TES SEN Show part 2 - Soundbeam and Evidence for Learning

I hope those of you on half term have had a lovely relaxing week. I would like to say mine has been relaxing but far from it. We've been busy making Dispense the Sense activity cards which we have for sale and also ready for upcoming events as well as planning for Christmas sensory stories and 12 days of Christmas activity boxes. Then we've been preparing for Flo's conference at the end of November. As well as general school work, rehearsing for Annie which I am performing in November and general life... well it's been busy and has flown by. 

I have planned a new autumn themed TACPAC and sensory story so will share those with you over the up and coming weeks (don't forget we have TACPAC and story massage resources free to download from our TES page - sensory_dispensary). We also have a few people interested in writing guest blogs which will be very exciting. If you have anything you would like to share or write about on our blog, please get in touch with us. Or if you have any topics you would like us to write about, please let us know. 

Anyway, the topic of today's post is the 2nd half of the TES SEN Show, I know it feels like forever ago now. 

Firstly, I wanted to talk about Soundbeam. Many of you will have probably heard of soundbeam and I hope it is in every school around the country, although I know it's not as we don't have one. 

'Soundbeam is an award-winning 'touch free' device which uses sensor technology to translate body movement into music and sound. It gives children and adults the opportunity, regardless of their impairments or disability, to play music.' 

Welch et al (2001) undertook a nation-wide research project known as PROMISE (Provision of Music in Special Education) which was funded by the Esmee Fairbairn Trust and supported by the Royal Institute for the Blind. 53 special schools across the country took part. The findings were mixed. They found that only 5% of participating children received music therapy. We all hear how beneficial it is however it's not so easy to gain funding for this and also very difficult to find a qualified music therapist. One of our partner schools employs an amazing music therapist for one or two days a week but he works all over and says himself that he is in such high demand as there is a lack of trained music therapists in our area and I'm sure many others. 

The results highlighted that headteachers placed a high value on music as part of their curriculum however there were no specific models of music curriculum as such designed for pupils with SLD or PMLD. The resources and types of music delivered in the participating schools were mainly percussion. The majority of music coordinators had no qualifications in music and music CPD was seen as 'adhoc' and depended mainly on local provision. 

It was also noted that music is a significant component in the daily lives of many of our pupils; radio in the morning at home, music played on the taxi, signify songs throughout the day, their favourite music incorporated into the day. I know we use music all the time. I'm sure Jo Grace would also add that music is a great way to support mental health and wellbeing. I'm going to bring out my inner teenager here and embarrassingly refer to One Tree Hill. One Tree Hill as a TV programme that related to me during my teenage years and had an inner theme of music. They portrayed the effect music has on people including young people growing up and learning to deal with the problems life throws at them. Music was seen as a healing power due to its relatable song lyrics and its power to set or change a mood. Music can set the 'feel' of an environment, as teachers, Hannah and I often use music for this reason. We are aware of how powerful our sense of smell is as it is linked to the emotional part of our brain and can transport us back to a memory. I think music can do the same for a lot of people, it definitely does for me. I have seen the power of music for my pupils, by the end of this term some of my class were responding to my signify songs for the start and end of a session. One of Hannah's pupils loves music, the music played or sung to her can often determine her mood. She knows what she likes and more importantly what she doesn't like!

So how can we incorporate effective music provision into the curriculum for our learners with SLD and PMLD? I think Soundbeam is a wonderful example of this. Soundbeam equipment allows our pupils with learning and physical disabilities to make music. It is a control box and sensor beams that track any movement the pupil makes to create sound. The 'beams' are incredibly clever, as demonstrated to us at the TES SEN Show. They are adjustable in order to be personal to every pupil. The length of the beam sensors can be altered for each child for those who whizz around the room to motivate them to control their movement within a smaller area or the sensitivity can be adapted such as for a child with very limited movement. There are so many learning opportunities to be gained by exploring this equipment, the first and most important I think is that the child can have completely independent control. In a world where they rely on others for so much, it is lovely to watch someone with PMLD, perhaps after hundreds of attempts, learn that they are controlling something. How about have them in charge of music in assemblies or the school nativity, record their own CD. I just think it's lovely. 

I have no training in music, and being honest I have always found music sessions for my SLD classes difficult beyond the drumming call and response rhythm type activities. But the lovely lady on the stall gave me the confidence and that's what is brilliant about Soundbeam, that you don't have to be an expert and you need no training. It is so simple to use and is led by the child! 

We are currently fundraising for a Soundbeam, hopefully by the end of the year we will have it and can share with you the impact it has for our pupils. If you have any stories of using Soundbeam, please share them, we would love to hear them. You can also view many lovely videos on their website. Make sure also take a look at their autumn newsletter here. 

Cheng et al (2009) Researching and developing music provision in Special Schools in England for children and young people with complex needs, Australian Journal of Music Education 2(22) 

Another topic I would like to talk about is recording of evidence. We currently use tapestry, however we feel it has many limitations. Hannah had read up a little on Evidence for Learning and when we spotted them at TES SEN Show, we were quick to head over and pick their brains. 

Evidence for learning is an IPAD app assessment record tool similar to Tapestry. However, there are notable differences. Firstly, Evidence for Learning is a system which can be personalised to each child, where as Tapestry was designed for the EYFS framework although I know it also includes the p-scales. Well we all know they are on their way out anyway and many schools use other assessment systems such as PIVATS, MAPP, Routes for Learning, B Squared, Individual Learning Plans and many more which don't fit with the Tapestry framework. We end up uploading evidence to tapestry as learning journals for parents but also filing evidence in assessment folders and highlighting PIVATS lozenges to link to pupil outcomes as well as annotating ILPs. It is very time consuming. Evidence for learning can be designed for each pupil's personal targets and even further than this can include steps of progress towards a target for example the 4 learning areas of MAPP; fluency, prompting, maintenance and generalisation. Other benefits are that it can be used offline, it can be shared with parents who can comment and upload their own evidence, it can produce printable learning journeys and assessment document evidence. Evidence for Learning could be used to record ALL progress in ALL areas such as ILP targets and progress towards EHCP targets, PIVATS or other assessment framework targets, physio or MOVE targets, pretty much anything and any other wow moments you want to record. 

This is in no way endorsed and we do not currently use this product, however on returning to school we passed it on to our leadership as we felt that as teachers, this was a tool which could be an effective way of capturing evidence as well as being practical. Swiss Cottage School also use Evidence for Learning and are big advocates for it. You can give it a go with a 14 day free trial. Contact them for more details. 

If you are back at school tomorrow we hope you have a great start back. 

Here is a link to Flo's forum in November where Hannah and I will be attending. It's an opportunity not to miss if you can convince your school to let you go!