Secondary Schools – England

Our team of secondary music specialists understand the unique pressures faced by secondary schools in teaching this subject. You may be a one-person department or small team struggling to fit everything in, or you might be a large department with lots of additional plates to spin! Whatever your set-up, we're here to help!

Curriculum Design

We offer a range of curriculum design services carried out by experienced consultants who have worked on many individual school curriculums and national and international resources such as the Kapow Music Curriculum, the pBuzz Music Curriculum, and the Pearson International Music Curriculum. We can audit your current curriculum and suggest improvements, help devise documentation such as progression of skills and assessment frameworks, or even write your entire curriculum for you from scratch! The process can be as collaborative or as hands-off as you would like, and we can complete the work on site or remotely to suit your requirements.

Fees: from £300 per day.

Online Learning

Through our online learning platform we offer a range of interactive self-study courses for secondary music teachers on a variety of topics. These are priced at £9.99-24.99 for 6 months’ access and include a certificate on completion of a final optional assignment. View our online course menu here.

We also offer a regular programme of webinars throughout the year covering a myriad of topics relevant to secondary music teaching. View our webinar menu here.

Fees: £9.99-25.00

Mentoring

We offer bespoke mentoring services from Open University certified music education mentors.

Adopting the ‘Reflective Model of Mentoring’, mentees are helped to identify their own areas for development during an initial one-to-one session (which may include lesson observation if the mentee requests this). Following the initial session, mentees are then offered follow-up email support to help them address their development aims.

The MES Mentoring approach is bespoke, and therefore differs according to each individual’s requirements. Listed below as a guide are some of the topics and areas that teachers commonly ask for support with, but these are by no means exhaustive.

Mentoring support might include areas such as:

Planning for Musical Development
Assessment of Musical Progress
Resourcing
Developing extra-curricular activities
Planning performance events
Managing Peripatetic Staff
Creating supportive music networks between schools
Identifying suitable CPD course opportunities

Fees: £100 per online session (Zoom or FaceTime)

Demonstration Lessons & Team Teaching

We offer a range of demonstration lessons which give teachers the opportunity to observe an expert music leader working with their class. These sessions are bespoke and based on individual teachers’ needs, but might include opportunities to observe:

Teaching of creative activities
Development of pupils' singing skills
Assessment of pupils’ musical skills
Provision of musically differentiated activities

Each session ends with a feedback discussion to allow the teacher to ask questions and have assistance from the workshop leader to develop ideas for how they would replicate or adapt these approaches in their own practice.

Fees: Full Day: £395. Half Day: £295. Travel surcharges apply.

Deep Dive-style Music Reviews

We are not Ofsted Inspectors, nor are we endorsed by Ofsted because they don’t endorse any private provider! However we do have extensive knowledge of how to plan, deliver and assess the music curriculum and extra-curricular programmes! We can carry out a review of your current approach to music, looking at planning and assessment documentation, and observing teaching, in order to help you prepare for a ‘Deep Dive’ inspection in music.

Fees: £395. Travel surcharges apply.

Artsmark Support

Artsmark is the creative quality standard for schools and education settings, awarded by Arts Council England, recognising their commitment to high-quality arts and cultural education.

Music Education Solutions® is proud to be supporting schools and education settings on their Artsmark journey, inspiring children and young people to create, experience, and participate in great arts and culture.

We offer education settings who are working towards, or currently hold an Artsmark

Award, with the following opportunities:

Support with planning for Music & the Creative Curriculum
Music CPD & INSET sessions in school and online
Music demonstration lessons & team teaching
Opportunities to share practice at our three annual national teacher CPD events

Find out more about Artsmark at www.artsmark.org.uk

To find out how Music Education Solutions® can support your Artsmark journey, fill out our enquiry form, and a member of our team will be in touch.