Programme
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Registration, refreshments and exhibitor viewing
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Welcome and Introduction
Music Teacher magazine
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Curriculum design: courage or camouflage?
Almost every teacher enjoys explaining their music curriculum and setting out their rationale for learning. But do the ideas of teachers, school leaders, policy makers and researchers always align? The session will explore whether different understandings of music curriculum exist and, if so, whether this matters. Is music curriculum design about blending into the environment or is it only for the brave?
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Ambition and application: building a music department from scratch
Where do you start when you walk into an empty department? How do you build a positive culture? This session will look at ways to build a music department from scratch, from the quality of the curriculum to engage and inspire, to ensuring VMTs are fully embedded in the department. The session will also look at the wider challenges of creating opportunities for progression from Primary to Secondary school music.
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Refreshments and exhibitor viewing
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Artificial Intelligence: creative, practical and ethical uses in music education
How can music educators equip their students and themselves with the knowledge to harness AI’s potential, safely and effectively? This session will explore the transformative tools and creative applications that AI offers to teachers, not least valuable time-saving measures. It will cover innovative AI-driven music software, from generating music with text prompts to using interactive tools, and the core types of music AI, addressing concerns such as plagiarism and data protection.
Speaker
Head of Digital Pedagogy and Course Leader for Music Technology
Hills Road Sixth Form College
BREAKOUT SESSION 1 (choose 1A or 1B)
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1A PRIMARY: How to embed effective and successful Whole Class Instrumental Teaching
We all recognise the importance of opportunity for all, and the positive consequences of removing barriers to learning. Birmingham’s Services For Education runs a much-lauded WCIT programme, led by Helen Brookes, created with a pathway for progression. This session will explore the importance of continuation in the programme and how the NC, NPME and MMC are built into teaching and learning, alongside cultural exposure. It will also demonstrate how pupils with additional needs are supported and how training seeks to embed good practice.
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1B SECONDARY: Strategies, activities and methods for teaching improvisation
Improvisation strikes fear into the hearts of most music teachers. Where do you start? How do you measure it? Do you have the skills? This session will share useful tools for getting students to access improvisation while developing confidence, aural skills, and an ability to create music without needing notation. It will also look at the context for improvisation in schools, the relevance of genre, and how improvisation can be included in your planning.
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Lunch and exhibitor viewing
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Panel discussion: fine-tuning your school’s Music Development Plan
According to the DfE, schools in England should have a summary of their Music Development Plan on their websites from the autumn term. This summary is to be updated yearly. But what makes a good Plan, and what doesn’t? Members of the Music Teachers Association, chaired by Don Gillthorpe, discuss this and other topical questions, with reference to sample MDPs provided to the panel beforehand.
The panellists are Liz Gleed, Head of Music from Bristol Cathedral Choir School, and Alex Parsons, Director of Music, Haberdashers' Borough Academy.
BREAKOUT SESSION 2 (choose 2A or 2B)
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2A PRIMARY: Building a representative primary music curriculum
How do we turn representation from a talking-point into core pedagogy? This session will explore creative ways of bringing diversity and representation into your curriculum, based on longer-range perspective. It will explore ways of adapting the existing curriculum to reflect your pupils; choosing diverse repertoire for whole-school singing; what representation looks like from EYFS to Y6; and how we can use representation to improve learning outcomes.
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2B SECONDARY: Modelling and Making: exercises to develop students’ autonomy as composers at KS4
Adopting a ‘Haynes-manual’ approach to teaching composition, this session will take existing pieces apart and get under the bonnet. The aim is to help students make use of the devices and techniques they discover during the process of analysis. The resulting toolkit will enable students to spend time practising being a composer before embarking on formal coursework. This helps students develop initial ideas, giving teachers more time to work effectively and efficiently in the classroom, and build resilience, independence, and sense of ownership of their composition work.
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Refreshments and exhibitor viewing
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Reach for the positive: the Expressive Voice
In an age characterised by polarising commentary, how do we foster resilience, self-care and caring for others through music? This session will share new repertoire ideas for teachers leading singing in primary and secondary schools. Named after the song ‘Reach for the Positive’, written by the speaker, the session will explore ways of using the voice expressively and as a tool for promoting diversity, equity, inclusion and self-care. It will explore the profound impact that music and language can have on emotional wellbeing, recognising that if teachers feel good, students can feel amazing!
Piano kindly supplied by:
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Sum-up and close of conference