We were delighted to work with two Derbyshire based SEND schools to deliver a set of one-to-one workshops with some of their young people. Funded by BBC Children in Need, a team of two musicians visited Ivy House and Stanton Vale special schools across a four week period to facilitate bespoke, child-led sessions encouraging musical free play and creative expression.

Here are some lovely images from the Sensory Room sessions at Stanton Vale school, where Jessie Grimes and Deirdre Bencsik shared some memorable moments with young people. 

Over the 5 years the Sensory Room project has evolved, it has been incredible to observe the change in happiness, confidence and independence from each young person from the start of their journey with the musicians, to the end of the four week workshop time. For each visit, a member of staff who works closely with each student day to day supports the sessions. The teachers then have the opportunity to reflect on what they saw during the session and share their observations with the Sinfonia Viva team. It's in these moments that we are able to fully understand how significant the one-to-one time has impacted these students, who are encouraged to freely explore their environment and create sound as they wish. 

"It was absolutely magical. It brought a tear to my eye" Schoolteacher - Ellesmere College Leicester

As we approach the next round of delivery this term, we look forward to working with more students from Ash Field and Ellesmere schools in Leicestershire. For some further reading on this project, please explore the following case study that describes the journey of student J in their sensory music sessions. 

Click here to download full case study

14/11/2022