Paternoster School at IncFest 2023

The Music Works Gloucester held their annual Music Festival, IncFest in Cheltenham on 15th June this year bringing together over 120 young disabled musicians from 8 schools in Gloucestershire. They gathered on stage to celebrate and showcase their amazing musical talents.  2023 IncFest was outstanding!

Paternoster school Cirencester, a special school for 4 -16 year olds were able to attend IncFest with funding support from the Members of The Arts Society Corinium.

Paternoster’s vision is to provide a creative, exciting and engaging curriculum and learning experiences which will enable their pupils to gain the necessary knowledge, skills and understanding to develop as well-rounded, active, and valued members of our community and IncFest is a wonderful musical event to which to be a part.

The Paternoster youngsters performed and delivered heartfelt renditions of 8 songs mentioned below, all were signed using a flexible blend of Sign Supported English (SSE), Makaton, and British Sign Language (BSL), capturing the essence and emotion of the music.

• Celebrate Good Times

• Three Little Birds

• Peace Like a River

• The Birds Sing

• Roar

• Zip-a-Dee

• All of Me

• This Is Me

Paternoster's active involvement was evident, leaving a lasting impression, as one student confidently introduced the song "Three Little Birds", while another took on a solo performance. Ceilidh-Jo, the concert coordinator, praised their remarkable efforts, stating, "They did an incredible job!"

Andrew Armond from Paternoster School shared his perspective on the impact of The Music Works' support and the Inclusive Music Festival on their students:

"The Music Works have been supporting music at Paternoster School for at least seven years. The Inclusive Music Festival is important to our children in many ways. Over the years, we have built an extensive repertoire of songs that all the children have come to know through repetition and practice. This familiarity with the songs is key to our success in singing and signing in a special school. Many of the songs convey moral, motivational, or uplifting themes, which we can incorporate into our assemblies. The project has equipped us with the tools and motivation to become a singing school.

Each year, a new group of children has the incredible opportunity to perform in a major musical event. The benefits for our children are evident in improved communication, signing abilities, cooperation skills, and boosted confidence. Ceilidh-Jo is an exceptionally talented singing leader, and we are fortunate to have her and Salo visit us, as our students love participating in their dynamic live performances."