department in my first music teaching job in Bristol was situated on the second floor, not much use for students using wheelchairs (nor for delivery firms bringing up a grand piano). The rooms had huge windows on one side - boiling in the summer, freezing in the winter; the whole class could watch Concorde's descent on it's final flight. When I arrived in post, we were offering the usual option: KS3...GCSE...A Level and so I cracked on, dutifully accepting of the exact same model I had experienced as a student in the late 1980s.

Monks Walk school in Hertfordshire have a school motto: "Vel optima cuique praebere" or "Excellence for all". Nothing radical in that sentiment for a school you might think; but the school's Music department has embarked on a transformation which takes this motto to heart, and could well prove to be an influential model for other music departments to emulate.

The department have embraced a 'personalised learning' approach to Music, based around the Musical Futures model. Students can focus on music that interests them, work at their own pace and the teacher becomes more of an advisor/ mentor than a traditional teacher figure. Students can access a wide range of courses at KS3/4 to suit their individual needs.

The head of Monks Walk said that the benefits of the approach include:

'...motivation, inclusion and the opportunity to follow their own preferred routes through music based on styles and genres they understand and are familiar with, as well as working to their own ability levels'.

What is crucial about this model for music students with disabilities/SEN is that it is inclusive by design. There is no need for any cumbersome 'add-ons' or a two tier approach to teaching, learning and accreditation for disabled and non-disabled students. We know from our own work with disabled/SEN children that this kind of child-centred approach - increasingly based on their own musical interests and to a flexible time-scale - is usually very successful for any child.

However, the model inevitably raises some questions too:

• It relies on students managing their own time effectively and understanding how they learn best themselves - students need to be taught these skills
• It’s a potential logistical headache to juggle so many courses at different levels/ timescales.
• You need a lot of extra room space to allow students to work in peace
• You require increased support from outside the department e.g. musicians, which also costs more

No-one said that it would ever be easy to transform a department, nor that it would be achieved overnight. But I believe that these types of models are the key to increased access to music at schools for disabled/SEN students in the future, rather than the small, sparodic pots of funding and short term provision which are more commonly the case for this group.

Don't call us, we'll call you...?

I'm currently attempting to establish some dialogue with the major UK examining bodies around access issues for disabled musicians to GCSE, but it has not been completely plain sailing; navigating the jungle that is customer care, epic adventures through middle and upper departmental management structures, before, finally, many weeks of waiting for that elusive email...

Well, perhaps I'm stretching the point slightly, but in my experience many of the boards have been slow to respond to our enquiries (but helpful in the end) One of the issues I have been seeking to raise with them is identifying potential barriers to accessing the GCSE Music course. Now, I'm happy here to acknowledge that many of these hurdles have been addressed under the latest course specifications e.g. students no longer have to perform in the traditional sense, they can multi-track a performance using a sequencing program. Equally, in recent years SENDA legislation has ensured that 'reasonable adjustments' are being made with increasing regularity for a wide range of music students with disabilities/ SEN.

So, no issues then? Well, not quite; based on our day-to-day experiences working with disabled students in both mainstream and special schools, as well as previous conversations we have had with the examining bodies, we anticipate that there may still be some gaps between the specifications as outlined on paper and the reality of taking and passing the exam for some disabled students - in particular those who face severe physical barriers. One example is the question of establishing benchmarks for marking work played using assistive music technology, side by side with conventional instrumentals. It's simply not clear how thoroughly tested certain specifications have been in this arena.

Equally, I have no current evidence (but I'd love to be put straight) that the boards have definite targets for increasing the numbers of disabled/SEN candidates, nor that they have bespoke initiatives to achieve this. In a separate, but related story, the BBC this year announced a rise in the corporate target for disabled staff to 5.5% by 2012. In the media generally, there is a concerted move by all major broadcasters towards involving and encouraging more disabled actors, presenters and production staff.

This is what I believe we need more of from the major examining bodies in the UK; to actively reach out to those disabled/ SEN students who are currently overlooked, or simply didn't think that taking GCSE was within their grasp. Now that really would be something to celebrate come 2012.

The kaleidoscope of provision: notes on the recent NAME conference

The recent experience of presenting on the Drake CDI at the NAME conference (enough acronyms?) has left us with food for thought. The presentation itself went well, with positive feedback from those attending; but equally, the conversations and meetings we had during the day caused us to pause and consider the current state of the disabled/ SEN music education 'sector'.

I use the word sector with due caution; despite all the examples of excellent practice by schools, music services, community musicians and other music educators, these pockets of work are often fairly isolated, disconnected and scattered around the UK. Many accomplished music educators are working very hard and extremely passionately from the point of view of their own particular experience e.g. PMLD, SLD, EBD but are not always able to usefully relate these experiences to other areas, which, although technically different are ultimately linked by the same agenda of breaking down disabling barriers to music.

And back to those acronyms...a colleague recently suggested - not without a sense of humour - a terminology 'amnesty' where professionals could bring their own definitions to the table without fear of potentially being criticised for describing their work improperly. Effective communication should be a strength for the sector rather than a potential barrier.

On the topic of communication, the sharing of best practice is particularly prescient for our own CDI work. From the start we were conscious of not 're-inventing the wheel'; we would have been delighted to have found out that an existing project was already up and running. At one of the meetings at NAME we attended, the Special Educational Needs Special Interest Group (SEN SIG - those acronyms again!) many of us described our own, very different experiences of delivering Wider Opportunities work in various parts of the UK. By the end, we agreed the need to pool our experiences and resources and maybe present at the next National Music Services conference.

And this is the point: wherever relevant, we need a collective response, not only with the aim of improving music provision for every child, but also supporting each other as professionals. The CDI wasn't created to specifically do this; but we have started to see that it has the potential to begin to draw together the kaleidoscope of provision out there.

Everybody's talking...

The three priorities for the CDI right now are 'communication, communication, communication' (apologies, of sorts, to T. Blair)...

We need to let all the partners we have made thus far - examination boards, teacher training providers, LEAs, schools, government - aware of the fact that we have been successful in our EF bid, and what our plans are for the next three years.

The key to this is to stress the mutual benefits of collaborating. For example, in relation to examination boards, we’ll be spreading and sharing all this CDI info far and wide, disseminating our NOCN course and resources and also accessible GCSE music resources. In turn, the boards expand and develop their access procedures and see an increase in disabled students taking their courses.

Equally, closer to home, I want to ensure that everyone in Drake is on board and contributing ideas, opinions and experiences as well as suggesting contacts to follow up. This is a national initiative and so should reflect the talents and knowledge of associates across the country. I hope people will take time to read my blog whenever possible!

Drake Music CDI blog is go!

This is the first blog of many I will be making over the next three years, describing the process and progress of the Drake Music Curriculum Development Initiative (CDI), funded by the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation under their 'New Approaches to Learning' strand. I'm fairly new to blogging so it will be an interesting way to document the journey!

The overall aim of the CDI is to broaden access for disabled musicians to the music curriculum in general, and to music accreditation in particular. We will work to identify the barriers that this diverse group of students face, and develop working partnerships with key organisations - examining bodies, teacher training institutions and government - to increase achievement, inclusion and equality in music education.

Stay tuned...