Designing an Inclusive Music Programme

Role: Programme Designer & Creative Producer

I led a consultation exploring provision for families with disabled children and the barriers they faced in accessing creative and leisure activities.

Through consulting with local services and running taster sessions, I designed a programme that created a fortnightly space for families with disabled children.

The programme combined:

• one-to-one family creative sessions for children with more complex needs

• group music sessions for families who benefited from coming together, enjoying social interaction and taking part in shared creative experiences

Outcome

The programme created a welcoming and flexible space where families could participate in creative music-making in ways that worked for them.

Families reported:

• increased wellbeing

• improved communication and self-expression in children

• a sense of belonging and community

• having a place they could go at weekends when other leisure activities were often inaccessible because of their children’s needs

This work reflects my approach to inclusive programme design: listening carefully, consulting with communities and creating provision that responds directly to people’s lived realities.