Marcelle Steenkamp, Head of The Arts at Montem Academy in Slough celebrates the flexible, inclusive nature of Arts Award by highlighting how a deafblind student successfully engaged with Arts Award Discover through tactile and sensory adaptation.
At its core, Arts Award is designed to be accessible, flexible, and inclusive. But when it comes to delivering Arts Award Discover to a child who is both deaf and blind, standard arts logs and traditional methods naturally have to be set aside.
At Montem Academy, we believe that a lack of sight and sound shouldn't mean a lack of creative expression. When it came to supporting our student, Momina, we didn't see barriers; we saw an opportunity to explore the arts through pure touch, texture, and vibration.
Part A (Discover): A world of textures and tones
For Momina, the arts are experienced through her hands. While her peers worked with our standard printed arts log booklets, Momina’s Arts Award journey was entirely bespoke, focusing on fine motor skills and rich tactile feedback.
She dove headfirst into 3D crafting, creating textured snails using paper plates, crinkly foil, fuzzy pipe cleaners, soft pom-poms, and smooth beads. When the class learned about William the Conqueror, Momina designed her own historic shield, independently manipulating PVA glue to position rigid mosaic tiles.
But it wasn't just about crafting. Momina has also developed a love for painting, spending her afternoons exploring the fluid movement of wet paint on paper. She has also mastered using specialist German film paper (a plastic tool that creates raised, swelled lines when drawn on), allowing her to independently feel the shapes and flowers she draws.
Perhaps most magically, Momina’s arts journey extended into music. Every Friday, she takes part in ukulele sessions. Without sound, Momina experiences music through the physical vibrations of the instrument against her body and the rhythmic patterns of plucking the strings—proving that music is something we feel, not just something we hear.
Part B (Find out): Connecting with Beethoven
To fulfil this element of Discover, the entire class embarked on a very special project. To ensure Momina was completely included, the children learned all about Ludwig van Beethoven.
Focussing on a Classical composer who famously experienced profound deafness created a beautiful, shared bridge of understanding in the classroom. While the other children listened to his symphonies, Momina connected with Beethoven’s world through the shared language of vibration.
The class explored how Beethoven could still create masterpieces by feeling the resonance of the music through his piano. By connecting her own Friday ukulele sessions to Beethoven’s story, Momina discovered that great art and music belong to everyone, regardless of how they perceive the world.
Part C (Share): The joy of sharing
For this part, the children share what they learned with others. For Momina, this was a deeply proud moment. She hosted a mini tactile exhibition for her classmates and teachers. Momina passed around her favourite textured creations—including her mosaic shield and raised-line drawings—allowing others to experience her art exactly the way she does: through touch.
True inclusion in action
Momina’s success is a proud moment for our school and a testament to the flexibility of Arts Award. It reminds us all that art isn't just visual or auditory. Art is tactile, it is emotional, and it is a universal language. Momina didn't just complete Arts Award Discover; she taught us all a new way to appreciate the world around us.
All images by Montem Academy showing Momina's art work and Momina creating her art