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Derrington 2012 thesis.pdf - Anglia Ruskin Research Online

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had an impact on music therapy and other services provided for students in education,<br />

particularly in mainstream. The school’s openness to new ideas, and crucially its<br />

focus on supporting and including children with special needs, was evident from day<br />

one.<br />

Throughout the research, I continued to be employed by The Centre School (two days<br />

a week) and for one day a week by Cambridgeshire’s hearing support service, whose<br />

only unit for secondary-aged deaf pupils is based at Cottenham Village College<br />

(<strong>Derrington</strong>, 2010). These two employers oversee all referrals to music therapy, most<br />

of which are for students in The Centre School or the hearing support service and this<br />

study includes both populations. Some referrals may relate to students who do not<br />

come under their remit but whose referral they may still recommend. For example,<br />

students in the mainstream school have been referred in the past for reasons such as<br />

bereavement, following an incident of severe bullying or for ongoing emotional stress<br />

as a young carer. This illustrates how the teams and the schools collaborate and<br />

support each other.<br />

3.2 The mainstream school: Cottenham Village College (CVC)<br />

Cottenham Village College is a large campus mainstream school with about a<br />

thousand pupils aged between 11 and 16 (Key stages 3 - 5) and is situated in a semirural<br />

village six kilometres outside Cambridge. Mainstream means it a school for all<br />

children, not just those with special educational needs (SEN). The catchment area<br />

includes an army base and a Travellers’ site so the registration of some pupils can be<br />

fluid, with many pupils leaving and joining school at different times.<br />

Traveller students should be registered at a school but many grow up outside<br />

educational systems (Garrett, 2004). Cultural differences can make Traveller students<br />

feel isolated and, since their schooling is frequently interrupted, it can be difficult for<br />

them to make friends and be well integrated at school. Due to the lack of continuity in<br />

education they may be of lower ability in their age group. This can lead to ‘acting<br />

out’ behaviours in order to mask their difficulties or to gain peer approval, or they<br />

may even challenge or be challenged to fight to determine the pecking order<br />

(<strong>Derrington</strong> and Kendall, 2004). Throughout their schooling students are supported<br />

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