• Date: Tuesday, 20th January 2026
• Venue: Pudsey Civic Hall, Dawson’s Corner, Pudsey, LS28 5TA
• Arrival: From 9:00am for a 9:30am start
• Play-through: 2:30pm (Parents warmly invited)
• Finish: 3:00pm

Who Can Attend?
Students in Year 6 and above, who are Grade 1 standard and above on a woodwind or brass instrument.

What to Expect:

On Tuesday 20th January, Pudsey Civic Hall will come alive with the sound of young musicians working together in full rehearsals and focused sectionals. They will learn from our experienced ArtForms tutors, make new friends, and experience the thrill of playing in a large ensemble.

The day ends with a play-through at 2:30pm, where they will show off what they have achieved – parents and families are warmly invited. It is a fantastic opportunity for the students to improve their skills, boost their confidence, and discover what ArtForms ensembles have to offer.

What to Bring:

• Instrument
• Pencil
• Packed lunch
• Water bottle
• Ear defenders (if required)
• Book / homework / mini games for breaktime and lunchtime (no balls please!)
• Any medication / inhalers etc. (if required)

Students will not be able to leave the building during the day. Students do not need to come in school uniform.

How to sign up:

If your child wishes to take part, please complete the online form by Friday 12th December 2025 – https://forms.gle/Dsjed7YRZndfBUN36

You will receive an email confirmation securing their place after this date. Parents will need to seek approval from schools to attend, and we will contact the schools to confirm their attendance.

If you have any questions, please contact educ.artforms@leeds.gov.uk.
We look forward to welcoming your child for this inspiring musical experience!

One of the songs we are excited to include in the event is ‘The Future’s in our Hands’, the hugely popular anthem from our 2023 Singing Challenge that brought the house down as the finale in our first Leeds Arena concert. Video footage from our Primary Big Choir Sing will be included in an ArtForms Leeds 400 video, to be released later in the year.   

The event is subsidised by ArtForms as part of the West Yorkshire Music Hub.  There is now a nominal charge to Leeds schools, depending on numbers attending the event. The cost to schools will be as follows –  

£30 for up to 15 singers  
£50 for up to 30 singers  
£65 for up to 45 singers  
£80 for up to 60 singers  

What can you expect from us before the day? 

•  Resource materials (songs/rehearsal tracks and lyrics) for you to use to practise the songs with your choir at school, ready for the Big Choir Sing 

•  A video resource, where we will teach the songs like a rehearsal, for those choir leaders who may need more support  

What will happen on the day? 

• The event will be led by Claire Rivers 

• The songs will be accompanied by our house band 

• Extra material will be taught, in addition to the songs we share before the event. 

How to book  

All schools will be sent an email invitation to sign up via Leeds for Learning in the final week of the spring term.   5/2026-06-19/09:45/t-

Bookings will open at 9am on Wednesday 1st April. Follow the link below to book your tickets:  

• Morning session:  9:45-11:15  

• Afternoon session:  13:00-14:30  

If you are music lead and do not receive our emails, please let us know at educ.artforms@leeds.gov.uk and we will add you to our mailing list. Also, to automatically receive the Primary Music Newsletter by email, please ask your business manager to tick “Music Leader” in the roles section of your Leeds for Learning user account. 

Please get in touch if you have any further questions about this event: claire.rivers@leeds.gov.uk 

The Little Sing is an interactive Performance Event for Key Stage 1 from Music Connect, with funding from the West Yorkshire Music Hub (WYMH). 

On Friday 20th March 2026, Music Connect, led by ArtForms, will host our ninth annual Little Sing for Key Stage 1. This is an immersive Musical Experience for children, where they are the performers as well as the audience.  

The children always love the session of singing, playing instruments and moving, as do the adults who attend. The theme this year will be all about the sea: a journey over the waves, singing songs as we go. The band and singing leaders will be dressed for the theme and the stage will be filled with sea creatures and colourful backdrops, ready to welcome over 1000 children throughout the course of the day over two sessions.  

Here’s some feedback from Little Sing ’25: 

It was great to have the music beforehand so we could learn with the children. We loved the costumes and the setting of the event. The mini beasts were great! We really enjoyed the choice of music and the fast-moving pace of the event. Children were engaged throughout. It was great to see so many children using the sticks. Y1 teacher, Stanningley Primary School.

Children have been singing the songs in the playground, and they really enjoyed being outside of their classroom environment.  Y1 teacher, Park View Primary Academy 

It was brilliant! Music leader, Pudsey Southroyd Primary 

Feedback from a selection of the young people who attended the event: 

We liked the Minibeast Rave and the opportunity to play the instruments. Daisy 

We liked that the singers came to the back with us to sing and dance. Katie 

We loved the minibeast outfits and singers. Ibraheem 

This is the best day ever! Jacob 

Friday 17^th May

9:00-3:00

Pudsey Civic Hall

Music Connect is our programme of curriculum support for Music Leaders in all Leeds schools.  The termly Music Leaders Network is an important part of Music Connect, bringing Music Leaders together from primary schools across Leeds to share experiences and discuss the latest developments in Music Education.

Since the start of the pandemic our network meetings moved online, increasing attendance due to the convenience of accessing a twilight session from school or home.  However, we really value face to face events for Music Leaders to truly network which is why we have created the new conference.

This year the conference will include –

An Ofsted Deep Dive panel discussion sharing experiences from Otley St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School and Cockburn Haigh Road Academy plus a head teacher from a local academy chain TBC.

Followed by workshops from –

• Sue Nicholls – A Fresh Look at Composition for key stages 1&2.  Sue is a vastly experienced music teacher who works nationwide as a music education consultant delivering workshops, seminars, keynotes and CPD as well as being published author for Collins (Music Express) and OUP.
• Sing Up – Sharon Durrant from https://www.singup.org will explore the new Sing Up curriculum and provide Music Leaders with access to resources that can be shared with the non-specialist Music teachers in their school.
• Musical Futures – Fran Hannan from www.musicalfuturesonline.org will lead an interactive session on the chair drumming resources from their free resource library which attendees can use with both their classes and share with colleagues.

Music Connect receives funding from LMEP which enables ArtForms to offer the programme to Leeds Schools and Academies at no charge.

Sign up here – Primary Music Leaders Conference.

For more information please email Sam.Mercer@leeds.gov.uk

Sam Mercer, Music Curriculum Support Manager, ArtForms

Friday 17th May
9:00-3:00
Pudsey Civic Hall

Music Connect is our programme of curriculum support for music leaders in all Leeds schools.  The termly Music Leaders Network is an important part of Music Connect, bringing music leaders together from primary schools across Leeds to share experiences and discuss the latest developments in music education.

Since the start of the pandemic our network meetings moved online, increasing attendance due to the convenience of accessing a twilight session from school or home.  However, we really value face to face events for Music Leaders to truly network which is why we have created the new conference.

This year the conference will include –

An Ofsted Deep Dive panel discussion sharing experiences from Joe Barton, CEO of the LEODIS trust and an Ofsted inspector, Yvonna Georghiou, Music Lead at Otley St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School and Annie Bradbury, Music Lead at Cockburn Haigh Road Academy.

There will also be workshops from –

• Sue Nicholls – A Fresh Look at Composition for key stages 1&2.  Sue is a vastly experienced music teacher who works nationwide as a music education consultant delivering workshops, seminars, keynotes and CPD as well as being published author for Collins (Music Express) and OUP.
• Sing Up – Sharon Durrant from https://www.singup.org will explore the new Sing Up curriculum and provide Music Leaders with free access to resources that can be shared with the non-specialist Music teachers in their school.
• Musical Futures – Fran Hannan from www.musicalfuturesonline.org will lead an interactive session on the chair drumming resources from their free resource library which attendees can use with both their classes and share with colleagues.

Music Connect receives funding from LMEP which enables ArtForms to offer the programme to Leeds Schools and Academies at no charge.

Sign up here – Primary Music Leaders Conference.

For more information please email Sam.Mercer@leeds.gov.uk

Sam Mercer – Music Curriculum Support Manager, ArtForms

Around a year ago it was announced that 5 current nearby hub areas (Leeds, Bradford, Wakefield, Kirklees and Calderdale) would be combining to form one large West Yorkshire Music Hub. Organisations were invited to tender to be the new Hub leads and the 5 current area hub leads worked together to submit a joint bid in the Autumn. Currently, we are still waiting to hear whether that bid has been successful and we expect to find out in April according to the government’s timeframe.

What this means for us in practice is that until we receive word that we have been successful in our bid, we are unable to be 100% sure about our LMEP offer for schools for next year. Usually by now, we would have released our LMEP offer for 24/25. We hope and expect that it will stay the same, retaining current levels of cashback subsidies but until we receive that final confirmation, we are unable to publish it in the usual timeframe.

For now, we ask that schools go ahead and book music provision on Leeds for Learning as usual for next year based on current levels of cashback and bursaries. We will then issue a quote as usual for the work based on next academic year’s prices. In the highly unlikely event that there is a change in the cashback levels for next year following the announcement in April, we would then contact all schools and they would have the option to adjust their booking as necessary. Thank you to all for your understanding in this matter, we will keep you updated as and when we hear any new information.

Lee Muncaster, Senior Curriculum Leader, ArtForms

On Friday 22^nd March Music Connect, led by ArtForms, will host our seventh annual Little Sing for Key Stage 1.  This is an immersive Musical Experience for children where they are the performers as well as the audience.

This year we have a countryside/woodland theme where children will meet the animals that are to be found in the British countryside through lots of Key Stage 1 appropriate, songs and activities.  There will be a band made up of our brilliant ArtForms Music teachers who present the activities and lead and accompany the songs.

The children always love the session of singing, playing instruments and moving as do the adults who attend.

Here’s what some of the schools had to say about last year’s Little Sing which was called Jump Into The Jungle –

‘Thank you so much for the Little Sing last week. The children got back on the coach singing ‘Jump into the Jungle’ and we sang two of the songs to start my class music session on Tuesday. The work that had gone into it from your side was phenomenal, so please say thank you to everyone involved from us at Five Lanes!’

Kids could all join in at their own level – it wasn’t about getting it perfect.  A good fun and free feel, made making music fun – so important!  Kirkstall Valley

‘It was engaging for the children and the costumes and props were fantastic. A good mix of sitting down and standing up and moving about so that the children didn’t get restless.’  Harehills Primary

Book your tickets here –

10:00-11:00 – https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/artforms-music-service/t-krllpen

Or

1:00-2:00 – https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/artforms-music-service/t-nozzvmg

Maximum ticket allocation is one full KS1 year group per school.

For more information please email sam.mercer@leeds.gov.uk

Book via: sam.mercer@leeds.gov.uk