Inclusive Folk
Our Inclusive Folk programme aims to improve access to folk music and dance education for learning disabled young people. The project puts particular emphasis on working with young people with learning disabilities and complex needs (individuals with multiple and unique health and social care needs that affect their ability to participate in mainstream education and arts activities).
The project is funded by John Lyon’s Charity and supports activities in nine boroughs in West London (Barnet, Brent, Camden, City of London, Ealing, Hammersmith & Fulham, Harrow, Kensington & Chelsea and Westminster).
Key Strands
Inclusive Folk has several key strands as outlined below. Please contact the EFDSS Education team to find out more about any of these strands ([email protected]).
1. Workshops in SEN/D schools
The Inclusive Folk team deliver creative music and dance workshops over a series of weeks at SEN/D schools in the John Lyon’s Boroughs. We work with teachers to plan workshops that will work for them and their students. The workshops are fully funded by John Lyon ‘s Charity and are free to schools.
Tutors were very engaging and had activities for all abilities
2. Folk Festival Days at Cecil Sharp House
SEN/D schools that we work over the term get the opportunity to visit Cecil Sharp House for a folk festival! They will meet other young people to take part in folk music and dance. The festivals often end with a ceilidh!
3. Folk Unlimited
We run fortnightly creative, inclusive, multi-sensory music and dance workshops at Cecil Sharp House on Sunday afternoons. The workshops are for learning disabled young people aged 12 to 30 who live or go to school/college in one of the John Lyon's Charity boroughs; Barnet, Brent, Camden, Ealing, Hammersmith & Fulham, Harrow, Kensington & Chelsea, and the Cities of London and Westminster. The workshops are open to all abilities and levels of experience and are great fun!
We always look forward to coming to the sessions – parent
4. Work placements at Cecil Sharp House
Each year we offer up to three learning disabled young people the opportunity to complete five to six weeks of work experience with us at Cecil Sharp House. The young people gain experience in several departments.
5. Free SEN/D teaching resources
Explore free, downloadable materials from our award winning Resource Bank about using traditional folk song, music, dance, drama and other arts in your teaching and learning.
6. CPD events for educators working with young people with SEN/D.
We deliver CPD for educators, led by our highly experienced Inclusive Folk team. If you are a school/college/music hub and you would like to discuss training on a particular topic, please get in touch: [email protected].
We also offer a freelance traineeship each year for a musician wishing to develop their skills in folk music education and working with learning disabled young people.
In addition to these strands, the project is supporting EFDSS’ work to make our wider education programme and our venue more inclusive and accessible for all people.
Read more about accessibility at Cecil Sharp House here.
Evaluation Report
Read our latest Evaluation Report (PDF, written by Andrea Spain in July 2023)
Inclusive Folk is funded by John Lyon’s Charity.
If you have any questions about our programme for learning disabled young people, please get in touch: email [email protected] or call 020 7241 8953.
