ABOUT THE CPD TRAINING
In June 2025, a group of LMNS musicians gathered at the Scottish Music Centre for a special training day focused on creating inclusive, responsive music sessions for children and young people with additional support needs (ASN).
Funded by Creative Scotland’s Youth Music Initiative (YMI) CPD Fund, the session was designed as an advanced peer training opportunity led by two experienced LMNS musicians: violinist Penny James and accordionist Neil Sutcliffe.
Penny and Neil recently completed a two-year project funded by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation in partnership with South Ayrshire Council, which explored innovative ways to share music with ASN learners in schools across the region. Drawing on this experience, they guided fellow musicians through practical ways to shape meaningful sessions in ASN settings.
A PRACTICAL, COLLABORATIVE APPROACH
The day gave LMNS musicians a chance to test out ideas in a safe and supportive environment — preparing and performing a 10-minute workshop segment for peer feedback and discussion. The session also offered space to explore everything that sits around the music: from rhythm games (as seen in the video below) and props to flexibility in session structure and responding in the moment.
As one participant noted:
“I’ve realised how creative we can be with the activities that we include in the workshops and how much beyond the music we can go, e.g. rhythm games, colouring-in, props.”
ADAPTING AND BUILDING CONFIDENCE
Many musicians highlighted how the session helped them grow in confidence and feel better equipped to work with children with a wider range of support needs.
“I found it very helpful to hear more about working with children with more complex needs than I have so far encountered which has really grown my confidence. Generally hearing about others’ experiences also added to this.”
They also appreciated the opportunity to reflect on how flexible and adaptive their approach can be:
“I feel like I can be a lot more flexible in my approach — I can have a rough plan, but don’t need to stick to it exactly, as I discovered a lot of things can change in a session.”
A HIGHLIGHT OF THEIR TRAINING EXPERIENCE
The feedback from this session was among the most enthusiastic we’ve ever received, with one musician writing:
“I thought this session was fantastic and some of the best training I have ever done, not just through LMNS but throughout my whole career. I think the peer training is a fantastic way to learn as everyone that was there was very involved in the session, and I enjoyed how open the discussions were.” — LMNS musician
We are hugely grateful to Penny and Neil for sharing their time and expertise, and to Creative Scotland’s YMI CPD Fund for supporting this important development opportunity.