YAMSEN (Yorkshire Association for Music and Special Educational Needs) hosted ‘YAMSEN Flies to Neverland,’ its yearly set of full-day, immersive, multi-sensory events for pupils with PMLD (Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulties) and musical activity events for autistic pupils and pupils with moderate to severe learning disabilities.  The days are funded by LMEP (Leeds Music Education Partnership, the local music hub) and supported by the SEND team at ArtForms music service.  Pupils from special schools in Leeds and across West Yorkshire attended—so many that each event was repeated, for a total of four days of music and fun.  Because of Pudsey Civic Hall’s accessibility, over 40 pupils in wheelchairs were able to attend each multisensory day.

The multisensory and music days are a rare chance for special school staff and pupils to mingle with other special schools.  Each day features a range of activities designed to be repeated or adapted in the classroom, with big instruments for feeling vibrations and props that help pupils make sense of the activities at their own pace.  The days are meant to be both educational and promote a sense of playfulness and stimulation, which can be a challenge particularly among pupils with PMLD.  The multisensory days feature a live band who are experienced in working with children who have additional needs, and they move throughout the room so that the children can experience music up close.

Several of the groups are taught by the ArtForms SEND Music Team.  It was fantastic to see the children reaching out to engage with objects and instruments they enjoyed, bonding with their staff, smiling at people in costume and reacting to big sounds and movement.  Many of the children arrived in style, dressed in costume.  They enjoyed getting up from their seats to dance around, acting out their characters with staff.  The pupils at the Music Days made art, learnt a tune and some rhythms on steel pans and percussion, and helped the crocodile to get Captain Hook in the end.  A teacher from Greenmeadows spoke of one pupil who is particularly motivated by music.  She is normally very quiet and reserved in class but becomes a completely different, confident person with music.  It was fantastic to see her shine and engage in so much.

To find out more about YAMSEN and the Multisensory and Music Days, visit yamsen.org.uk or contact yamsen4@gmail.com.

To enquire about ArtForms SEND provision in schools please email Joanna.Winster@leeds.gov.uk

Joanna Winster – ArtForms Music SEND Team and Inclusion Coordinator, and YAMSEN Chair of Operations Group

The Singalong is an interactive musical Christmas celebration for primary-age pupils with additional/special needs.  This is a lively session with a real rock band which involves singing along to well-known seasonal tunes and easy new songs, dancing and instrumental activities based on a theme of “Snow and Ice.”  Children and adults alike are encouraged to wear costumes and fancy dress for this festive celebration of music!

Mainstream and special schools alike are invited to bring up to 12 pupils to either the morning or afternoon Singalong on Tuesday 12^th December at Pudsey Civic Hall.  Tickets are £3 per pupil, available through Ticket Source.

Click to book tickets for the morning session: https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/artforms-music-service/t-krqplzl

Or for the afternoon session: https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/artforms-music-service/t-eaxqrzn

For more information about the Singalong contact Joanna Winster at joanna.winster@leeds.gov.uk.

The Singalong is run by the ArtForms Music SEND team, through Leeds Schools Music Association (LSMA). The event is sponsored by our local music hub Leeds Music Education Partnership (LMEP) and supported by LMEP partner YAMSEN.

It’s Monday morning, and a small group of children are gathered around eclectic percussion instruments on the floor, responding to each other to create music that oscillates between tense and calm.  They are in a music nurture group, a safe and welcoming little community within school, where they meet weekly with a music teacher and a TA to play games, learn skills, make music and take charge of their session together.

This year, Bramley Park Academy (BPA) and ArtForms took part in the trauma-informed, music nurture group, training programme from Changing Tracks.  This is a national project for developing inclusion in music hubs headed by Youth Music and Hertford Music Service.  BPA uses music nurture groups as a part of its enrichment and wellbeing offer to pupils who face challenging circumstances at home or in their community and pupils who have additional needs or disabilities.  The benefits for the pupils are many, as the groups aim to:

• Provide a safe, kind place for self-expression and communication
• Foster a sense of friendship groups, community and identity
• Help pupils identify and self-regulate tricky emotions
• Enable opportunities to succeed and celebrate achievement
• Provide an avenue for making choices, developing agency and confidence
• Develop musicianship skills

The Changing Tracks programme has helped develop the way that our music nurture groups run.  Pupils’ ideas are at the forefront of the sessions, and the camaraderie and decision-making in the groups has led to pupil progress in other areas.  The pupils also gain musical skills which they can use in school and follow on with in their community, perhaps at a Saturday Music Centre.  The individual attention, and the fun, responsive activities have really made a difference to BPA’s hard-to-reach children and those who need extra support.

Alfie, a pupil, said, “I love being in music and having fun with everyone.”

Teacher Ms Marr remarked, “Cody likes it because it gets his brain working. … Cody likes being creative and likes that he can write his own music.  Cody’s confidence has increased since joining the group, show[ing] more interest compared to when he first started.”

SENDCo and Vice Principal Ms Booth commented, “We would love to continue the groups into next year as we feel that it is an amazing intervention for our children and they really enjoy coming.”

ArtForms offers weekly primary and SEND-setting nurture groups through it’s ‘Music sessions for children with additional needs (SEND)’ SLA on Leeds for Learning.  Nurture group work is also an option with the one-term 3As programme – a free to schools weekly music morning which is based on the ‘Attend, Attain, Achieve’ plan for Leeds schools and features whole class learning.  Through Leeds Music Education Partnership (LMEP, our local music hub), DJ School UK also runs music-tech nurture groups in secondary settings.  For more information please email the ArtForms office at educ.artforms@leeds.gov.uk

The ArtForms SEND Team also teach specially adapted music lessons in class settings and nurture groups as well as in small group instrument lessons.  ArtForms also offers music therapy sessions from accredited music therapists—these take place as weekly one-to-one sessions at school.  We run an inclusive Christmas Singalong in December (look for an announcement in October) and often team up with LMEP partner YAMSEN to provide performance opportunities and support special events for our pupils with PMLD and learning disabilities.  For more information you can email SEND Team Coordinator Joanna Winster at joanna.winster@leeds.gov.uk.

-Joanna Winster