Making music accessible: SEND sessions

At Little Piccolos we are passionate about making music accessible for all children. Collectively as a team, we have decades of experience teaching children and young people with special educational needs and disability (SEND) and use a range of different musical techniques and approaches to teach music effectively for children with learning differences.

Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) education has been in the news this month with the government’s proposed reforms in the Schools 2026 White Paper. One of the aims is that mainstream schools will become ‘more accessible’ for a wider range of needs. While the unknown is always scary, there's an exciting opportunity here, as adaptions for people with disabilities often better society for everyone, including non-disabled people. Think about innovations such as the cut curb that makes pushing a buggy or wheeling a suitcase so much easier - originally developed for wheelchair users; Alexa, Siri or other voice controlled technology; even the electric toothbrush which is now common in every household!

Within music education, often the key to engagement in learning is individualisation. What makes a child tick?! I have made the most unique songs up to teach ta’s and ti-ti’s in 1:1 or 2:1 SEND classes: songs about  underground stations, praying mantis shrimps, vehicles, colours and wind turbines - to name a few. The discovery of these interests cannot be rushed, a child needs to feel safe and happy first, which can take a few weeks to get used to the teacher and the room. In our first sessions, parents often say ‘but they sing all the time at home!’ and they will in class too, it just takes time to be ready to share this special moment of connection.

Children might need more visual cues of what is happening in a session. The photo on this post shows some visuals used in our sessions, to help children scaffold - hold on to the important parts of information about what we’re learning and why. This helps to filter out other information which is not as important. We also use Makaton sign language, which is great way of showing the key words. You can practise your Makaton at home using ‘Singing Hands’ on YouTube!

Our unique, individualised and fully accessible classes are available in all locations. Usually we offer 30 minute 1:1 sessions, which are priced at £35 for the session, either in a venue or at the child’s home. These classes are designed for children aged 0-12 years, who find group sessions stressful and need a calmer environment to learn what music has to offer.