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KS3 Music

a professional development programme

FAQs

Aspects of teaching and learning

How to engage with the materials

  • 5. What should music teachers be doing as they use this programme?


    The Leadership guide, Subject leader section explains the scope of the programme and the main ways of engaging with it.
     
    The Routes through the programme section explains the various ways that the materials can be accessed.
     
    The Leadership guide, Headteacher or Governor section explains how music teachers can be supported in their use of the programme.
     
    Evidence from the pilot stage of the programme has shown that:
     
    a) an ideal engagement will involve working through Unit 1, and then two of the other units, over a period of about a year. When one of Units 2–6 is used, a very effective starting point is to re-scope a medium-term unit of work by using the principles of Unit 1, and then applying the activities and tasks of the additional unit to the re-scoped medium term plan.
     
    b) while it is possible to use the programme alone, it is far more effective to work collaboratively with other music teachers
     
    c) however much of the programme is used, it is crucial that any work is completed thoroughly – even if just one section of one unit is used, the impact will be highest where the teacher engages fully with the thinking, takes risks, and evaluates the classroom impact carefully.

  • 6. How can I get my strategy manager to help me with this when there is no time or funding?


    The KS3 music programme is rooted in the Secondary Strategy’s support for whole-school issues. Rather than seeking support for a music programme, demonstrate how the programme will improve the music department’s implementation of whole-school issues. In particular, you can reference how the programme relates to many aspects of the Strategy publication Pedagogy and practice: teaching and learning in secondary schools. You may find Document LG6 Microsoft Word 126kb helpful in demonstrating the connection.
     
    There are no specific budgets to support this programme – but whole-school Strategy, coaching and CPD budgets could all be justifiably used to help teachers find the time to work on the programme.

  • 7. How can this be used to support my professional development plan/Performance Management?

    • Use Document LG5 Microsoft Word 94kb – a detailed list of musical content, ideas and locations to identify issues which are connected to:
      • a whole-school target
      • a departmental target
      • a personal target
    • Negotiate with your line manager how you can be supported to use the relevant sections of the programme to meet these targets.

  • 8. How do I find out if my current practice is in line with the Strategy?


    For an overall review, use the Leadership guide, Review of practice section. This asks you to make judgements about the extent to which your current practice addresses all of the main teaching and learning issues developed by the programme. This will also provide an indication of which Unit(s) may be most useful to you.
     
    Alternatively, use the 'Objectives and outcomes' sections of each unit. These all include an Activity Resource which will help you to review the issues addressed by that particular unit.

  • 9. Do I have to do all the units?


    No – you can do as many or as few as you like, and you can use individual sections of single units to help you review and refine specific aspects of your practice.
     
    However, feedback from the pilot stage indicated that the most powerful impact was achieved after teachers had completed Unit 1 and two other units.

  • 10. Which unit should I start with?


    If you want to study a complete unit, try Unit 1 first – this underpins everything else in the programme.
     
    Alternatively, use the Review of practice to identify a unit that will be most useful to you.

  • 11. Do I have to do this before I do that – is there an order or sequence to follow?


    No. We do recommend that Unit 1 is used early in any programme, but the purpose of this web-based version of the programme is to enable teachers to find more flexible routes through the programme.
     
    Use the Routes through the programme section to understand the various ways that the materials can be accessed.

  • 12. How do I use the units?


    There are three main ways:

    • By taking each unit in turn, and working through each section. You can either follow a short route through by reading the basic text, or take a more extended route by exploring all of the ‘read more’ sections as they appear. You can use the Leadership guide, Review of practice section to identify the order in which you work through the Units.
    • Take a thematic approach, using whole-school issues to identify which units will be most beneficial to you. Document LG1 Microsoft Word 55kb shows some of the key themes, and the units in which they appear.
    • Search for a specific issue (such as ‘using questions’ or ‘planning for a range of creative work’), and explore the single section you are pointed to.
       
      Whichever way you use the units, be thorough, and do not be afraid to push the boundaries and take risks – if you skip through the materials, there will only be a limited impact, but if you really develop some new thinking and strategies, there is likely to be a very strong impact in the classroom

  • 13. Do I have to re-write my scheme of work?


    No. This programme is designed to help you reflect on your current practice, and try out new ideas in the classroom.
     
    This might result in you deciding to re-write parts of your scheme if you find the new ideas successful, but there is no compulsion and it would be only undertaken over a period of time as you work through the materials.

  • 14. What prior learning do I need to have completed?


    None. All that is needed is an open mind, a willingness to reflect honestly on your practice and an acceptance that you might find new (and better) ways of helping your pupils to engage with and learn about music.
     
    It may, however, be helpful to talk with your school’s Strategy Manager – many of the principles of this programme are directly related to prior Strategy publications, and you may want to explore these as part of your programme. You can see the complete list of specific Strategy references here Microsoft Word 126kb.

  • 15. Is this compulsory/statutory?


    No. This is for guidance, though the programme’s materials have been rigorously tested and found to be very successful when implemented effectively.
     
    For information on the statutory curriculum for KS3 music, go to the National Curriculum web site, where you can download the statutory programmes of study.

  • 16. Who can I contact for local support and advice?


    Visit the contacts pages. This explains how you can contact one of three LA officers who might be able to provide local support; or contact a named person for your local area; or contact a national representative of the programme who may be able to help.
     
    It is also worth talking to local colleagues to see if they would like to collaborate on the programme with you – many teachers are now working on the materials, and research has shown that collaborative working is very effective.

  • 17. How can I support my staff as a head of department?


    A general principle is to set up some collaborative working, so that teachers work through the programme together, sharing findings, challenges and successes. This may be within the department, with other departments in the school (since many of the issues explored are cross-curricular, this can work very effectively), or with teachers in a partner school.
     
    Above all, encourage your teachers to engage with the programme thoroughly – whatever they do, they should do it in depth and with a commitment to take risks, be imaginative and without fear of challenging orthodoxies.
     
    For more information about the implications of using the programme, use the Leadership guide, subject leader section.

  • 18. How do I print the text from each web page?


    PC: right-click on the page you want to print and select Print from the drop down menu. You can also use Print Preview to check and alter the page lay-out before printing.
    Mac: Select the page you want to print, and select File - Print from the browser's menu (you may also be able to use Ctrl-click and select Print from the drop down menu). You can also use Preview to check and alter the page lay-out before printing.

Links to other musical requirements

  • 19. How does this link to Musical Futures?


    The Strategy-based programme and the Musical Futures programme both enable teachers to reflect on their classroom practice by exploring specific pedagogies. Underpinning both are absolutely complementary aims – both seek to:

    • engage more pupils in the processes of musical learning and music making;
    • develop pupils’ musical understanding through a practical engagement with music;
    • encourage pupils to engage with music as a whole;
    • emphasise the importance of process to musical learning – how you learn being as important as what you learn;
    • emphasise that practical, creative engagement with music is essential to learning.
       
      You can read more about the connections between the two programmes by visiting the Musical Futures web site and downloading the document ‘Musical Futures and the Secondary National Strategy Key Stage 3 Music Programme’.
       
      The programmes do explore different methodologies (Musical Futures explores informal learning; the Stratgegy programme explores closed, guided and open learning), but these should be celebrated and seen as complementary rather than as opposites. Pupils need to experience a range of different musical learning processes, and teachers should be encouraged to explore different approaches to musical learning, any and all of which can incorporated within a full and rich KS3 music experience for pupils.

  • 20. How does this relate to the National Curriculum (2008)?


    The National Curriculum describes what should be taught at KS3; the Strategy programme describes how the learning can be designed and promoted. Since QCA encourages schools and teachers to devise flexible ways of delivering the learning, it should be noted that the Strategy’s approach is only of many that could be used – it is equally possible to deliver the National Curriculum through methodologies based on Kodaly, Dalcroze, Musical Futures, Eurythmics, etc.
     
    However, the Strategy’s approach is very closely related to the core values of the National Curriculum (2008). In particular, the Strategy materials supports the key issues of:

    • underpinning the study of music through key concepts – especially those of cultural understanding, critical understanding and creativity;
    • seeing the essential practical activities as ‘interrelated skills and processes that enable the development and demonstration of musicianship and musical understanding’;
    • planning for and assessing progress in music through musical understanding, which is the basis of accurate assessments using the level descriptors in music.

  • 21. How does this relate to Levels?


    The main emphasis of this programme is to consider how we can get pupils to learn and engage with music more effectively. Learning is therefore at the heart of the materials – not assessment.
     
    However, there are two places within the programme where you can explore assessment-related issues: in Unit 6, you can explore Feedback as part of Assessment for Learning within music lessons; and in Unit 5, you can explore how the programme’s six stages of progression in musical understanding relate directly to the Levels. This relationship between the stages of progression and the National Curriculum level descriptors has been confirmed by QCA, and is crucial in linking the programme’s advice on planned learning to the assessment of that learning through the National Curriculum levels.

  • 22. How does this relate to cross-curricular issues?


    While this is a music programme, it is rooted in the principles of school improvement and cross curricular learning. It therefore builds on all the other work of the Secondary Strategy, and in particular the materials Pedagogy and practice: teaching and learning in secondary schools.
     
    You can see a pictorial diagram and explanation Microsoft Word 43kb of this relationship created by one teacher who has used the programme; or you can see all the references within the programme Microsoft Word 126kb to the Pedagogy and practice materials.

  • 23. What do instrumental/vocal teachers need to know?


    While this programme is designed primarily to support class teachers at KS3, it is a programme about musical learning. Some Music Services have therefore been using the materials with their staff, and found that they have had strong benefits with teachers working in the context of small-group tuition.
     
    At the same time, it is recognised that the Wider Opportunities schemes at KS2 are currently a higher priority for many instrumental/vocal teachers. While these schemes have many similar principles to the KS3 class work, there are differences that teacher will want to explore through the Trinity/Guildhall KS2 CPD programme.
     
    You can read more about this in the Leadership guide, instrumental/vocal teachers section.

  • 24. How do the web versions of the units relate to the PDF versions on the original DVD published in 2006?


    The materials on this web site are virtually identical to those on the original DVD (copies of which can still be obtained by calling the DCSF publications line on 0845 6022260 and quoting Reference number 03857-2006DVD). The materials have only been updated where it was necessary to:

    • enable greater access to the materials;
    • reflect and promote the principles of National Curriculum (2008): all of the National Curriculum references have therefore been updated, and some new sections added;
    • provide greater flexibility in the routes teachers take through the materials.
      Archive versions of the original PDFs can be accessed by looking in the resources section of each individual unit
 
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