Concluding our celebration of Arts Award Discover on the blog this month, Deirdre Waller-Box, Youth Development Brass Specialist at Brass Bands England based in Barnsley tells us about a partnership they set up with Hitchin Band and a school in Luton where the young people achieved Discover, which led to plans to organise inclusive events for students, families and the wider community.
Brass Bands England (BBE) promotes, represents and supports brass bands across the country. We are a voice for our bands and our players and we shout about the life-enhancing benefits of this vital part of our culture. Brass Foundations is BBE’s flagship education programme, bringing together musical partners to promote brass progression for young people in England.
Richmond Hill School is a special school in Luton catering for children with complex needs. In June 2023, BBE initiated a partnership project bringing together Hitchin Band, Richmond Hill School and BBE’s Brass Foundations education team. The project grew from one simple playground performance by Hitchin Band into a successful Arts Award project spanning a range of activities, and resulted in an embedded culture of live performance across the school.
Proms in the Playground
Brass Bands England run an annual event called ‘Proms in the Playground’. I approached Emma Jackman, Expressive Arts Lead at Richmond Hill School, to ask if she would like a local community brass band to visit her school for a performance as part of this event. She not only agreed but then proceeded to create a whole immersive arts day around Hitchin Band’s performance that included visual arts and tactile music making, and finished with a celebratory whole school parade. It was following this fantastic event that started our BBE Brass Foundations project within the school.
At the beginning of this initiative, Emma and I asked critical questions to assess our goals: ‘What will progress look like?’ and ‘How will we know we have succeeded?’ Drawing from my experience of delivering Arts Award in mainstream schools, including those with students who have Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), we recognised it as a fitting objective for our Richmond Hill School Brass Foundations project. Arts Award provided a key framework for measuring our achievements and guiding the children's learning journey.
Emma attended adviser training and registered the school as an Arts Award centre and together, we lead the project. Over two terms, we successfully delivered Arts Award Discover to a cohort of eight students, enabling them to engage with music and the arts.
Taking part in arts activities
For Part A (Discover), students participated in one-to-one sessions, exploring brass and other instruments. They experimented with sound creation, learned new songs, and developed their musical skills. We found that some students were able to engage with brass instruments, loaned to us by Luton Music Service, immediately, while others accessed other instruments more easily. The sessions were adapted to meet the needs of individual learners and had exciting musical and developmental results. One child said ‘thank you’ for the first time ever, while another discovered how to create and follow patterns of long and short notes. Another child, who had previously avoided the music room, entered voluntarily for the first time, and we watched as another used their favourite ice cream flavours to create new rhythms.
In addition to these weekly sessions, students participated in termly whole school immersive arts days organised by Emma, exploring a range of arts including dance, drama, and visual arts. Some of the students also attended weekly choir rehearsals and had opportunities to perform with their choir.
Finding out and making connections
As I was in the school each week working with the students, I became the artist that the students found out about for Part B of the award (Find out). Our weekly interactions allowed for close engagement, which the students reflected on with support back in their classrooms. They used communication boards to tell staff about their experiences. They demonstrated an understanding of the instruments that I played and connected their participation in music to their interactions with me. I was often greeted when I walked past their classroom with ‘Dee – music!’ by the students.
Some students had the opportunity to play alongside Hitchin Band during their twice-yearly performances, allowing them to engage directly with live music. This experience not only helped them recognise the band as a musical ensemble but also deepened their understanding by identifying instruments and making meaningful connections with the players.
Sharing learning
A real highlight of the project was the assembly to which their classmates, families and teachers were invited and where the students shared their learning for Part C (Share). The event was a significant milestone as students performed together for the first time and parents shared in the students’ progress and achievements. For those students unable to physically be in the room, their work was shared via video, which had been used as the means of collecting evidence for all the students. It was a great chance to share further with the families, the level of achievement an Arts Award can bring.
On-going partnership
The partnership between Hitchin Band and the school has become a key part of the school calendar, with performances held twice a year across both sites. The band stays in regular contact with Emma, with a view to planning inclusive events for students, families, and the wider community, including a Relaxed Performance of The Snowman. The band’s visits to Richmond Hill School have also deepened their understanding of how to make its performances more accessible to the local community.
The partnership project and the integration of Arts Award at Richmond Hill School have greatly enriched the educational offering of the school and resulted in positive experiences for its students. Through music and the arts, the programme has given participants the opportunity to develop skills, confidence, and a sense of identity as artists. I certainly will take these memorable moments with me on my teaching journey, and I hope that our young Discoverers continue to enjoy exploring music for many years to come.
Header photo by Brass Bands England, Tenor Horns and Ice Cream (a child used their favourite ice cream flavours to create new rhythms).
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