Music Education for Children with Physical Disabilities

Lord German Excerpts

Wednesday 30th July 2014 Grand Committee

[Lord German (LD)]

My Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Lipsey, for this debate and particularly for his skill in ensuring that the promenade concert programme was organised around the timetable of the House of Lords.

I am sure that it is quite clear to all of us here today that music education for children with physical disabilities presents great opportunities, because it removes barriers to helping people with their own esteem. The good news is that the capacity for change exists. The challenge, however, is getting the necessary support and funding in place. I, too, welcome the increased funding for music hubs in England; I wait to see what happens in Wales. The extra funding needs to help bring forward the right equipment and, more importantly, to ensure that there are properly trained staff engaged to make real progress.

The figures that we have from Ofsted show that between 2008 and 2011, only 6% of students with disabilities were involved in learning a musical instrument, compared to 14% of students without a disability. That is a clear disparity. There was also a consultation by Drake Music in 2012, which revealed that there are still a number of barriers to overcome with regard to effective music education for disabled children. There need to be improvements in the areas of organisation, training and equipment provision. Nevertheless, the capacity to have change and a music education for those with disabilities exists. I am sure that many noble Lords will, like me, have seen the schools which support children with special needs and where music is part of the curriculum. There have been some outstanding examples of providing effective and professional music teaching. The benefits coming out of the schools where we can see that work are an exemplar that we can translate to the education system across all schools.

I have no doubt that all colleagues would agree that music education leads to a more fulfilling life for disabled children. It uses musical experiences to provide better physical and mental health. A number of studies have assessed these applications but there is now overwhelming evidence to show that there are benefits. As we know, disability is highly complex, but physical and mental disabilities are interconnected. The problems of physical disability are intertwined with the communicative difficulties experienced by those who are mentally disabled. In order to encourage the better use of music education, we should therefore consider the benefits for those who are both physically and mentally disabled. I hope that the noble Lord, Lord Lipsey, will not mind if I address mental disabilities as well.

A number of studies from those dealing with physical disability have shown that playing an instrument improves joint function, co-ordination and strength for those who are physically impaired. It also provides rehabilitation for those children who are struggling to involve themselves in standard group activity because of pain, fear, or anxiety. It therefore has the therapeutic potential to enhance the lives of the physically disabled. I want to look at the benefits in addressing mental disability. The studies that we have before us today, including the briefing from the Library, show that music education has the ability to improve social interaction, both verbal and non-verbal. It also involves an improvement in emotional understanding and greatly increases the quality of relationships, not just between child and child but between a child and their friends and family. The evidence is clear: music therapy offers an alternative form of education, which shows increases in communication and social skills that are superior to standard care.

I pay tribute to the Nordoff Robbins charity, which is probably the largest music therapy support agency in this country, for the work that it has done and for some advice that it has given me. It tells me that complex disability—physical, cognitive, behavioural and communication skills—can isolate an individual from everyday interpersonal activity. As a result, social and personal relationships can falter. Music therapy enables people with complex needs to get an alternative understanding of themselves through the shared experience of music-making with others.

All around us, we are using new technology in music. I doubt that a day passes when we do not experience a new technology being used in a musical way around us. It becomes less and less important, perhaps, for people to have the physical ability to be able to manoeuvre and manipulate instrumentation, with the new technologies available to us. Just as our mobile phones allow us to do things that we would never have thought of five years ago, the new technologies allow us that as regards music. Even those with the most severe disabilities now can operate musical machinery, perhaps with the movement of only a finger or an eyelid, or by using brain-computer music interfaces. It becomes possible for people to make music with others. As complex as it all becomes, the need for keyboards—just as we have a keyboard with our computers—becomes less apparent. New technologies can make a huge difference in this area. As we know, music breaks down barriers. You can communicate with music even if you do not understand the language, and new technologies in music allow that to happen.

The Paralympics provided a very special platform for athletes with disabilities. Will the Government consider establishing and developing a national, or an international, paramusic competition for us to create yet another very special platform to provide opportunity and self-esteem for young people with disabilities? I welcome the extra funding, but I hope that the Government will use some of the extra funding for music to provide some of those opportunities for those with disabilities.