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Memorandum submitted by Sing Up, the Music Manifesto National Singing Programme
1) Summary of submission · An overview of the Sing Up Workforce Development and CPD programme · Information from Sing Up programme relating to · Measuring quality · Entry into the teaching profession · Delivery of ITT · CPD
2) Sing UP CPD Overview a) Sing Up, the Music Manifesto National Singing Programme, was commissioned by the DCSF in July 2007. It is delivered by a consortium of four partners - Youth Music, Abbot Mead Vickers, Faber Music and The Sage Gateshead. b) The Sing Up Workforce Development and CPD programme is developing a committed and effective workforce to lead singing in and out of the classroom and the school by: i) Encouraging and exemplifying healthy, musical singing within primary education; ii) Developing a broad repertoire base using singing in the context of the whole curriculum; iii) Encouraging schools to become singing communities, drawing from the principles developed through models of excellent practice; iv) Working flexibly in planning, delivery
and collaboration with existing schemes, projects, organisations and
individuals across v) Recruiting, developing, training and equipping a dedicated team of culturally, ethnically, geographically and demographically diverse singing leaders working with the broadest range of genres and styles; vi) Promoting and supporting the personal, professional and artistic development of the leaders; vii) Influencing and responding to the current national creativity and creative economy agendas, contributing to the development of regional and national strategic programmes in the area of practitioner development and training.
c) We have designed a three-stranded offer that we present to prospective participants: i) A network of Area Leaders employed
across (1) They link schools and singing leaders into existing local networks to ensure that singing provision is embedded across communities; (2) They establish new networks and partnerships and encourage partnership working across the community; (3) They facilitate training and professional development activity to address local areas of need; (4) They connect local singing policy fora to sub-regional groupings; (5) They develop CPD, Training and Mentoring programmes targeting core skills and local and individual needs; (6) They develop training for new singing leaders, including trainee and newly qualified teachers, music service tutors and community musicians.
ii) Raising Voices - a centrally-managed, nationally available programme of high quality staff training, offering schools choice. Prospective participants book training via our website and the training occurs within the school setting.
iii) Vocal Force - our strategic tool, providing deep impact, bespoke, localised training programmes, for 3000 teacher and musician trainers in 60 areas by March 2011. Areas are identified through several routes, including Area Leaders, and agreed and planned with a Vocal Force Advisor.
d) We employ a strategic approach to CPD, Training and Mentoring: i) Developing resources for online use; ii) Developing a Reach and Engage Programme to impact on non-accessing schools; iii) Directly linking to Arts Award; iv) Maintaining communication between strands of the wider music education offer; v) Linking Sing Up activity with other instrumental activity, e.g. whole-class instrumental learning; vi) Developing accreditation for singing leaders; vii) Linking with Further and Higher Education, Creative and Cultural Skills and other relevant Sector Skills Councils; viii) Linking with vocational qualification programmes i.e. 14 - 19 Diploma and Creative Apprenticeships; ix) Researching singing through the Sing Tank (an e- discussion group) and Vocal Points, a scientific committee based at The Sage Gateshead; x) Hosting annual national Workforce Development Conferences; xi) Establishing Young Singing Leader Summer Schools to develop the talents and skills of young singing leaders, linked directly to accreditation frameworks and other national qualifications; and to developing a young singing leaders resource pack, giving practice and progression guidance.
e) We employ a strategic approach to partnership building i) Linking with national training initiatives, e.g. MusicLeader, the Trinity Guildhall / Open University Key Stage 2 CPD Music Programme; ii) Working with the Federation of Music Services (FMS) on facilitating partnerships with all music services; iii) Working with Youth Music on facilitating partnerships with all Youth Music Action Zones; iv) Providing
appropriate training and practice v) Working with the regional Cultural Olympiad programmers to ensure effective linkage between Sing Up young leaders activities and the wider cultural volunteering initiatives; vi) Working in partnerships with ContinYou, FMS and the DCSF.
3) Responses to Select Committee points of inquiry
a) Measuring quality i) 'The extent to which there is an evidence base for and shared sense of what makes for good quality teaching.' (1) Sing Up commissions research through various means: the findings of our Consortium partner AMV and partner The Institute of Education[1]; the use of our email-based discussion group, Sing Tank; and the scientific research group, Vocal Points. All of the findings are taken to the Sing Up Research Groups (meeting termly), and fed back into our planning. (2) The members of the Sing Up Research Groups are national strategic partners from music education; our Associate Partners ContinYou and the Federation of Music Services; Arts Award, MusicLeader and the Trinity Guildhall / Open University Key Stage 2 CPD Music Programme; and our terms of reference include the sharing of research conclusions. (3) Sing Up has built relationships with the Training Development Agency and the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority to ensure that our training is of immediate and lasting use to training, newly qualified and existing class room teachers. (4) In order to ensure standards of quality training and provision (and to provoke discussion whilst eliminating ambiguity) our evaluators meet regularly to discuss 'Quality and Singing', as well as combining evaluative methods. We promote quality singing, but are resistant to standardising singing; we prefer instead to encourage wide participation in singing, with high quality leadership supported by high quality training. These discussions about quality are also being explored on the national strategic level within the Music Education Council. (5) We follow standards of quality, defined by the DCSF (and therefore Every Child Matters and the National Curriculum) and the TDA, but also the Vocal Competencies collected by Trinity Guildhall / Open University in 2006 and most importantly the Aspirations Document written by Dick Hallam. We also encourage our leaders to make use of the MusicLeader Code of Practice and the Teaching Music document 'Reflecting on Teaching and Learning', as well as other reflective, aspirational documents. (6) In the recent evaluation of the Sing Up Communities (Margaret Griffiths), good quality teaching was identified: (a) Practitioners model singing well and are enthusiastic leaders; (b) Music leaders know how to improve children's singing; (c) Good attention is paid to the technical aspects of posture, diction, breathing, pitching, tone etc. in enjoyable ways; (d) Good attention is paid to musical aspects of phrasing, dynamics, mood and meaning while the activity keeps its energy and enjoyment; (e) Singing incorporates a wide range of vocal activities from a wide range of sources; (f) Sessions are well prepared with energy, focus and momentum; (g) Resources and support materials are matched to the needs and aspirations of schools and centres; (h) Children are encouraged to lead the activities in and between sessions; (i) There are high expectations of all children and the adults who work with them.
ii) 'The ways in which the quality of teaching can be measured'. (1) Sing Up contracts evaluators for the different
strands of the programme, including Leonora Davies (Education Consultant),
Margaret Griffiths (HMI OfSted Music, retired), Prof. Graham Welch (of The
Institute of Education) and (2) The formal evaluation is run by The Institute of Education and exists in the shape of a pre- and post-activity web-based form, which participants are invited to complete. The questions consider elements of self-worth, musical knowledge and pedagogical knowledge, and the results are published annually. (3) We also collect a variety of localised
evaluative information and contract Advisors (Kate Organ, (4) Sing Up measures and ensures the high quality of training through an ethos of critical reflection facilitated through, conversation, discussion, developing bespoke programmes, allowing (or learning from) mistakes and continuous improvement , and has commissioned REFLECT Lab, to lead four co-mentoring programmes with leaders[2]. (5) We access feedback from Teachers and Head Teachers about the quality of training, identifying the tangible effect upon their school and pupils, and the local cluster, e.g.: When asked 'What will you do as a result of today's training?' (i) 'Bringing singing into
playground and other (ii) 'Timetables music, weekly class song, introduce and encourage playground games.' (iii) 'Sing more to and with children. Encourage rapping and singing as part of school life.' (iv) 'Singing during maths small groups, up and down numbers and missing numbers out.' (v) 'Introduce singing into more areas of the curriculum that didn't seem so apparent before. Incorporate singing into project work.' (vi) 'Have expectation that music will underpin the Hillcrest [school] curriculum this year. Expect to see and hear happy children singing.' (b) The Sing Up Awards guide schools on their journey to high quality, inclusive singing. They encourage the sharing of good practice and ideas between schools and showcase examples of innovative work. They embrace a whole-school philosophy and are non-competitive, flexible and accessible.
b) Entry into the teaching profession i) 'The characteristics of those who are most likely to be good teachers and the extent to which they are reflected in current entry requirements for ITT'. (1) The identification of the characteristics of a good teacher who encourages and incorporates singing as part of their teaching is not an exact science. Sing Up ensures that its training is accessible to all leaders of primary school-age children. (2) The most recent report from our consortium partner, AMV[3] identifies three different teacher profiles - Sing Up Enthusiast, Sing Up Potential and Sing Up Avoider. We utilise these profiles, together with the Trinity Guildhall / Open University Vocal Competencies to map progression routes for participants. (3) Sing Up Area Leaders discuss with participants the most appropriate training, and identify their strengths and needs. Our links with the Further and Higher Education sector enable dialogue and appropriate sign-posting.
ii) 'Whether the current range of routes into teaching is effective in attracting and developing those with the qualifications, skills and attributes to become good teachers' (1) Because Sing Up is open as a training resource to any leader of primary school-aged children, the participants are not necessarily training or qualified teachers and their qualifications, skills and attributes are extremely diverse, including those from formal education, Government services, the community, training and leadership, and independent music leaders. We therefore aim for Sing Up to impact on the continuous stream of accreditation from children leading in schools and the community to ongoing development for teachers and leaders, working with primary school-age children. Percentage of types of leaders involved in Vocal Force Phase 1 (2007-08): (2) We are working closely with HE/FE providers to create entry points for prospective teachers into education training. With Edge Hill University, we are designing a module on vocal work in a primary setting that will be accessible for anyone studying a Masters qualification (including the MTL), and we are exploring accreditation links with Exeter University, Reading University and Winchester University. Through our discussions with the Training Development Agency, we are approaching the Universities Council of Education and Training (UCET) to discuss collaboration on a national strategic level. (3) We are exploring Sing Up's involvement in young people's qualifications and accreditation, including Diplomas, Creative Apprenticeships, GCSEs, A-Levels and community accreditation (including Duke of Edinburgh and ASDAN), and are supporting the creation of a Junior Arts Award. (4) Further to external training accreditation, we ensure that our own training is flexible, interesting, accessible and immediately useful to training and existing teachers. We also include lesson plans and resources, with direct links to Every Child Matters and the National Curriculum and we include Head Teachers and teachers in the Sing Up Reference Group and other groups, to ensure that our training remains appropriate.
iii) 'The adequacy of current measures to improve the diversity of the teaching profession.' (1) Sing Up promotes diversity, including social, ethnic, gender and musical diversity. Because our training is aimed primarily at the primary school teacher, we have impacted successfully on leaders within this bracket. Our statistics in the Vocal Force Phase 1 (2007-08) report were as follow:
(a) Gender
(b) Age
(c) Ethnicity (2) These results point to a very particular type of leader, and we are therefore committed to creating a diverse workforce, in line with the current measures. (a) We organise training including personnel from diverse social, ethnic, gender and musical backgrounds. (b) We are driving cultural diversity through the INSPIRE CPD programme in partnership with SERIOUS Music Producers - this year that includes artists Napoleon Maddox, Cleveland Watkiss, Julia Sarr and Patrice Larose. (c) Our training activities and courses develop leadership in a wide variety of musical and educational styles, ranging from South Asian song to Signed Song and taking in choral development, songs to support the curriculum and folk singing on the way. See www.singup.org for detailed information on our current Raising Voices training programme.
(d) We encourage local, area and regional investigation of diverse music making and support our team across the country to explore and encourage diversity within their areas. As our statistics are taken directly from new participation forms, we are also exploring how to gather information from colleagues unable or unwilling to complete our administrative documents.
iv) 'The extent to which existing ITT provision adequately prepares trainees for entry into the teaching profession, whether they intend to teach in primary schools, secondary schools, early years' settings or further education settings. (Comments are particularly welcome on whether provision meets the needs of new teachers in working with pupils with special education needs and of new teachers based in schools operating in more challenging circumstances).' (1) Sing Up prepares trainees for teaching through the various flexible links into formal teacher teaching. (2) A majority of participants in our CPD programmes report having had very little targeted training in singing leadership as part of their ITT. (3) We have recently commissioned a report which noted that there are 400,000 children taught beyond the mainstream (i.e. in special schools, pupil referral units or the equivalent, traveller children not registered at any primary school, children that require education outside school because of illness or injury or the home-schooled). The recommendations included a national strategy and the appointment of a Sing Up Beyond the Mainstream Manager to ensure targeted provision for teachers in those settings.
c) The delivery of ITT i) 'The extent to which the current ITT system encourages innovation and diversity in approaches to ITT.' (1) Sing Up is working with the TDA, QCA and other government bodies and the Further and Higher Education organisations to influence provision. (2) The Area Leaders work with local partners planning and mapping the most suitable Sing Up input to ITT provision in their regions. In some parts of the country this opportunity is warmly welcomed by ITT providers; in other parts less so. The picture is not consistent.
d) CPD provision i) 'Whether current CPD provision for new teachers, experienced teachers and head teachers supports and enhances their practice in school and, if so, to what extent.' (1) Sing Up offers a wide range of high quality training for teachers of all levels, and can be a useful part of teachers' annual reviews; (2) We offer flexible entry to a wide range of CPD types, including CPD sessions/days, INSET sessions/days, twilight meetings/training, observations, cluster training, events (large and small, local, regional and national), singing days, workshops, programmes and projects, conferences, school/organisation Senior Management Team training. (3) We will also offer the accredited module at Edge Hill University, allowing existing teachers progression routes through the MTL, and the involvement in our co-mentoring programme, REFLECT Lab. (4) The (a) 'Overall, the singing development activities appear to be having a positive impact on participants' singing self-efficacy and their views on their own singing leadership;' (b) 'The majority of participants believe that they provide a good role model in their singing;' (c) 'More follow-up participants provide (d) 'Concerning their knowledge of singing pedagogy, the data suggest that there is a positive shift towards increased confidence in how to promote vocal health and function, in addressing basic singing issues, establishing a safe environment for singing, differentiation (individual and group), integrating singing into other activities, their ability to draw on singers and singing leaders from the wider community (although a minority still find this difficult);' (e) 'There is also a positive shift in participants' awareness of extending repertoire choice and knowing where to access support. Similarly, there is a greater awareness of cultural diversity and its contribution to singing, in how to use the space for singing and to lead singing activities;' (f) 'Overall, participants report that children are positive about singing but they also recognise that the same children may be less developed in their singing, composing and listening;' (g) 'Participants report a positive shift in their enjoyment of leading singing and confidence;' (h) 'Not all are convinced that specialists should be leading music in primary schools, suggesting that they believe that there is a clear role for the generalist Primary school teacher in the promotion of singing development.'
February 2009
[1] 'An overview of initial research data
concerning workforce development under the umbrella of the National Singing
Programme in [2] REFLECT Lab developed from REFLECT Creative Partnerships National co-mentoring programme devised and led by The Sage Gateshead. The programme brought together up to 300 co-mentors from emerging leaders in Creative and Cultural Sector and Schools in professional learning partnerships to exemplify partnerships and was linked to the McMasters recommendations. [3] 'Understanding teachers needs & wants from Sing Up', AMVi, January 2009 |