FAQs:

A: Programmes of funding are solicited through a wide range of sources. As Sing Up draws to a close there may only be limited scope for funding projects. If you are interested in getting involved, the best thing to do in the first instance is contact your Area Leader. They will help inform you about the funding opportunities available through Sing Up and will let you know if you are eligible for funding.

We have four main strands of funding which are:

Sing Up Communities - intensively targeting areas aiming to develop sustainable singing.

Sing Up Clusters - linking specialist music, performing arts or media colleges with their cluster primaries through the Extended Schools Core Offer.

Sing Up Flagships - Organisations doing exceptional work in singing, representing, developing and disseminating best practice.

Sing Up Beyond the Mainstream - supporting children with additional needs.

A: Due to a change in our licensing and funding, anyone viewing the site outside of England will only be able to listen to Public Domain (PD) songs within the Song Bank. This is due to Sing Up being a government funded programme for practitioners working with primary school aged children within England.

However, users viewing the site outside of England can still sign-up and receive the following benefits once logged in:

• Make playlists of and favourite Public Domain songs from the Song Bank
• View, comment on and favourite all online versions of the magazine
• Download Bonus Content

The exemption of this is BFPO schools, who technically have an English postcode. Teachers within these establishments can sign-up as ‘teachers’: select ‘teacher’ and ‘yes’ to working with primary school children and within England. If you are a teacher in a BFPO school, and cannot hear the songs, please contact us, and we will fix this for you.

Please note that this restriction also applies to people who have registered in England, but are using a computer abroad. 

For more information check out our FAQ on 'Which role should I choose when I register?'

A: There are a couple of different types of registration with Sing Up, and the role that you choose determines the types of resources (like downloading songs, or receiving the magazine) which you can receive. Here’s a quick list of which jobs each type of registration is for!

Teacher: Teachers or any staff working in a primary school in England. This includes Teaching Assistants, HLTAs, SEN helpers, voluntary staff, office staff and any part-time teachers who would like to be the Awards Champion for the school. This also includes teachers at primary BFPO schools.

Organisation: Music organisations can include any extra-curricular organisations that deliver educational sessions or resources, including: hospital schools, drama/music schools, churches and associations who would like to run singing groups (e.g. The Scouts Association).  Secondary schools, pre-schools and nurseries in England should register in this capacity too!

Music Service: Anyone who works directly under the LEA or LA music service, e.g. Surrey Arts, including Wider Opportunity teachers, if applicable. This is also the category for peripatetic or classroom teachers who are employed by a Music Service or Local Authority.

Freelancer: This category is for workshop leaders or practitioners who operate in mainland England, Music Specialists who work in a number of schools, NQTs or other student teachers, and supply teachers.

Parent/Other: If you do not teach children in any capacity, or would like to be a non-teaching supporter of Sing Up and receive regular updates about the programme, this is the category to choose. If you do teach, it is likely that one of the four above categories is better suited to you, so it’s best to contact us to check.

Sing Up is excited to be able to offer non-teachers (parent/other registrants) the ability to register for certain services. Currently you can now access all free resources, including lesson plans, song activities, lyric sheets and basic training information. You are now able to save songs from our Songs and Voice Box section to your favourites. While you are not able to download these songs due to copyright restrictions, you are able to listen to them.

It is really important that you register in the right role, as otherwise you might be able to access what you need in order to teach. Please note that for Freelancers and Organisations, it will take a few days to be able to log on, as each application is verified by our Support Team.

A: Because we have secured funding from the Government until March 2011, the Sing Up website and resources are of no cost to those who register. 

A: Anyone can register with Sing Up! The resources we offer are designed to be used by teachers of children aged 5-11 in England, but if you find our tools and songs useful, go ahead and register yourself. There are a couple of different types of registration, so if you get stuck with choosing a role, or need help with registering, check out our Registration FAQ below.

A: The government funding which supports Sing Up was always scheduled to run from 2007 up to March 2011, but that doesn’t mean we’re planning to finish! With a new government in place, and public sector spending cuts imminent, it is very difficult to predict the future for the funding of music education. However, we recognise that Sing Up has become invaluable for schools and are building a strong future for the programme, which includes the continuation of its resources and support, so that the proven benefits of singing within education can continue. In the meantime, please continue to use Sing Up as normal.

But you can help too! Our best chance of ensuring a future for Sing Up is to have ALL primary schools on board, and signed up to Sing Up. We’re approaching 90% engagement from primary schools, but if 100% are on board, that’s difficult to ignore!

So, if you feel strongly that Sing Up, and government funding for music education, should continue, please make sure that all the schools you know are registered and using Sing Up. You can also help by writing to us about how Sing Up has helped you and your school.

A: While the old website was fantastic, and many of you were using it regularly, we found that we had a lot more to offer, and we wanted all different types of teachers and leaders to feel that they could engage with singing.

We changed the site to be easier to navigate both in and outside the Song Bank (which we now call Songs & Teaching Resources) as well as a larger offering of Training, access to support and local Area Leaders, Interactive materials, and resources to help you teach your classes!

If you have further questions, please contact us.

A: We have a whole host of videos for your viewing pleasure; from warm-ups, to informational features. Like many sites, our videos are hosted by YouTube.

If you are experiencing problems viewing them, we recommend checking your internet browser is an up to date version (see Help! The website seems so slow!).

If you are at school, you might find that your school network security is blocking YouTube. We recommend that you speak to your IT coordinator about which sites are allowed and which ones aren't.

If you are still experiencing any problems, please contact us.

A: If the site is running a little slow for you, here are a few pointers to help:

• Upgrade your internet browser (eg Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox) to the latest version.
• Add Sing Up to your browser as a trusted site:
  • Select Tools from the top menu bar. Select Internet Options.
  • In the box that opens, go to the Security tab, and click on the green tick.
  • Click Sites. Untick the box that says Require server verification
  • Enter www.singup.org into the top box and click add.
  • Come back to the website. Select Tools, Delete Browsing History, then delete Temporary files/Cache and Cookies.
  • Return to the website. On your keyboard, hold down shift and Ctrl, and click Refresh in the top browser menu.

If you are still experiencing problems, or would like to ask any questions about the website, please contact us.

A: We are constantly working towards making the website faster for all types of internet connections in all browsers.

Some versions of Internet Explorer, and some high-security connections (like in schools, for example), have controls that block some images and processes on our new website that helps it to work quickly. 

If you are at school, you might find that your school network security is blocking features of the website (such as cookies) that enables you to view and download songs and resources. In this case, please talk to your IT co-ordinator about setting your school network to ‘allow all content’ from the Sing Up website.

Our website runs fastest in Firefox, Google Chrome, Internet Explorer 8 or Safari (for Mac users). Please note that the Sing Up website is incompatible with most versions of the AOL browser. 

If you don't have these updates, download them here:

• Firefox
• Google Chrome
• Internet Explorer 8
• Safari