Reviews: Aurora Classroom

As many classroom teachers working in primary schools up and down the country will tell you, teaching music can be a challenge. Generalist teachers who may not be musically trained or even dislike singing or performing in public can find teaching music a real struggle. Planning can be difficult and daunting, and with resources being thin on the ground, there are many challenges to overcome. There are resources out there to teach music in the classroom, but they can be extremely costly, and in some cases not of a quality that would stand up to OFSTED inspection.

Having recently attended a professional development day hosted by Aurora Orchestra at London's Southbank, I'm now aware of a new offer – one to be extremely excited about. Aurora Classroom is an educational resource, launched in September 2022, for primary-aged children (Early Years and KS1, as well as SEND children), that looks to be a real gamechanger. For each different stage, there is a 10-week scheme of work, an activity library and an audio library. One of the first things to strike you is the quality of the resources. These don't only cover what is required by the curriculum but go beyond in terms of using professional players and a respected orchestra.