Victoria Ward QTVI

For students with a vision impairment, whose primary world is auditory, Music can be an absolute life changer.

I am fortunate enough to be the Strategic Lead for VI Education at New College Worcester, a residential special school for children and young people of secondary age, all of whom have a severe vision impairment. I joined NCW in 2000, initially as Director of Music, where I developed a real enthusiasm and expertise for Music Braille and introduced Music Technology to the curriculum. I have seen the joy and fulfilment that my students have got from participating fully in all aspects of the Music curriculum and am proud of their numerous, remarkable achievements – not merely being as good as their sighted peers, but often a million times better. The formula to success lies in taking the time and effort to teach students the skills that they need to become fully independent, whether this be music braille or being conversant with accessing music software with speech. I understand all too well that this can have its challeges, which is why I created this website, so that I can share advice that comes from my experience of teaching KS3, GCSE and A Level Music along with A Level and BTEC Level 3 Music Technology.