COURSES

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"CREATE TOGETHER" COURSES FOR YOUNG PEOPLE WITH SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS

Our National "Create Together" Programme for young people with special educational needs is the largest and most significant project of its kind in the UK and  was born from Pro Corda's passionate belief in equality of access to and participation in the performing arts, and our commitment to provide even the hardest to reach young people with the highest quality of music making and performance opportunities. 

The programme uses our core philosophy of ensemble training that is at the heart of Pro Corda's curricula, to maximise the wider educational, social and communicational benefits of instrumental learning and musicianship. The course can be delivered intensively in a residential setting, or as a series of workshop days.

INCREASING ACCESS, UNLOCKING HIDDEN TALENT AND PROVIDING OPPORTUNITIES

This pioneering programme was devised in conjunction with Special Educational Needs (SEN) schools and Local Authority SEN Coordinators and is designed to progress the communication & social skills of vulnerable young people with difficult & complex needs alongside ensemble performance. 

These young people experience exclusion and isolation: their difficulties with communication, self-awareness, confidence and self esteem prevent them from participating in normal childhood activities, including the many after-school activities that more fortunate children can take for granted. Family relationships are often difficult and stressful, and the young people have a limited ability to form meaningful friendships and relationships.



Benefits / Outcomes:  

Attending the course and improving their confidence, independence, communication, understanding and self-awareness by learning and performing with experienced professional musicians, participants will be empowered to:

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develop new skills to boost their school record of achievement

• 
express creativity through movement,performance, improvisation and creation


• participate in mainstream educational and social activities


• develop meaningful and positive relationships and friendships


• more successfully make the transition from an SEN environment, integrating into open society


• counter negative attitudes, overcome barriers to participation


• be better equipped to develop social and financial independence

• understand life-long learning and personal development


Ensemble Training and Performance: Improving Confidence and Developing Life Skills: 


The course provides a unique combination of musical ensemble, vocal, drama and movement training which enables and encourages skills of co-operation, negotiation, and verbal and non-verbal communication to develop. The course curriculum is designed to allow participants to learn about individual skill areas in a proactive, vibrant and immediate way. The young people are fully consulted, setting their own aims and targets to be assessed as the course progresses and in the final workshop.
 

Each school also benefits from materials and workshop exercises provided for use beyond the course, making an important contribution to teaching methods for young people with special educational needs. This work leaves a lifelong legacy with the young people attending the course, and their teachers, whose increased level of understanding and new skills will impact on their work with other children with special educational needs.

A Lasting Legacy

We operate an extensive Training and Mentoring Programme to accompany these courses. This is aimed to address directly the huge shortfall of specialist music teaching and provision in SEN schools. Training and Mentoring sessions for non specialist school staff cover all aspects of our SEN curriculum. In addition we offer student trainee placements on all SEN courses in partnership with Conservatoires and Universities. We have developed the Training and Mentoring aspect of the programme in partnership with Greenwich University.