Website: https://www.soundabout.org.uk/
Email: info@soundabout.org.uk
Telephone: 01235 797474
Address: Soundabout, John Eccles House, Robert Robinson Avenue, Oxford Science Park, Oxford, OX4 4GP
At Soundabout, we believe that everybody deserves to have a voice. Rather than focusing on what people can’t do, we want to emphasize what they can do. We believe that people with severe and profound learning disabilities including autism should have a life full of expression, passion and enjoyment. To enable this to happen we aim to educate, support and empower through both empowering training and supporting those in our community. That’s why we use music to enable people with learning disabilities to express themselves, connect with others, and feel the warmth of music.
Soundabout was launched in 1995 in Oxford with the aim of empowering school staff working with children and young people with special needs to make music interactively with their pupils with severe and complex disabilities. The overwhelming and enthusiastic response to this project by both pupils and school staff suggested that a permanent staff training programme would be welcomed in schools across the UK and in December 1997, Soundabout was officially founded as an independent charity.
Since then, Soundabout has blossomed and is now a national charity that has pioneered the use of music, rhythm and sound to give disabled children and adults a voice, a way to express themselves and be listened to.
Our training programme in schools has continued to expand and develop around the specific needs of staff in SEN Schools and professionals who support people with severe learning disabilities. Training is delivered by our highly skilled Soundabout practitioners. Some of our practitioners also work as special needs teachers in schools and some are Music Therapists. However, all are highly skilled specialist practitioners with a national reputation for delivering unique in-classroom training.
In addition, we offer children, young people and adults along with their families and carers, regular community sessions which encourage absolutely everyone to take part in their own way, in a relaxed and friendly environment. Once again, all of these sessions are lead and developed by our highly skilled music practitioners.
Soundabout has choirs in Oxford, Bristol, Peterborough, Wiltshire and the West Midlands.