Removing Barriers Resource

We are proud to present the Removing Barriers resource, for all educators, musicians and school staff. This resource, co-authored by Dyzelle Sutherland and Matt Harper-Hardcastle, has come out of the learning from the All Aboard Music Network – a strand of professional development that darts delivered for teachers and musicians, delivering a series of events with guest speakers which opened up the conversation around accessible music making.

Removing Barriers approaches inclusive music-making using the Social Model of Disability, where a person with an impairment is disabled by society; when they encounter physical or attitudinal barriers that are exclusionary to the impairment.

The resource has been designed for educators to dip into as needed, rather than immediately being read cover-to-cover. It provides guidance on recognising barriers and becoming comfortable with the language around disability, so you can have open conversations with pupils about how you can support them to access music making. Dyzelle and Matt have also included some ideas of practical steps you can take to make music more accessible for all pupils, encouraging you to be flexible in your approach.

Speaking about the key takeaway that he hoped readers would take from the resource, Matt said, “disability is not a dirty word. The more we get used to talking about disability, the more the stigma, the sting, the worry of getting it wrong goes away, so talk about it, use the word. Even if you just start saying ‘disability’, take the sting right out of it. With that comes communication, asking questions and asking the right questions. Asking questions about someone’s diagnosis is not really going to help you unless you’re a medical professional – actually asking questions around ‘what do you need?’, ‘how do you want to engage in this?’, ‘how can I help?’, suddenly shifts the whole conversation”.

Download Removing Barriers here, or from the Resources section on this page.