Sustainability is a broad and complex idea, yet it can be meaningfully introduced to learners of all ages in the context of music education. Grounding music education practice in democratic values promotes inclusion and allows all pupils to participate in creating a shared understanding of sustainability that is relevant to them. Therefore, this workshop presents a pedagogical design that supports primary and lower secondary school pupils’ engagement with sustainability through composition exercises.

By framing sustainability in a relational paradigm, the workshop highlights how music education can support awareness of interdependence in ecosystems and societies, and how such an awareness connects to democratic participation and social engagement (Hess, 2019). Through the integration of music and storytelling, the design seeks to address both cognitive and affective qualities of sustainability (Ojala, 2013).

Developed within the Erasmus Plus TEAM project, this workshop follows a pedagogical design that has been adapted for music lessons in primary and lower secondary school. It contains three parts:

1. Introduction: sustainability is explored through music-based activities adaptable to different ages and levels of musical proficiency. The aim is to build systems awareness by noticing interconnections and interdependence.

2. Composition: participants collaboratively compose a short musical story, using musical elements to represent sustainability-related ideas, thereby practicing both creative expression and relational thinking.

3. Reflection: the process concludes with two levels of reflection: one on the artistic ideas behind the composition and one linking the activities back to participants’ own teaching practices.

Through this design, the workshop offers a concrete approach to integrating global concerns into everyday music teaching. Participants will gain tools to develop pupils’ systems awareness, empathy, and collaborative agency, thereby linking music education to democratic, ecological and social aims.

The musical progression and musical behaviours of children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) are not fundamentally dissimilar to that of their typically developing peers (Ockelford, 2008; Welch & Ockelford, 2010). Depriving them, therefore, of a high-quality music education that develops them as musicians is literally dehumanizing (Lubet, 2009) and as such, they are entitled to this as a matter of social justice. However, most research that connects disability and music is not aimed at music education or particularly accessible for teachers, but is typically music therapy focused (Berthén et al., 2022). Given the coexisting nature (Ockelford, 2008) and increasing complexity (Salt, 2010; Carpenter, 2007; Pinney, 2017) of learners’ needs in special school settings, this is concerning and has resulted in a lack of professional guidance available for teachers of music.

Based on the research and professional work of both presenters, this workshop explores an intersection of knowledge between the practice of in-service generalist teachers in special schools in England and music teachers in Sweden. Suggestions of the Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) required for teaching music to pupils with SEND, and the training required to develop this with both groups of practitioners, are shared and discussed. Practical examples will highlight the importance of teachers knowledge and competence i.e: selecting appropriate and accessible instruments and notation; movements, non-verbal strategies, cues for teaching musical concepts; and principles for adaptions (Backman Bister et al., 2025; Johnston, 2023).

This workshop offers a mutual approach to and understanding of SEND music teaching as an area of professional practice. However, the ideas shared are simply a starting point; given the range of SEND seen in today’s classrooms, teachers will need to continually adapt their pedagogy and teaching strategies further to meet the specific and increasingly complex needs of learners with SEND.