Putting singing at the centre

Music Service teaching advisor Christine Wright shares her love of Sing Up 

Christine Wright, Teaching and Learning Advisor for Music at South Gloucestershire LEA, tells us how she got her community singing...

What is your strategy for Sing Up?

Since Sing Up launched I've been given the added responsiblity of raising the profile of singing in South Gloucestershire. At training events and meetings I always use a song from the Song Bank to raise awareness, and include time on my agenda to share and swap songs. There's a large Sing Up display board at the Music Service, to keep everyone up-do-date, and I send out e-bulletins highlighting Sing Up news, songs and Awards. I also lead the training for INSET days and staff meetings where singing is a focus, which entails visits to schools and if necessary, working alongside teachers in their classroom. All school visits are recorded and sent to the Headteacher and the Chair of Governors, so they can read what training has taken place and its intended impact. Even some of our secondary schools are now encouraging more singing, and in some cases, timetabling it for pupils in Year 7. So it's had quite an impact in South Gloucestershire. We also have best-practice forums, and Sing Up is always on every agenda.

Do you include vocal provision in your wider opportunities progrmame?

Yes- this year we offered a five-week vocal package to all primary schools. This has been delivered by three vocal tutors with excellent feedback. I'm responsible for the monitoring and timetabling in conjunction with the Music Service.

Does Sing Up work well in schools? 

It's made everyone realise that singing is at the heart of the curriculum. It's easy to forget about singing and focus on it just a few times a week in assemblies. We have a lot of singing happening across the authority in various guises. Sing Up has revitalised singing in the classroom. 96% of our primary schools are now signed up to Sing Up, and we've had two wonderful Sing Up projects (Sing Up Infants and Songwriting) funded through the initiative. Last year we also had 13 infant festivals which involved clusters of schools singing and dancing, dressed for various themes. I think any teacher that spends a few minutes looking around Sing Up website, will instantly recognise the benefits of being involved.

What else can a Music Service staff do to promote Sing Up in their area? 

• Talk to headteachers, music coordinators, local authority advisors and pupils

• Get involved in other events to which singing could make a contribution

• Keep up regular contact with your schools through e-bulletins

• Identify any schools that are struggling to participate and offer them support

• Attend concerts and singing events

• Arrange events for schools to sing together

• Sing at every opportunity!

Interviewed By: Helenka Bednar

Singing From the Same Sheet

Kathleen Still, Sing Up Area Leader, explains why Christine is such a great ally in her region: "I first met Christine at a Vocal Force meeting in Bristol. Her approach is very much in tune with my primary school background, and I realised from the beginning that her approach goes beyond the purely musical to incorporate the broader curriculum. I believe her dual role working with the Music Service and the Education Service means that her relationship with schools has an added emphasis with Heads and Music Coordinators.

"She regularly visits schools, knows them well and has a good grasp of the specific needs of each one. An integral part of her singing strategy is to take the Sing Up message into every school, regularly producing a Sing Up newsletter. She is exceptionally energetic and passionate about the initiative, losing no opportunity to promote the message, encouraging schools to get involved and, in particular, register for the Awards."