Music News for 3rd December

Hello

As a department, we are moving towards being outstanding. Ofsted have, in the past months, updated all their information about what being an outstanding music department requires. We are expecting an inspection within the year, and the bar has been raised considerably. These are the main pointers to what is expected.

We must ensure that our Music Department:

• Is highly musical with a rich, interesting and relevant curriculum providing excellent experiences in classroom and extra-curricular.
• Has high standards of literacy supporting pupils’ musical development
• Has the highest expectations of staff with the highest aspirations for pupils.
• Is involved in local and national music education
• Provides outstanding development to pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development
• Has high retention and participation rates in instrumental tuition and ensembles as well as KS4 and 5 courses 

Achievement

Pupils can show

• Independent, informed and deeply musical choices
• High levels of aural perception, internalisation and knowledge of music
• Awareness of different musical traditions and genres, with an excellent understanding of the historical, social and cultural origins of music
• Precise written and verbal explanations with effective and accurate use of musical terminology 

Teaching

In our teaching

• Music is the target language
• Pupil’s voices are used constantly, not only for singing work, but to help internalise and understand musical ideas
• Pupils have confidence to challenge and ask questions, show initiative and take risks
• Exceptionally gifted students are challenged
• We respond to pupils’ creative and unexpected responses
• Audio and video are used extensively to appraise pupils’ work

Curriculum

• Pupils have outstanding opportunities to appreciate music as performers, creators and listeners
• The curriculum is imaginative and stimulating, planned in detail
• High quality vocal work is planned and used extensively throughout every aspect of our work
• Different aspects of our curriculum compliment each other and support each other
• Extra curricular work is of the highest quality
• Music permeates many aspects of school life

Leadership and Management across the department

• Strong vision for music from Senior Managers and subject leaders – music for all
• Subject reviews and lesson observations demonstrate an excellent understanding of the unique features of teaching and learning in music
• Pupils and staff have confidence in their work – the skills of staff are used very effectively
• We have high quality partnerships with outside organisations and individuals that bring long-term benefits
• Views of parents, governors and students are considered
• All groups of pupils are involved, including Pupil Premium
• High quality music is at the heart of the school life, making an outstanding contribution to whole school priorities
• We are a valued partner in the local music hub

So, what do we need to do? In a nutshell, we have to look at the quality of our teaching. This is a continuation of what we started in the summer term, making lessons musical. Consider your own teaching - can you:

• Demonstrate progress in a 20 minute lesson? 
• Demonstrate sustained progress over time? With most students, if you have been working on the same music for several weeks, then the answer is no.
• Use open questions in your lessons and challenge the musicians?
• Use accompaniment and demonstration in every lesson?
• Show your planning?
• Use keywords and vocabulary in every lesson?

As subject leader, I have to challenge staff to achieve more, strive for the best. We have many outstanding performers and we have to be challenging them as well as beginner students. Literacy is very important - we must not tollerate students having a poor use of language, slang, text speak.

Progress and questioning

These are the two key themes across the department that are being mentioned time and time again. Lessons must be enjoyable for the student, but they must show progress. 

Remember, you are not their friend, you are their teacher. Trying to be popular often leads to under achievement by the student. This always results in poor teaching, because you are not challenging and the student is not making progress. 

If you want your teaching to be outstanding, you have to demonstrate the progress and excellent questioning.

As mentioned above, we are looking at the quality of teaching in the short term. If you take an ensemble, think how your leadership of this can demonstrate progress. Do you challenge your ensemble musically? 

Please think about these things when teaching this week. Next week I will explain how we will continue to move towards this. Debbie has already started lesson observations, and team meetings next term will look at how we can improve the quality of our teaching and ensure consistency.  The curriculum team have already had lesson observations and we are working together to develop what we do.

Letters are available for the AB exams on 14/15 February. Replies must be in within the next 10 days, as we have to get the entry in before the end of term. Please put entries on the online form, accessed from the link above.

Other events coming up:

• The Rock gig is this Thursday from 7pm
• The details of the Carol Service will be emailed this week.
• Trinity exams in 10 days or so, and a clarinet recital this week
• Year 11 study leave from next Monday, 10th December
• The Take Note concert is on Saturday 15th December at St Andrews's Church. 7.30pm start. Thanks to Debbie and others for the organisation and hard work for this.

Many thanks for all your work.

Mark

Music News for 26th November

Once again, thank you to everyone who was involved in the concert last Tuesday. A fantastic evening, and we have had much praise from parents and others who were there. It was a wonderful team effort during the day and in the evening, and the recording is very good. Keith has just about put together a CD of the evening that will be available to parents this week. I am looking at how we can develop our concerts and evolve. If you have any suggestions, let me know please.

The sixth form open evening went well on Thursday. If you have a Year 11 student, chat to them about if they are taking music or music technology. I'll put a list of students who are interested on the board in the kitchen. Having the chat about it can be hugely important!

Friday saw the Big Band performing at the Christmas Lights event in Hertford. Totally mad, on a stage too small. However, the atmosphere was just like being on Tour! Thank you to the many staff to came to join in or watch. Great publicity for the school and something the musicians will remember for a long time.

Tom Caldecote has joined us teaching woodwind. Mainly here on a Wednesday, he will also be working with Clare on our primary projects. Welcome Tom!

We are preparing for Christmas now (!). The Carol Service is on Tuesday 18th December at 7pm. It is at All Saints Church this year (change of venue to previous years) and is repeated at 11.30am on Wednesday 19th for Years 7 and 8. There will be rehearsals during the afternoon.

Lesson observations are now under way. The work of instrumental teachers and their teaching is equally as important as what goes on in the classroom. At present, Debbie is observing lessons to look at the quality of teaching, tracking the requirement to make music lessons musical. Then as a department we will be looking at how to better show and document progress. Planning is one of the key things here.

This Friday, 30th, is the occasional day. Year 11 start on study leave on Monday 7th December. With Year 11, you must not continue to timetable lessons without checking with students that they can attend. Assume nothing. It may be simpler to not teach them. You know your students and you must speak to them about this. The mock timetable is in the kitchen.

One of my priorities now is to prepare for Ofsted. We should be looking at being an outstanding department. To achieve this, there is still much to do. I am now working with Sue to put together our department folder, complete with all the data required - Pupil Premium, Free school meals, breakdown of students in ensembles, curriculum and instrumental working together with learning and so on. I will be putting together a list of the main requirements for us to be outstanding, so everyone can see the bigger picture.

The whiteboard in the office and in the kitchen will now have, by 10am, a list of students who are absent each day. It is accurate for those who are in school, but where a form register has not been taken (usually mine), it will then have all those students listed. The aim is to stop Sue being interrupted with 'is so and so in school before I go to look'. Do check the list. If not on the list, they are in school.

Thank you to everyone for the continuing hard work.

Mark