Special school launches inclusive orchestra

Pupils at UK’s largest special school given gift of music thanks to pioneering instruments and notation system from Digit Music

The UK’s largest special school has launched its very first orchestra after seeing remarkable results with an award-winning new inclusive musical instrument and notation system from Digit Music.

Teachers at Ysgol Y Deri in Wales, which caters for hundreds of pupils with a wide range of complex needs, have been blown away by the impact of Digit Music’s innovative CMPSR instruments and Arrownotes notation system.

Ysgol Y Deri – the subject of a BBC Documentary, A Special School – has around 500 pupils and is based in the Vale of Glamorgan.

Many pupils have now experienced the joy of making music for the first time thanks to award-winning inclusive instruments conceived, designed and made from an adapted wheelchair joystick by Digit Music.

With support from Whizz Kidz Children’s Wheelchair Charity and private donor Julian Morgan the school has now set up its first ever orchestra in which pupils are creating music together using CMPSR devices blended with a range of other instruments.

School leaders are using Digit Music’s pioneering Arrownotes notation system that enables teachers with no musical background to deliver engaging and inclusive lessons. They have reported a huge impact on other aspects of learning such as reading and colour identification.

Digit Music owners Si Tew and Owain Wilson are passionate about revolutionising music education with their digital-first approach, enabling children to start playing straight away on their highly intuitive CMPSR devices and accompanying Arrownotes and Swipe systems.

Lisa Rees-Renshaw, assistive technology advisory teacher at the school, said:

“I was completely blown away when I saw what Digit Music could deliver. What got me the most was not so much the technology, because I could see how that would benefit the pupils straight away, but the way that their system meant any teacher could deliver music lessons. I’m not musical. I’ve tried to play and I just can’t, and I can’t read music either. But Si from Digit Music was so inspiring in showing us what teachers can do with their Arrownotes system. I just thought: ‘I can do that’. Pupils took to using the equipment so well and they really engage with it.”

Lisa works with a music therapist to set up Ysgol Y Deri’s first orchestra, creating sheet music using Arrownotes that pupils with a range of needs can follow and deliver.

Having quickly gone from strength to strength, the Every Learners’ Orchestra has several performances under its belt and is next due to appear at a corporate lunch at Cardiff City Football Stadium on 10th July.

Lisa said:

“There are so many children in our school, whether their disabilities are physical or cognitive, who historically, wouldn’t be able to play a traditional instrument, yet by working with Digit Music we’ve opened the door up that says, ‘yes you can’. What we weren’t expecting was the response to it by some of our pupils and the impact it’s had. It’s been about so much more than music. Teachers can see pupils use the instruments and know that they can read because they are following the system. They know they’re selecting colours because we can see they’re choosing them and arrows and following directions. Some children have never really shown an interest in reading. The music we’re showing them is left to right, so we know they can read left to right because they’re following a piece of music. What we’re seeing is what music brings to everybody. It’s the engagement, it’s working with peers, it’s working with others. It’s that sense of belonging that they feel part of something.

This technology‑enabled music‑making has opened access to the same developmental benefits as traditional instruments, while also adding unique advantages such as accessibility, independence, and creative agency. We are seeing the pupils have increased attention, including shared attention, increase in problem solving skills, confidence and teamwork and a very clear sense of achievement.”

The revolutionary CMPSR has already picked up a prestigious Tech4Good award from AbilityNet Microsoft along with a Global Inclusion Award presented by IFIP (International Forums of Inclusive Practitioners) and Google Education.

Senior leaders at Apple, Google and Microsoft have been blown away by the ground-breaking devices, playing them alongside young people with disabilities at the Google Accessibility Discovery Centre in London.

Si Tew, co-founder of Digit Music, said:

“We are so happy that pupils at Ysgol Y Deri are clearly getting so much out of CMPSR and Arrownotes. It’s wonderful to see what effects it has had on other aspects of their education too. Here at Digit Music we know how empowering music can be – here’s the proof. We’re now launching our systems in mainstream schools too because that’s what inclusivity is about: it’s about everybody having fun making music no matter what challenges they face.”

About CMPSR and Digit Music

Long-time friends Si and Owain came together to develop the CMPSR device at the prototype stage.

With a seasoned career including performing on stage at Glastonbury and coverage on Radio One, Si’s musical journey began in sound design and composition for video games, while Owain joined Derby’s thriving music scene in the 1990s and worked with hip hop producer Baby J.

The idea for CMPSR was inspired after Si spotted the potential of a wheelchair joystick in making an instrument while teaching young people with disabilities as part of the Able Orchestra – a nationally recognised project whose participants have performed at the Royal Albert Hall with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra.

Owain came to the company after working for German tech giant Native Instrument. He had been working in product design and immediately spotted the potential of the CMPSR device.

The Digit Music team is passionate about creating an inclusive new way of learning music through the CMPSR device, Swipe app and Arrownotes music notation system.

Visit Digit Music‘s resource page on the Music Mark website to learn more.