Sounds of Intent

Did you know that sounds of intent offers a postgraduate certification with the ‪@RoehamptonAcUk‬? It’s a masters-level course that is delivered part-time and 100% online. It’s worth 60 credits, which is about halfway to a masters.

Sarah is a student who has just finished. She said she’d been “awakened” by the course. She studied for it alongside teaching full-time, and noticed “how much the Sounds of Intent framework has permeated” her work for the better.

Every student on the course will complete a placement. Sarah described how she felt on her placement:
“I had the moment when I was on my placement of ‘this is exactly the thing I want to be doing’”

If you’re passionate about inclusive music education, and want to learn more, follow the link in our bio to apply for the course. Feel free to email social@soundsofintent.org to enquire about your eligibility.

www.roehampton.ac.uk/study/postgraduate-taught-cou…

#PGCert #SpecialEducationalNeeds #InclusiveEducation

3 days ago | [YT] | 1

Sounds of Intent

Did you know that Sounds of Intent has reached Nigeria?

The Darkos Music Foundation, led by Daniel Darkos, is based in Lagos, Nigeria. The foundation supports and promotes music education for all learners. In this photo, from September 2025, students in a junior school in Lagos are enjoying a musical training programme, using clapping and singing to explore music.

Daniel has used Sounds of Intent to understand how all his learners, including those with diverse needs, engage with music. He told us it has “significantly developed” the engagement of his students. In recognition of their inclusive music curriculum, the Darkos Music Foundation has also been the successful recipient of one of our Awards for Schools - congratulations!

Sounds of Intent’s mission is to use an understanding of music to change people’s lives. We couldn’t be happier that Daniel discovered the framework and is using it to change lives in Lagos - congratulations!

Image description: About 20 children wearing green and white uniforms sit in a circle on the floor with two adults, clapping hands and smiling.

#Nigeria #MusicEducation #ChangingLives

4 days ago | [YT] | 2

Sounds of Intent

Did you know that Sounds of Intent offers a postgraduate qualification? tinyurl.com/SoIPGCert2026

This is a part-time course taught online and worth 60 credits. It’s designed for educators, musicians, therapists, clinicians, parents, carers and anyone committed to inclusive practice.
You will build both theoretical understanding and practical expertise of inclusive musical development. It’s taught flexibly over the course of one year.

We’ll be sharing insights from graduates soon - in the meantime, follow the link above to find out more about the course!

Image description: A photo of our founder, Adam, in a classroom standing behind a young boy who sits at a piano. His hands are placed on the boys which are on the keys and the boy is grinning widely.

#MusicEducaiton #SpecialEducation #SoundsofIntent #InclusiveEducation

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 1

Sounds of Intent

Did you know that this term, Sounds of Intent ran the first ever iteration of our Awards for Schools scheme?

The awards celebrate schools providing inclusive music education. They recognise Bronze, Silver, and Gold level achievement in this area.

We wanted to run the awards scheme for a few reasons: to provide some much-deserved congratulations, and to spur on progress.

But another reason was to connect a community of like-minded, passionate, dedicated teachers who might not realise how many colleagues they truly have.

Now, at the end of the scheme, we’re so proud to be able to see how far the awards have reached. What an incredible community all across the UK!

We’ll keep working to bring this community together and support it with resources and research.

The awards will reopen in the Autumn term, so stay tuned and visit soundsofintent.org/en/awards-for-schools/a-mark-of… for more info!

Image description: A map of Ireland and the UK covered from top to bottom with 37 red pins above the text, "Our Sounds of Intent School Awards map"

#InclusiveEducation #SpecialEducation #MusicEducation #SoundsofIntent

3 weeks ago (edited) | [YT] | 1

Sounds of Intent

Live Music Now is seeking a Project Manager to oversee the Tuning In to Autism project, which is a collaboration with Sounds of Intent. Please follow this link to find out more and apply. The deadline for applications is the 13th of July, 2026. www.livemusicnow.org.uk/jobs-and-opportunities/

Tuning In to Autism offers an exciting opportunity for someone who wants to help shape and champion an emerging area of inclusive music practice.

The Project Manager will lead and coordinate the national delivery and
development of Tuning In to Autism. The post holder will help build awareness and engagement with the project through partnership working,
training, communications and events. They will also play an important role in translating research and theory into practical, accessible approaches for practitioners and families.

The role would be great for: a primary phase teacher or an early years’ specialist, someone with experience of autism and social communication approaches within education, or someone with lived experience of autism and a passion for inclusive creative practice.

#Autism #CharityJobs #MusicJobs

1 month ago | [YT] | 1

Sounds of Intent

We are thrilled to have hosted Sounds of Intent's first ever conference on Tuesday the 9th. It was an invigorating day of connection and inspiration. Thank you to all the delegates for the warm atmosphere, evident passion, and commitment to changing lives through music.

For our inaugural conference we couldn't be happier. Watch this space as we'll be sharing some of the expertise and research, as always, on our social media in bite-size pieces!

#Inclusivity #MusicEducation #SpecialEducationalNeeds

1 month ago | [YT] | 0

Sounds of Intent

We’re delighted that our next webinar will be hosted by a PhD student who works with Sounds of Intent - Claire Marie Bowes.

She will cover her PhD research on effective memorisation strategies for blind children learning piano, exploring effective memorisation and the importance of including learning from memory in instrumental lessons.

If you’d like to understand the processes involved in memorisation and how to teach memorisation effectively, do come along! Attendance is totally free.

Wednesday 3rd June at 4:30pm - sign up at the link here: forms.cloud.microsoft/e/mvv2TU8Fgs

#Blindness #Memory #Music

1 month ago | [YT] | 0

Sounds of Intent

We’re thrilled to be collaborating with so many amazing organisations at our conference - coming up on the 9th of June. TiME Technology in Music Education, The Amber Trust, Trinity College London Music and Drama and Live Music Now will all be hosting stalls where you can learn about their work and our partnership. A great demonstration of the different angles from which we can work towards inclusion in music.

‪@TrinityVideoChannel‬ and Sounds of Intent co-developed and run a qualifications scheme called the ACMDs whereby learners of all ages can gain accessible, inclusive, nationally-recognised music qualifications.

‪@TIMETechnologyinMusicEducation‬ supports our work on the Mugo, a project to develop a musical instrument accessible to learners of all mobility levels. More on this soon!

Live Music Now work closely with Sounds of Intent on many projects, including our Awards scheme for schools.

And ‪@theambertrust‬ is our close partner in crime, focusing on making music accessible to blind and visually impaired learners.

With all these collaborators, our conference promises to be an inspiring event, and it’s totally free. Sign up (either to attend in person or to receive the materials) here: tinyurl.com/soiconference2026

Image description: A young boy hits a drum with a stick, causing glitter to fly into the air. Below, text against a dark pink background below reads. "One week left to sign up for our conference on June 9th." Above are the logos for Trinity College London, TiME Technology in Music Education, Live Music Now, The Amber Trust and the ‪@RoehamptonAcUk‬, London.

#InclusiveMusic #SpecialEducationalNeeds #MusicEducation #PMLD #SEN #SpecialEducation #SpecialNeeds

1 month ago | [YT] | 0

Sounds of Intent

Your final reminder to have your voice heard if you work in a UK special school! We are conducting research with ‪@RoehamptonAcUk‬ and UCL to better our support for inclusive music making.

The survey will take just 15 minutes and could shape the future of provision for YOUR work - www.tinyurl.com/soimusicimpactsurvey

Image description: Yellow text against the SoI colours of blue and pink, "Final reminder to have your say in our music impact survey - we need your help with our study to understand how teachers and schools think about and implement inclusive music education. Fill in our short 10 minute online questionnaire for a chance to win our guestural instrument, the Mugo, for your school or setting. For more information please contact Natalie Cairns-Ratter, Research Assistant at the University of Roehampton, cairnsrn@roehampton.ac.uk or 07496058751

#InclusiveEducation #MusicEducation #SpecialEducation #SEN #PMLD

1 month ago | [YT] | 0

Sounds of Intent

Hello all. We're delighted to announce that our first ever annual conference is going to be held this year on June 9th at the ‪@RoehamptonAcUk‬ in London, 10:30-3:30pm. There will be several presentations about our work as well as the wider community we support, including by our founder Professor Adam Ockelford.

Our conference is aimed primarily at special education and music education practitioners, parents, and researchers. However, anyone with an interest in what we do is more than welcome to attend - and it’s totally free.

David Rees, chair of ‪@mertonmusicmmf‬ will speak about our collaboration on the Mini Musicians project, accompanied by a performance by the children themselves. David Shaw, Deputy Head of Linden Lodge School will present a case study in how the Sounds of Intent framework can be implemented in educational environments.

Our founder Adam Ockelford will give a talk about the many ways in which we are changing lives through music and we are also looking forward to being able to formally celebrate those who have received a Sounds of Intent School Award and present certificates.

All of this is joined by a panel discussion; a performance by 15 year old ‪@chapmanshum‬ who is blind and lives with severe autism, of his own composition 'Kennedy Town'; and stalls from
‪@TIMETechnologyinMusicEducation‬
‪@theambertrust‬
‪@TrinityVideoChannel‬
livemusicnow

It promises to be an inspiring and invigorating day of connection and learning.
To secure your free place, please register at tinyurl.com/soiconference2026

If you can’t make it in person, there’s also the option to ask to receive the materials after the event.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Image description: The two-page flyer for the event containing all of the above information and consisting of blue and pink text against a pale green background with a photo of a young boy hitting a drum covered in confetti which is flying into the air.

#InclusiveEducation #MusicEducation #SpecialEducation #SEN #SoundsofIntent

2 months ago (edited) | [YT] | 2