Conference summary: Next Steps for Curriculum Music

On 5 July, over 100 primary and secondary music teachers gathered at London’s Hallam Conference Centre for MT’s first one-day in-person conference, Next Steps for Curriculum Music: Beyond the Noise. Taking place just over a week after the National Plan for Music Education was published, the day was one of the first opportunities for many teachers to discuss the document with colleagues from around the country.

After refreshments and a welcome from the editor, Catherine Barker opened the conference with a keynote on ‘What does the National Plan for Music Education mean for your classroom?’ Having sat on the NPME advisory panel, Barker offered delegates insight into key takeaways for schools, illustrating the importance of partnerships and progression routes by sharing the musical journeys of musicians like Jess Gillam. In the second keynote, Deborah Annetts and Dr Jodie Underhill presented the ISM’s response to the NPME, highlighting the work still to be done and reiterating the ISM’s call for reform of Progress 8 and the English Baccalaureate.

Having been presented with ‘bigger picture’ perspectives in the opening keynotes, the delegates moved into two breakouts to explore the nuts and bolts of their practice. For primary teachers, Jimmy Rotheram and Sue Walker led a session on ‘Making the most of limited time: Overcoming challenges in the primary music classroom’. The session focused on ‘five a day’ – the concept of five-minute instrumental or vocal sessions each day – and had delegates dancing, singing, and playing body percussion. The breakout for secondary teachers was led by Benjamin Turner, who focused on ‘Finding flexibility and industry focus for your students in the KS3 curriculum’.

After a break for refreshments and exhibitor viewings – those sharing their offerings were Whole Class Student Recorder, ABRSM, AQA, Collins Music, Noisy Clan, OCR, Out of the Ark Music, and MusicFirst – Ofsted’s national lead for music Christopher Stevens presented the third keynote. Sharing valuable insight into ‘The principles of the high-quality music curriculum’, Stevens delivered a passionate and practical presentation which left delegates feeling inspired. The session transitioned smoothly into the breakouts – ‘Beyond “activities”: Projects, partnerships and the primary curriculum’, and a facilitated Q&A with Stevens. The Q&A was a rare opportunity for secondary teachers to ask Ofsted about expectations, accountability and daily challenges.

After lunch, Yogesh Dattani led the fourth keynote session of the day, asking ‘What does EDI mean for music teachers on the ground?’ Using his experience as head of Ealing Music Education Hub, Dattani provided examples of inclusive practice, and interrogated the meaning of equity, diversity and inclusion in the music classroom.

Digging further into these important topics, Helen MacGregor ran an interactive primary breakout: ‘Diverse in every sense of the word: Creative composition with KS1 & KS2’. She shared the expansive meaning of the word ‘diverse’, offering delegates practical takeaways based on real examples from the classroom. For secondary teachers, Beatrice Hubble and Jo Thomas presented ‘Celebrating neurodiversity and disability in the music classroom’, which focused on collaboration between disabled and non-disabled young people.

The final session of the day was for all delegates and was a panel discussion led by the MU’s Chris Walters on ‘Doing it all without losing it all: Music teacher wellbeing’. Guided ably by Walters, speakers from the day shared their personal experiences of trying to achieve a work-life balance, burnout, and managing workload. Although panellists were honest about their struggles as music teachers, delegates were left feeling encouraged and reassured.

The panel brilliantly concluded a day of inspirational, realistic, and passionate conversation about classroom music teaching. If one word could sum up what delegates reported feeling as they spilled out into the balmy July afternoon, it would be ‘refreshed’.

MT’s next conference is Music Technology in Education 2022, taking place at the Hallam Conference Centre on 2 November.
www.musictechconference.co.uk