A weekend away: CPD weekend courses

Sometimes we're all in need of brushing up on our skillset as teachers, and what better way than to embark on an enriching residential weekend or a rewarding conference, providing us with extra knowledge and more confidence in our abilities. Here are some excellent courses and training days that every music teacher can try out.

Conferences and in-school training days

Artis Foundation offers INSET days, school workshops, and year-long professional development programmes for teachers, all mentored by an Artis specialist. Artis demonstrates interdisciplinary ways of teaching core curriculum subjects – from maths and science – through music, drama and movement, and has a range of introductory workshops as well as more specific twilight sessions called ‘Ta-dah: Creative Behaviour Management’

With over 20 years of experience, Keynote Educational, prides itself on its excellent conferences, courses and events. Pam Hurry, director of Keynote Educational, explains: ‘Our courses are up-to-date, curriculums do have a shelf life and so we are always creating new, relevant courses and responding to feedback from the education sector. All course leaders are senior examiners or educators, who have a wealth not only of knowledge but of real classroom experience.’

Hurry states that the music courses offer a ‘double function’, a chance for teachers to maximise their own skills as a way of developing those skills in students. ‘Some teachers are working with a curriculum and exam boards that require them to teach things they did not specialise in during their own music education – things like composition and chorale harmonisation. We want to offer support for music teachers – there is not as much out there for them compared with other subjects.’

Ambition Institute, on the other hand, is a ‘graduate school for educators.’ The organisation is the merger of two leading organisations, Ambition School Leadership and the Institute for Teaching. Ambition considers Ofsted ratings and free school meal percentages, among others, and reaches out to schools in need. It offers talks and courses for teachers, school leaders and system leaders, to close the gap between disadvantaged pupils and their wealthier peers. Depending on the programme, teachers and future leaders can nominate themselves, or put others forward for leadership training. Emily Davenporte, a senior associate of the company, describes Ambition as a ‘leading charitable organisation. We want every child to thrive and so aim to ensure expert teachers are present in classrooms and future leaders can get the support they need to become school leaders.’

Instrumental teaching

Dalcroze UK will keep you on your toes as students and teachers are encouraged to experience and express their musicianship though movement, with rhythmics, ear training and improvisation all being taught in one group session. One element even sees teachers stepping to the rhythm of the music while conducting with their arms – a tricky feat indeed when the metre changes so quickly! Bethan Habron-James, a Dalcroze practitioner says: ‘We work on improving dissociation skills through stepping and beating, developing aural memory.’

Providing training for experienced or qualified teachers, the courses are free for members (or £35 for non-members), with the CPD days taking place in Manchester and London, among other courses, networking events and taster days in the Dalcroze UK calendar.

Inspired by the Kodály method, Colourstrings is a string-specific teaching course. It is open to teachers who wish to expand their knowledge, as well as complete beginners. The Phase 1 course is a six- or seven-day introduction to the pedagogic principles, which includes workshops on instrumental teaching. For a similar framework that applies to all instruments, Stepping Notes Music School offers a three-day course for teachers in Surrey. Devised by Nikhil Dally, the school aims to teach musicianship through singing and movement. Her classes have received high praise from ABRSM examiners.

Tim Richards' jazz piano course for ABRSM takes place at City LIT and Benslow Music, offering a residential stay. Richards is using the course to educate more music teachers on the rewarding and rich genre that is jazz, he says: ‘The standard of piano playing is often very high, but many teachers are not used to having to improvise or play in swing quavers. I've learned that classical piano teachers have often never really listened to jazz, so the level of ignorance and confusion surrounding it can be quite high! For instance, those attending are frequently unable to name a single jazz or blues musician.’ Course participant Joanna Howard says: ‘I came away from the course feeling I had learned some incredibly useful concepts. The course was hosted by Benslow and the accommodation, hospitality and food were excellent.’

Personal development

For the keen music theorist, both Oxford and Cambridge universities run a series of day and weekend courses, focussed on a single topic, taught by notable speakers in their fields of research. With talks such as ‘How to Write a Musical’, ‘Russian Opera’, and ‘Music and Astronomy’, you are sure to be surrounded by musicians, teachers and academics from all walks of life.

In addition, Jackdaws Music runs a range of weekend classes tailored to new teachers as well as more seasoned educators. Its piano workshop, commencing in September 2020 looks to rethink the way we learn music, requiring no extra piano practice, the participants still finish the course with a new piece in their repertoire. There is also the ‘Audition Preparation and Stagecraft for Singers’, which looks to tackle all the performative elements that singers must be aware of.

Jackdaws Music's project director Josh Bishop says: ‘The benefits of improving one's skills through attending a weekend course can hardly be overstated. Having a fresh pair of eyes on your own performance and, crucially for teachers, the opportunity to observe the tuition of others in the masterclass sessions is crucial. This interaction between tutor, participant and observer, is integral to the weekend course at Jackdaws, and reminds us that although the methods we develop in our own studios are effective and something upon which we should pride ourselves, there are always new ways to learn and to connect our experiences to create a stronger technical basis for our teaching.’

For more information on the courses mentioned visit:
artisfoundation.org.uk/teacher-training
keynoteeducational.co.uk
ambition.org.uk
dalcroze.org.uk
colourstringsmusicschool.co.uk
dally.org.uk/steppingnotes
gb.abrsm.org
cam.ac.uk
ox.ac.uk
jackdaws.org.uk