Co-created with and for Learning Disabled audiences, ETO will perform a new sensory friendly opera to over 2,000 children across the country in Autumn 2026, in what may be their first experience of live music.
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Beneficiaries
Learning Disabled children face significant barriers to accessing musical experiences, including physical access, lack of accessible information, and worries about ‘fitting in’. Cost, lack of appropriate content, practicalities, and diminishing music provision in schools also prevent children in SEND schools and Specialist settings from visiting cultural venues and accessing affordable and high-quality creative experiences.
ETO will create and tour a bespoke opera for Learning Disabled audiences to schools across England. Respondents to The Music Education Report Call for Evidence (2021) attested that music can be transformative for Learning Disabled children, noting improvements in their social skills, levels of engagement in school activities, and mental wellbeing. They reported that music gives Learning Disabled pupils a sense of purpose, a chance to excel in other subjects, and a sense of community with peers.
