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Derrington 2012 thesis.pdf - Anglia Ruskin Research Online

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CHAPTER 3<br />

THE CONTEXT AND SETTING<br />

3.1 Introduction<br />

This chapter describes the background to music therapy at The Cottenham Academy<br />

and its development in line with the many changes made in the school over the last<br />

ten years. It sets out the context for the research project, the reasons some students are<br />

referred to music therapy and a description of the monitoring system and other<br />

evaluative tools. Some case vignettes illustrate how music therapy fits into this<br />

educational system and examples are given of the practical issues of providing music<br />

therapy in a special and mainstream school. It requires a flexible approach by the<br />

music therapist to meet students’ needs, fit within the short school day and work<br />

around the busy schedule of secondary schools. The impact of the school<br />

environment and how it can affect the student having therapy is also considered.<br />

Music therapy was first introduced to Cottenham when it was a mainstream school<br />

for students aged 11 -16 with a Learning Support Unit. It is now known as The<br />

Cottenham Academy 13 and consists of two schools: a mainstream secondary school<br />

for pupils aged 11 -18 (Cottenham Village College with a Sixth Form Centre) and a<br />

special school for students with emotional and behavioural difficulties (The Centre<br />

School). When the Learning Support Unit’s status changed into a school it was a<br />

significant development and the two schools, sharing one site, became federated 14 in<br />

2008. This means that they share a governing body, senior leadership team and many<br />

teaching resources.<br />

Learning at Cottenham is centred round the individual which means there is as much<br />

emphasis put on vocational training as there is on academic achievement. The<br />

different avenues for learning demonstrate proactive inclusion and the school’s<br />

efforts to meet the needs of all its students. Inclusion, defined in section 3.2.2, has<br />

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!<br />

"$ !The school agreed to be named but it is still difficult to identify individual students<br />

involved in the project and names have been changed in all cases.!<br />

"% !A federation is a formal arrangement between two or more schools to work<br />

together under a single governing body and usually share a head teacher.!<br />

! &+!

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