Striking The Right Note – Summary

This summary of the report has been commissioned by Music Mark and written by Independent Music Education consultant Gary Griffiths.  It is nicely detailed and broken down into clearly labelled sections including three pages devoted specifically to Music in primary schools.

Some interesting findings from the primary section of the report include –

Few other subjects are so dependent on flexible support from the school and its systems in order to flourish.

There was a significant disparity in the range and quality of extra-curricular opportunities however around half of schools visited had strong extra-curricular offers, which were valued and seen as promoting pupils’ wider musical development.

Many school leaders have reduced subsidies for instrumental lessons in recent years; others had stopped providing. Around half of the primary schools visited did not currently offer instrumental or vocal lessons.

Most leaders were realistic about their teachers’ subject expertise. Many however had no clear plans for addressing weaknesses, particularly where the school bought in a scheme of work. Some leaders were unsure where to find support.

The most effective teaching was characterised by a narrow range of instrument choices and allowing pupils to develop fine motor skills. In weaker practice, pupils had shallow encounters with too many instruments or insufficient practice time.

A few schools (generally those whose staff had significant musical expertise or worked closely with their Music Education Hub) had a clear understanding of what pupils should be able to do as a result of following the curriculum.

Remember that for support with your Music curriculum please contact Leeds Music Education Partnership, the Music Hub for Leeds, led by ArtForms. Last year LMEP engaged with 96% of the schools in Leeds. One form that this can take is as a one to one curriculum reviews to primary schools to help improve the delivery of Music across the city.

It is also worth noting that schools who have been awarded LMEP Music Champion status are entitled to free Music Mark membership from where you can access all sorts of CPD and resources free of charge. These include the new School Music Development Plan templates. Email LMEP.ArtForms@leeds.gov.uk for more information.

Author: Sam Mercer, Music Curriculum Support Manager, ArtForms

As per last year, schools have a choice between membership to Sing Up, or a licence for either Charanga or Sparkyard from Out of the Ark.   Each Leeds primary school is entitled to one of the three platforms, fully subsidised by LMEP for the 2023-24 academic year.  Here is a summary of what each platform offers:

1) Charanga

https://charanga.com/site/

• Charanga membership provides a vast library of resources, songs, instrumental courses and creative apps.
• These include two, week by week schemes for each primary year group, for a full year.  Their latest scheme is informed by the Model Music Curriculum.
• The schemes come with lesson plans showing clear progression and interactive resources for every lesson.
• This platform provides the resources and support to enable non-specialist teachers to deliver Music lessons independently.

2) Sing Up!

https://www.singup.org/

• Sing Up has an extensive catalogue of established and commercially successful songs expertly arranged for young voices.
• The songs come with high quality backing and performance tracks as well as sheet music and an interactive white board mode.
• Membership gives you access to all their songs as well as teaching resources and support materials including their new Sing Up Music Units for every year group.
• This is not only excellent for teaching but also to provide material and accompaniment for singing assemblies.
• The breadth of the Sing Up catalogue is a real selling point.

3) Sparkyard – Out of the Ark

https://www.sparkyard.com/

• Out of the Ark write their own excellent songs specifically for schools.
• Their catalogue includes bespoke songs for all areas of the curriculum, and for assemblies and school productions.
• The new platform includes an innovative, skills-based music curriculum, that is flexible and easy to deliver from Reception right up to Yr 6.
• Sparkyard lesson plans include: simple, easy-to-follow steps, fabulous songs, assessment suggestions, listening examples from a diverse range of genres and musical periods, demonstration videos and audio clips, glossary and list of key vocabulary, coverage of the inter-related dimensions of music and National Curriculum requirements, printable resources for download.

Each of these three packages have something different to offer to support schools.

To order the platform you wish to use for the next academic year please email LMEP.ArtForms@leeds.gov.uk by Friday 21^st July 2023.

We have a finite number of licences for each platform and they will be allocated on a first come first serve basis.

Requests made after 21^st July will be considered depending on availability.

Whether you are looking to share best practice with others, learn more about a specific aspect of music or just need a bit of help developing your music curriculum, we will have a workshop, event or training session for you.

There’s a lot going on in the Spring and Summer terms – check out our upcoming events page and brochure for course and booking information! For more information on how you, or your school, can benefit from our Music Connect programme, please contact Paula.Brookes@leeds.gov.uk.

Thanks to funding from the Leeds Music Education Partnership, our training is free to Leeds schools and academies.

Check out our brochure for course and booking information. For more information on how you, or your school, can benefit from our Music Connect programme, please contact Paula.Brookes@leeds.gov.uk.

Whole Class Ensemble Teaching makes a real impact in schools. Contact ArtForms to see how learning an instrument as a whole class can help your learners and your school.