Resources for schools
Having a variety of resources in your toolkit for teaching music is always important, as well as refreshing the creativity of teaching and learning music.
Please let us know of any top tips for resources by emailing us on surreymusichub@surreycc.gov.uk.
Music Making and Covid19 Information
- Performing arts – Working safely during coronavirus (COVID-19) – Guidance – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
(Section 2.4 – Non-professional performing arts)
Digital Resources for Schools
Surrey Music Hub is able to offer a variety of digital curriculum resources to help support your classroom practice. This includes subsidised and funded licenses for Surrey Schools.
Charanga
Award winning scheme of work and digital resources aimed at Primary Schools. Free trial available.
A digital curriculum platform aimed at secondary schools. Currently used by over 500,000 users worldwide. Surrey Music Hub is able to offer a limited number of funded licenses for Surrey Schools for 2019-20. These would be free to schools for the year. (We can also offer current users an extended license instead). To find out more and apply for a license please contact alex.bondonno@surreycc.gov.uk
The MusicFirst Classroom is the only comprehensive learning management system (LMS) for Key Stage 3-5 music education. It combines a learning management platform with engaging content and powerful integrated software to help you monitor your students’ progress, make lesson plans, and create assignments. Each subscription to the MusicFirst Classroom includes access to an expansive library of lessons, assessments, content, and complete courses, curated by experienced music educators. Choose from popular packages:
- Secondary General Music
- GCSE & A Level
- Music Theory
- Or customise your own.
Focus On Sound Instruments First
Instruments First is a new junior product launched in August 2017. The program is aimed at 8 to 12 year-olds and covers the basics of music, as well as instruments and music theory. It can also be used by even younger students. It is full of questions and pop-up answers, as well as suggestions for activities. Students can use it on their own or teachers can use the special class display mode to show it to whole classes. It can even be used by non-specialist teachers – answers to all the questions are always available immediately.
Surrey Music Hub is able to offer a limited number of funded licenses for Surrey Schools for 2019-20. These would be free to schools for the year). To find out more and apply for a license please contact alex.bondonno@surreycc.gov.uk
Singing Playgrounds – Start Your Journey
Surrey Arts is bringing the award-winning project “Singing Playgrounds” to Surrey primary schools through a new online resource created by Ex Cathedra Education. Includes a series of interactive teaching films, demonstrations, 30 KS1 and KS2 lesson plans, and instrumental backing tracks.
Schools enrolling on the pilot programme will receive one year’s access to the online resource at a discounted rate of £50 (half off the usual £100/year). Your one-year subscription will start from the beginning of the Autumn 2021 term. Click here to register your school with the special Surrey Arts discounted rate.
Musical Futures Just Play
Musical Futures is a tried-and-tested yet innovative approach to music learning, based on a pedagogy that is driven by the musical culture of the participants. It brings real-world music learning processes into schools and other formal settings, engaging and inspiring all and promoting inclusion and diversity. Musical Futures Just Play offers a range of digital resources for use in a practical music making classroom setting. Surrey Music Hub is currently offering fully funded licenses (limited number) for Surrey schools. These are available for both secondary and primary settings, with resources adapted for either age group. To find out more and apply for a license please contact alex.bondonno@surreycc.gov.uk
Connecting the Dots
BBC Ten Pieces: Get Creative with Classical Music. Bringing together schools and BBC musicians for free uniquie musical encounters.
Elephants in the Custard – London Philharmonic Orchestra’s new musical film for children aged 5 – 7
A free 25-minute musical film for Key Stage 1 children (age 5-7) based on the book Elephants in the Custard
Using a play on the ‘elephant in the room’ metaphor, the story explores how it feels to have a worry, and the importance of making time to talk to each other. The film is presented by animateur Rachel Leach, interspersed with music performed by a brass quintet from the LPO, and includes a brand new song for to sing along with and lots of other fun ways to join in, plus extra resources for teachers to use in class. The storyline also gives a good starting point for families and teachers to start talking to children about wellbeing, anxiety and mental health.
For centuries, composers have used the orchestra to explore their innermost feelings or to reflect the world around them. After a year of heightened emotions, the London Philharmonic Orchestra presents Express Yourself, a series of three short films of contrasting musical moods, to channel feelings both positive and more difficult. Aimed at children aged 7–11 and presented by award-winning musician and broadcaster YolanDa Brown, the series explores music to express feelings of joy, anger, sadness, playfulness and more. Each film comes with free written resources for teachers, offering ways for children to explore the music and emotions further.
ConductIT is a MOOC created as a collaboration between University of Stavanger, the Royal Northern College of Music, the University of Aveiro and The Open University as part of an ERASMUS+ project. It is a short course is designed as a free-standing introduction to the art of conducting. You do not need to have conducted any kind of ensemble to be able to complete the course, although you will have to be familiar with music notation in order to engage fully with the technical and analytical aspects of the course.
Some more we recommend
Curriculum
- TES (Times Educational Resource) music resources
- Musical Futures
- Sing Up
- ABRSM 100 pieces (Free classical music resources)
- BBC 10 pieces (Free videos, lesson plans, arrangements etc)
- Frameworks for Primary and Secondary
- GCSE draft spec comparisons
- A level draft spec comparisons
Schemes of work
- Music Express
- Musical Contexts
- and fantastic interactive online resource from partner Charanga Music
Assessments
Other Music Organisations
Workshop and other providers
- Beat Goes On
- Go Kid Music: https://www.gokidmusic.com/
- English Folk Dance & Song Society EFDSS https://www.efdss.org/
- Len Tyler Music School https://www.theschoolmusicalscompany.com/
Surrey Performing Arts Library
For access to over 6000 music/vocal sets visit the Surrey Performing Arts Library.
A short video from the mighty Marylebone School, which has always had a formidable reputation for its music and arts provision, explaining precisely why it is the arts are so crucial to them, to all young people, and why they keep creativity at the heart of their school at all times: