Music
All students in School take part in Music classes from Primary through to Sixth Form, with some KS4 students choosing to take Music as an option.
The Music Department aims to nurture and support every student so they can achieve their musical potential no matter their disability and to do so as independently as possible. We aim to provide an atmosphere in which all students feel they have the right to perform and the self-belief and confidence to do so. All students are able to participate in every area of music whether it be performing, composing or listening and appraising, and we focus on core skills of communication, creativity, curiosity and imagination, well-being, self-expressions and musical identity. We will give students the best possible opportunity to open up their musical world.
Music is an important part of school life at Treloar’s, and it offers students an alternative and sensory way to express themselves and communicate with others. The power of music to enhance people’s lives has been well researched and documented. Listening to, creating and performing music can have many benefits including positive physiological measures (such as lowered heart rate and blood pressure). It can also boost mood levels, decrease pain levels, support management of physical and mental health, aid concentration. It supports connections with our immediate world as well as to a much wider community. We hope that through the medium of music students will create and retain their own musical identity and have a life-long interest and love for music.
Extra-curricular Music
Extra-curricular music is a very important part of Treloar’s and students are encouraged to perform on a regular basis. We currently run a singing and signing choir, a School choir and School Open Orchestra in our extra-curricular sessions. We are very proud of all our music events at Treloar’s and can see the benefit to students in their growth in well-being, confidence and self-esteem that performing and collaborating musically can bring. Every term, we have a music assembly where students can perform to their peers, staff and parents, enabling them to communicate with others musically. We hold internal and external Christmas concerts, often with local groups supporting us. We have a bi-annual musical show and have performed The Jungle Book, Oliver!, The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast in recent years. We have a number of professionals and professional groups who visit us including the Royal Marine Association Concert Band and Singing Hands. We have close links to other musical providers and educators who support us in our delivery of accessible music and how to progress and provide for our students in the future.
Open Orchestra
We are part of Open Orchestra and use Clarion technology. This musical instrument can be played on iPads, with eye gaze and smart navigation technology and can be adapted to suit any students’ needs. Clarion allows for full musical expression and encourages students to develop their performing skills and independence. There is also a progression route into the National Open Youth Orchestra and many students, past and present, have taken part in their programmes and concerts.
There are a number of opportunities to perform, and our ethos is to ensure that every student has the resilience to perform in front of others. Performing music can enhance self-esteem and confidence and can allow students to feel both power and control as well as have a chance to demonstrate their abilities.
Peripatetic Lessons
Students can choose to have 1:1 peripatetic lessons in singing, keyboard, Clarion and technology. The lessons are 20 minutes long and support student individual musical skills and confidence.
For more information or if you have any questions, please contact Director of Music Jocelyn Watkins.