17 June 2019
Workshop at Calthorpe Academy
We arrived at school bright and early with a car packed full of sensory resources ready for our three workshops with eighteen of Calthorpe Academy’s pupils with Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulties, some of the most disabled in the school.
Our grass matting, animal finger puppets, trays of soil, stones and leaves, combined with video projections of the Malvern Hills transported us to Elgar’s world. Each class took a musical journey exploring the sounds of nature using drums, rain sticks and their voices to create improvised soundscapes.
Whilst the children were all non-verbal, it was clear that they were enjoying themselves. Staff commented that it is rare for everyone to stay in the room for an activity session. However, the music captured their attention and with the help of support staff, all the children were involved with the musical activities.
The highlight of the day was when one non-verbal student found his singing voice during the session. Initially, everyone thought it was me singing, but he was perfectly copying my tone and we ended up improvising a duet together.