Children with Special Educational Needs in Sheffield are benefitting from a musical grant from The Sarah Nulty Power of Music Foundation.
The school, in Norton, provides specialist education for 134 children aged between 4 and 11 years old. Much time is devoted to ensuring that barriers to learning are reduced for pupils as far as possible, focusing on sensory processing activities. Music is a big part of life at Mossbrook School, with all children having music lessons each week. In their application, the Mossbrook School team shared the life-changing impact music has on their pupils:
"Music is an integral part of our children's experience and learning. Many children recall language from songs, and we use music to support transition throughout school, for example, lunchtime songs, singing the timetable/register and home time songs. This allows the children to understand what is happening now and next as the songs used are repeated throughout the week.
To keep children across the school safe, during 2020, we began to have music lessons within classrooms and the shared music space. Our old, large keyboard with broken wheels was tough to move around the school, and so we requested a grant to pay for a portable keyboard to support our music lessons and whole school performances."
The Sarah Nulty Power of Music Foundation used grant funding from kind donations from individuals across Sheffield to purchase new a keyboard for the children and staff to enjoy.
Julie Voisey, Chair of Trustees at the Foundation, said,
"We know that schools have a huge range of demands on their limited funding, and we were delighted to provide the first Sarah Nulty Power of Music Foundation grant to Mossbrook School. The new portable keyboard we could buy allows all children across the school to access the instrument both within individual classrooms and for performances and assemblies. It is great to see the children and staff enjoying the music."
Laura Watton, Deputy Headteacher of Mossbrook School (pictured with a pupil), said,
"The new keyboard has allowed the teachers to bring music into children in every one of our classrooms. The children have enjoyed the musical interaction sessions by copying actions, sounds and notes – listening and playing the keyboard themselves.
Music flows through the Mossbrook curriculum: it brings communication to life and allows children to express their feelings and emotions without limitations. In a challenging year for everyone, this way for our children to express their feelings is more important than ever. From everyone at Mossbrook, we thank the Sarah Nulty Power of Music Foundation for making such a difference to life at our school with the power of music."