There are 10 jam-packed and fun activity sheets in each pack, along with a CD of 10 songs, each with a different theme, such as ‘friendship’, ‘being positive’, ‘facing challenges’ and ‘celebrating uniqueness’.

Download your free Pyramid Pack here.
 

Our new pack features a tasty amount of activities and ideas to inject a healthy balance of singing into your early morning sessions.

You can download it here

The pack features the following Song bank songs:

Halima Pakasholo

The animals went in two by two

This little light of mine

Senwa dedende

She'll be coming round the mountain

Cup o’ tea?
Supported by local radio, the project launched with a series of St George’s Day tea parties at three settings, to which local primary school children and senior citizens in Sheltered Housing were invited. Through this informal party setting, the two groups were able to meet and share a range of activities based around music, singing, discussion and play.

The project continued in each setting on a four-week rolling programme. The impact on both the children and the elderly has been significant. The children have learned how to interact and share ideas with older people; they’ve learned about history first hand from the people who’ve lived it and they’ve learned that their singing brings happiness to others, which has increased their confidence and furthered their enjoyment.

The project has also opened up a new level of companionship for the elderly residents. There has been much fun and laughter with participants trying out instruments, wearing silly hats, singing songs with actions and generally losing their self-consciousness. It has enabled participants who may not have sung for years to find their voice.

Congratulations
News of the £30,000 grant has caused quite a stir at Sing Up. Funded Programmes Manager, Jo Hunter, is absolutely delighted, ‘The project has really thought outside the box. The funding reflects the hard work and dedication the team have put in to making this community a successful one. We are thrilled.’

The project has met with great interest and the model has proved so successful that the format is now being put to use in Worthing. For Christine Ward, Assistant Music director at Southampton Music Service, the grant is just the boost they need, ‘The financial backing means we can sustain and expand the project. It shows that the council really understand the benefits of our project and we are looking forward to spreading ourselves further into the community.’

Want to know more about our Sing Up Communities? You can find out more in the About Us section.
 

Working Together

"Gradually, we all worked towards the Silver Award, gaining more confidence as a singing school. We held regular singing each Friday and formed two choirs. It was a communal school effort, and some staff members - myself included - were not too confident with singing, but with the help of the Song Bank, we all slowly embraced it. Soon it because clear that the children were singing at home and in the playground and staff could even hear them making up their own songs too. This really was uplifting!
Silver Award

"It was to our great surprise we found that not only had we gained the Award, but we were the first Silver Award school in the whole country! As you can imagine we were absolutely delighted and the children screamed with excitement. We held a celebration event, invited all the parents and let the children decide which song to sing. We had the local press, radio and television all wanting to make our children stars!

"Sing Up is an integral part of our school now, and visitors have observed and commented on the positive vibes emanating from staff, children and parents. As always, we look to the future and are looking towards our next stage. I'm now confident and excited aiming towards the Gold Award; we certainly are a proud 'St Martin's Silver Singing School'."

The big arrival
For a lot of the children it was their first visit to the seaside and the buzz of a big city. Nikki Fryer, choir leader at Chesil Cove saw the reactions first hand, “The Hannah More pupils stood along the promenade and looked out over the beach with open mouths. When we visited Bristol, I was really amazed at how our children were really shocked by the different cultures. Very quickly though, they all started to introduce each other and one group began playing football.”

Sharing stories
Once everyone had settled in, the children from the schools were paired together. They had a chat and then sang songs from the Song Bank. Both the teachers and children loved every moment of it. Chloe, a Year 4 pupil from Chesil Cove found that Bristol was ‘really big and there were lots of cars and houses, but the thing I liked about Hannah More School was that all the children were being really kind’.

We are pleased that everyone involved enjoyed the exchange. It’s great to hear that plans are already under way to have future meetings. Nikki assured us that they had, ‘all agreed that we would like to do this again next year. Isn’t it great when you can make dreams come true?’
 

Starting Out
Singing had always played an important part in the school day, bringing smiles to the pupils’ faces and helping their learning. When Sing Up was introduced, Ian Squire, Red Marsh’s Music leader, wanted all teachers to get involved; ‘At first some were very reluctant to sing in front of their children. But gradually teachers and teaching assistants that hadn’t sang much with their children began to do more and more singing. Sing Up has massively increased our repertoire and has proved to be a big hit with the children.’

The Big Concert
In the autumn, all the hard work paid off. Ian and his students were invited to sing at the Sing Up for Your Friends concert at Preston Guild Hall. It was a day that they will never forget. Ian comments, ‘It was awesome singing with 600 other children. The sound we all made was amazing, especially accompanied by the excellent live band. The children still sing the songs from the concert and one boy, James carries the CD of the songs around with him everywhere! In terms of raising their confidence and self-esteem, it was invaluable.’

Advice for Others
For Red Marsh, Sing Up has inspired both children and teachers alike. When asked if he had any tips on newcomers Sing Up, he advises that teachers simply immerse themselves in it; ‘Don't be afraid to join in and have a go. There are songs for every occasion and theme. The children will soon tell you which songs they love. You never know, you may even start to enjoy it!

We are delighted to announce that Red Marsh have now received their Silver Award. Start your own journey by visiting the Awards area.

Have you got an inspiring Sing Up story? If so, we’d love to hear from you. Email us through Contact Us.
 

The school has a long tradition in music and singing is at its very heart; children sing throughout the day, all staff lead singing in the classroom and they even have a large boys choir!

Pride in their work

Lisa Soutar, the school music co-ordinator, is ecstatic. ‘Our school community is so enthusiastic about singing. I knew the Awards could give us recognition for all the singing that takes place at Derby High School. We are very proud of our achievement’

Developing teacher singing skills

The school's journey wasn't easy. Part of Lisa's test was to help and encourage less confident teachers to sing out loud and proud. There have been many success stories ‘A year 5 teacher loves singing, but had always been embarrassed in front of others. Her confidence has grown so much that she now performs regularly in concerts! Her help has been invaluable’

Tips for Sing Up Awards success

Derby High’s Awards journey hasn’t stopped at the school gates. Lisa has started work supporting local schools, delivering staff training to teachers in Derbyshire.

We asked Lisa if she had any Awards tips for schools. ‘Make sure you start collecting evidence! Record, video or photograph any singing activities you do. Don’t ever underestimate what your children can achieve. Aim high and they will rise to the challenge!’

Teachers registered at primary schools can get involved in the Awards by visiting our Awards area.
 

Let our quick reference guide help you!

Sing Up is aimed for every teacher; musical and non-musical, confident and not-so confident. We want you to be inspired and get involved!

Start with a warm-up

If you are nervous about getting your class singing, or even singing yourself, a basic warm-up is a great way to start.

The Voice Box area of our site has some great ideas to get you and your class going.

Why not try one of these?

• Siren
• Calm-down warm-up
• Warm up and Stomp canon

A song is a great way in!

Even 5 minutes singing can achieve great things with your class. You can build your children’s confidence, re-energise yourself and your class and improve their
self-esteem.

The Song Bank area of our site has over 300 songs, ranging from traditional tunes, old favourites and specially commissioned pieces.

Check out these starter songs and see what catches your fancy:

• Alice the camel
• Boom Chicka Boom
• Do your ears hang low?
• Going over the sea (This way, that way)
• Grandma rap
• I love the flowers

Register and get more

Want to develop your new found singing skills? Register on our site and keep up to date with these exciting resources:

• A termly magazine with new songs, stories and advice.
• Exclusive Bonus downloads, articles and exciting News stories.
• Book one of our nationwide Sing Up Training courses.
• Download, save and comment on your favourite songs and articles.

Join our online network

Get your voice heard! Our social networking sites are a gateway to the online Sing Up community:

• Share your thoughts and discuss techniques on our Facebook fan page.
• View exclusive educational videos on the Sing Up Youtube channel.
• Let others know your opinion on the Quality Blog.

Good luck!

If you are experiencing any problems, feel free to read our FAQ section.

We hope you enjoy using Sing Up!

Howard congratulated the staff and pupils for being one of 26 Platinum Award schools in the whole of England. The pupils even gasped when they heard that there were over 20,000 primary schools in the country!

A school enjoying singing

The Acting Headteacher, Charlotte Hickerton, is also the Music Coordinator for the school and has ensured that singing remains a high-priority. Charlotte said, 'We are so proud that our children and staff love singing, it helps them to achieve and is also a lot of fun - it brings the whole school together!'

Assembly performance

Howard was inspired by the experience. 'I am very excited to have the opportunity to present this Platinum Award to Ling Moor Primary School. Making a visit like this and seeing how a school has embraced and is benefiting from regular singing is a hugely rewarding part of my role as the National Singing Ambassador.'

The choir finished off the singing assembly with a wonderful action song and they were accompanied by Howard improvising on piano – a fantastic finale to a magnificent singing event.

Are your school registered with Sing Up? To get involved, go to the Awards area.

6-WEEK ACTIVITY PLAN BY ANDY BROOKE

Educating children is one of the most challenging and rewarding vocations; and the greater the challenge, usually the greater the reward. For those who work with children who have special educational needs (SEN), the working day can be even more challenging and rewarding. The frustration experienced by many children with SEN can often lead to low self-esteem. It can take much time, work and patience on the part of children and teachers to address issues of confidence, self-worth and emotional wellbeing.

SEAL/PSHE

• Ask children to bring photographs of themselves with important people in their lives, or doing things which are special to them. Use these as a stimulus for brainstorming the question “Who am I?” Help children to draw round each other on paper to create life-sized outlines and stick their photos inside. Encourage them to add information such as:
  – a self-portrait
  – a piece of work, such as an acrostic on their first name
  – a map or photo of where they live
  – a fact file – birthday, eye/hair colour, etc.
  – magazine cuttings of favourite pop stars or sports personalities.
  

• Brainstorm feelings, and look at pictures of facial expressions of people in a variety of moods. Suggest scenarios and ask them how they would feel. Can they show you, using only facial expressions? What happens to our features when we are happy, bored, angry, proud or scared? Support them if necessary in using mirrors to look at their expressions. You could take photos of the children modelling these emotions for display, or to create a matching pairs or bingo game. Play an online game at www.do2learn.com/games/learningames.htm.

CIRCLE TIME

• Go round the group, encouraging children to take turns to say one positive thing about the next person along. This could be about skills, appearance, personality or a special memory.

MATHS/SCIENCE

• Link the subject of the song, ie. being ‘OK’, to the Healthy Schools initiative – see home.healthyschools.gov.uk – one theme of which is Healthy Eating. Provide a variety of healthy foods and let the children sample each. Ask them how they will determine the most popular food type – they might suggest a survey, a show of hands or a secret ballot. Once they have the results, ask them how they could represent their data. In groups, get them to show the information by producing large pictograms, charts or graphs for display outside the classroom.

LITERACY

• Ask children to keep an emotions diary, and to write each morning and afternoon about how they’re feeling. Tell them that, although the diary will be read by an adult, it will be up to them to decide whether they wish to discuss the content, and with whom: an adult or a classmate. For those who find writing difficult, provide another means of recording work, eg. a laptop, voice-recognition software or a scribe.

MUSIC

• Reinforce the idea of beat and rhythm, while encouraging children to maintain a part within a group performance. Split the class in half: Group 1 marks out the beat by patting alternate knees with hands (left-right-left-right), while Group 2 claps the rhythm of the words. This would also work with instruments: guiros could define the beat (low-high-low-high), with other percussion, eg. claves, playing the rhythm. Once secure, this idea could be extended: split the class into three parts and add the ‘I’m OK (rest-rest)’ rhythm as an ostinato – a short, repeating idea. Promote development of independent performing skills by asking children to work in smaller groups, with one or two to a part.

SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL ASPECTS OF LEARNING

• Use the SEAL ‘Good to be me’ materials for KS2 (yellow and green sets), which can be freely downloaded from the national strategies website, www.nationalstrategies.standards.dcsf.gov.uk. There are lots of relevant activities in this resource, including:
  – Feeling good about myself
  – Being assertive
  – Hiding feelings
  – Mixed feelings
  – Making choices
  – Agreeing and disagreeing
  – Peer pressure
  – Understanding my feelings.
• Some children will benefit from the activities in the KS1 materials (blue set). In addition, teachers would do well to familiarise themselves with the silver set, aimed at small groups of KS1 children who need additional support in developing their social, emotional and behavioural skills, but which can be modified for those in KS2.

SPEAKING & LISTENING

• Ask children to discuss their strengths and weaknesses. What are they good at? What might they improve at if they practise? What might they always find difficult or impossible? Ask for volunteers to make a short presentation on this theme to the class.

ART & DESIGN/ICT

• Promote development of social skills and teamwork by engaging children in a creative whole-class project. For example:
  – Ask children to collect photographs and magazine cuttings of favourite things, ie. foods, sports, musicians and places. They then work together on a collage. This would be great if displayed in a public place within the school.
  – Find an area around school where children can create a ‘hall of fame’ with their handprints. You could use paint, but wet cement is far more rock ’n’ roll! Don’t forget to add names.
  – Take a tour of the outside of the school. Look at and discuss photographs of the buildings, including an aerial view if possible. Check out Google Earth for a satellite view – the software can be downloaded free from earth.google.co.uk. Once the children have a clear sense of the school’s structure, get them to make a model of the school by reusing cardboard boxes, plastic cartons and other thrown-away materials.
  – What do the children think are the most positive aspects of the school? Get them to make and present a film or a podcast aimed at promoting the school in the community. Why not include a film or audio recording of them singing?

DRAMA

• Empower children who have low self-esteem by using role-play, which allows them to make decisions as someone else, rather than as themselves. Discuss different scenarios with a moral issue, eg. ‘Some children are calling your friend names.’ Develop each scenario through drama procedures such as hot-seating and thought-tracking, and then use further activities, such as conscience alley, to reach a conclusion. Visit the Drama Resource website www.dramaresource.com for explanations of these and other drama techniques.
  

Andy Brooke is a teacher, songwriter and freelance writer on music education. He has taught music to all age ranges from nursery to sixth form. He now combines the role of primary school music coordinator with that of SENCO.

Song Bank

KS2: Feelings

Selected song: I'm OK!

There is a wealth of songs available online that can complement I’m OK!:

Believe
Build It High
Good to be me
I’m gonna be your friend
Just one person
Life is what you make it
OK
Sunshine in my heart
We’re all in this together

Be supportive

Helping someone find their way as a singing leader is not always easy. There isn’t necessarily one approach to suit all people or situations; there are many reasons why people are reluctant to sing, let alone teach singing; teachers are busy and some still sadly believe that singing isn’t that important. What these people need is TLC – a Teachers and Leaders Choir. If you can set up and lead a short skills-sharing session, which ideally becomes a regular feature of staffroom life, open to all from the truly terrified to the coolly confident, the benefits across the school, even after half a term, will be clear.

This needn’t be a performing group (although these groups often do end up taking to the stage), and it’s not about piling more pressure onto teachers. It's a great way to have fun, build a happy staff team and discover your singing voices.

Starting a staff choir: four helpful hints

1. Acknowledge the fear

Singing in front of people can be scary. These teachers’ comments stem from fear: ‘I can’t sing’, ‘I don’t want the children to see me struggling; it may damage their confidence in me’, ‘I don’t mind singing in front of the children but as soon as an adult walks in I clam up!’.

The fact is that when we open our mouths to speak or sing, and our own unique sound comes out, we are revealed: you can tell a lot about ‘where a person is at’ by the tone, quality, pitch and use of their voice. Subconsciously we know this, and the fear of being ‘found out’ in some way is a real one. Add to this the experience of having been told at some point that you can’t sing, and it’s no wonder people can’t find the time to break through the barriers to … just sing.

2. Bridge the gap

Argue with your colleagues that yes, it can be scary, but argue that if we approach the voice in terms of sound, exploring all kinds of vocal noises in warm-ups, the gap between confident speaking (which teachers already have) and confident singing is reduced, and initial fears are replaced by a spirit of adventurous enquiry. We ask our colleagues, who in turn ask their pupils, to explore the sounds we can make. And from there, we approach the singing voice.

3. Point out the links

Singing helps children learn and remember, and can illuminate the curriculum. Point out to reluctant colleagues that far from becoming a chore, singing can make their lives easier and bring new life to aspects of children’s learning.

4. Offer a taster

With your Headteacher’s support, set up a 15-minute session, so you can:
offer reassuring, practical steps to show that singing isn’t so scary after all.
get your colleagues singing – you can talk about it ‘til the cows come home, but nothing beats the uplifting experience of singing in a group.
offer to facilitate a regular TLC session, promising it will only take 12 minutes a week. Agree on a break or lunchtime or after-school slot for this to take place. If you are skilful with time you really can lead an effective and energised session in just 12 minutes. This would break down as:

2 mins: people arrive, chat, ‘get here’
1 min: focused breathing and relaxation
3 mins: group warm-up, eg. simple call
and response, first rhythmic, then vocal
6 mins: learning, singing, or revising a song.

You are aiming to show what fun singing is, and how useful it can be. Who could resist?

Singing leaders are as diverse as the songs they teach. You don’t have to be an excellent singer to be an excellent singing leader. Your school and your colleagues need you, and will benefit hugely from much-needed TLC. Start today, and good luck!

Em Whitfield-Brooks is a Sing Up Trainer and Vocal Force Advisor. She also delivers sessions as part of Sing Up Bridlington, run by Opera North, and is director of Ryedale Festival Community Opera.

A quick health warning: it’s not a good idea to practise extended breathing exercises with young and inexperienced singers. They can get dizzy, and asthma sufferers can experience difficulty. Of course, singing can be very good for those with asthma, but please be cautious when working directly on breathing.

Remind the class that when you sing, the whole body is your instrument. Place the feet at hip width and keep the knees loose, making sure that backs are comfortably straight. Try some gentle non-vocal warm-up exercises, paying particular attention to the shoulders. Lift them up to your ears and then drop. They will fall naturally into the correct position.

Children like to know how things work and won’t be fobbed off with incomplete answers. Take time to find out how the diaphragm is involved in breathing and practise some simple explanations. Explain that the lungs expand in all directions and that being aware of the movement of the diaphragm helps us breathe more deeply and control the flow of air. Ask the children to place their hands lightly on their ‘middles’, with the thumb part of the hand on the lower rib cage and the other part below it. Get them to breathe in without raising the shoulders and they will feel some movement under their hands. Make them laugh and point out how their hands are moving with their laughter. If the shoulders are kept relaxed, and not artificially lifted, they will begin to use their diaphragms quite naturally.

As they start to acquire some control over their breathing a whole range of other techniques becomes possible. You will be able to start showing them how singers can spin a mere series of notes and rhythms into something that really communicates – into a living musical performance.

Line and phrasing

This depends so much on breath control. Inexperienced singers will often break a melody down into individual notes and the effect can be disjointed and monotonous.
 Have some fun speaking a sentence in a steady, dry monotone and immediately contrast it with a lively, normal delivery. Try: “I went to the Beyoncé concert on Saturday and it was the most fantastic night of my life.” Or: “In the last minute of the game Giggs shot through the centre, dodged two defenders, and scored. It was unbelievable!” Discuss with the children where the important words are. How would the speaker be feeling? How does the listener know they’re feeling that?
 Take a song they know and decide with the children where breaths can be taken. Let them see how these decisions are made – breath capacity, the sense of the words, the rhythm of the line. Discuss where the focal point of the line is and work towards it and away from it. Use the breath to carry you through the consonants so that you get a good legato (Italian for ‘linked’ – linked notes give a smooth line).
 The first verse of O waly, waly (available in the Song Bank) provides a good example:

The water is wide, I cannot get o’er
And neither have I wings to fly.
Bring me a boat that will carry two
And both shall row, my love and I.

A breath after ‘wide’ is perfectly acceptable and they can also breathe after ‘o’er’. In the second line they will want to breathe after ‘have’. Show them how much more expressive the line is if they sing it in one sweep, right through to ‘fly’. Try the same with the third line – all in one breath. Then make a decision about how to sing the last line: one breath, or a break after ‘row’? What are the pros and cons?
   You will be astonished how perceptive the children will be in their comments. Because you are involving them in the decision-making process, they will make the song their own.
 Use movement whenever you can to getacross the idea of musical shape.

Dynamics

Again, involve the pupils in your decision-making. Obviously you will take your lead from the words. Be adventurous. A well thought-out strategy using the full range of dynamics will make their singing so much more expressive. Can they let their breathing go when they’re singing quietly? The answer is a resounding ‘No!’ Quiet singing requires even more breath control and very careful articulation.
 To practise crescendo (getting louder) and diminuendo (getting quieter), ask them to sing any vowel sound on a single note and indicate louder and quieter with your hands in front of your diaphragm, as if you were playing an accordion. Hands wider – crescendo; hands closer – diminuendo.
 Watch out for unwanted pitch changes; insist on careful listening.

Words

Encourage clear, crisp articulation at all times but stop short of overdoing it; it’s very easy to get to the ‘silly faces’ stage! Children have a tendency to produce quite wide vowels.
 Work on bringing the sound forward, particularly with ‘ee’ and ‘ah’. Sing exercises with vowels preceded by ‘n’ or ‘m’ – nee, naw, moo, mah – to help the children achieve this.
 Noiselessly mouth a line of a song they know and see if they can identify it. Again, the articulation doesn’t have to be over the top, just clear and precise.

Tone and style

Think of tone as being the colour of the sound.
 Experiment with colours, being guided by the song that you’re singing. A rousing sea shanty should be sung with an edgy, bright tone. A seasonal lullaby needs a rounder, mellower sound.
 Have fun singing a song in the wrong tone and style. Discuss why it sounds wrong.
 To achieve a warmer tone, sing ‘mmm’ on one note over
four beats and then open up to ‘maw’: ‘mmmmaw’. Try any vowel on the end. Hold the final vowel as long as you like.

Expressive faces

It’s so important that the face is flexible and expressive at all times.
 Miming with your hands, screw your face up like a piece of paper, then pull it out as flat as you can. Over a count of 10, morph from one expression to another. Start with sad and, over 10, gradually transform to radiantly happy. Go from bored to angry or innocent to sly. Ask a pupil to do one and get the others to guess what the expressions are. Of course, we shouldn’t use our faces in such a contrived way when we sing, but these activities will exercise the facial muscles and remind the children that an expressive face can help so much in the interpretation of songs.

Richard Frostick is based in London where he has eight choirs, and works across Britain and overseas as an animateur. His books are published by Faber Music. 

Dave Camlin explains how he and his team are laying the foundations for making Cumbria a singing county.

The Sing Up initiative is a fantastic opportunity for us all. The vision of the UK as a singing nation, where children and their communities all sing naturally and enthusiastically as part of their everyday lives, is both exciting and highly inspirational. What does that mean on the ground, though? There are some important steps we have to take in order to make Sing Up a significant milestone, not just in terms of making some exciting projects, or even how we support children's singing in the mid-term, but potentially in the way we think about how our children and young people are educated. For example:

• How do we build strong singing networks between schools, music organisations and the wider communitiy?
• How do we make sure they are both cohesive and comprehensive?
• How do we sustain them?

SPREADING THE WORD

In Cumbria, we have a very dispersed population (500,000 people scattered over an area that accounts for nearly half of the entire North West region) and it's all too easy for initiatives to get lost in the huge distances between communities. Which is why our approach to Sing Up Cumbria has been to find ways of enabling even the most rurally isolated primary schools to get involved. Denise, Janet and Lucy are the Study Support co-ordinators for Cumbria, each responsible for a number of Extended Services 'clusters' in their third of the county. In partnership with them, we're getting the invitation out to every Extended Services cluster (and through them to every school) in the county to be part of our Sing Up Community. If you're in Cumbria and haven't been invited yet, let us know! The 12 clusters who responded are our first step in establishing a singing network for the county that can keep singing going long after Sing Up has ended - and be remembered as the catalyst that brought about a whole new approach to children and young people's creative engagement with their education! When we met together for the first time, on 21 November, the energy and excitment in the room was palpable. There were self-confessed 'vocaphobes' - head teachers, cluster co-ordinators - who still joined in with gusto with the singing that started and ended that day. There were vocal enthusiasts, class teachers passionate about the value of singing but looking for ways to increase their own confidence in leading singing activity. There were music co-ordinators already delivering great practice in their clusters, but keen to share ideas with others. And all of them were united behind a common purpose: that we should do more singing because singing is good for us! For our children to develop as confident singers and enjoy singing as a natural part of their education, they need to see those around them exuding that same confidence and enjoyment. our voices are so personal to us (you don't need to see someone to know who you're talking to, do you?) that it's easy for us all to get nervous about putting our voices 'on the line' by leading singing activity. This is why we're placing singing networks right at the heart of what we're trying to achieve in Cumbria. We believe that if teachers and others working with children have access to 'sage' places where they can sing, use their voice, practice leading, experiment, then their own confidence in singing with be lifted, and they'll be able to bring singing into all parts of the school curriculum and children's lives. One of the teachers in our networks made the observation that singing could be "like water" in terms of its educational value. As little as five years ago, there weren't many schools with fresh water readily available for students to keep them hydrated and primed for learning. Now, water is recognised as an essential ingredient for children's learning. Singing can be thought of in the same way as cross-cutting discipline that requires (and develops) the integration of a number of learning styles.

MOVING FORWARD

So where are we now? We're just in the process of selecting the clusters that will go on to have a voice leader working with them for the next 18 months. Choosing these is not an easy process because there's so much enthusiam, dedication and good practice already out there. Thanks to the integrated way in which Sing Up is working, all the various projects (for example Sing Up Communities and Vocal Force) can become part of a cohesive way forward for singing in our disparate county, ensuring that everyone who wants to be involved can have a clear point of local access to the wider networks, including the national initiative. And we can build on the great strengths of thse intiatives, drawing them into a single, clear strategy through the Sing Up Area Leader network. As important as these time-limited projects are, the actual network itself will, we hope, be the real legacy of Sing Up. If we arrive in 2011 with a workforce of teachers, support staff and partners - as well as visiting artists - who are confident and experienced, able to support their pupils, and colleagues to sing, then it will all have been worth it. Already, the clusters involved represent over 100 professionals - head teachers, class teachers, music co-ordinators, even the vicar's wife in one cluster - who are committed to bringing singing to their schools and communities. Those 65 schools will, we hope, go on to be advocates for singing so that the whole of Cumbria will truly be a singing county. And yes, there are plans to have a big sing on top of a mountain - and yes, of course you're all invited.

The school recently held a Sing Up inset day, advising local teachers on how to use Sing Up effectively in the classroom. Pupils took the initiative to create their very own video report of the day.

David and Keir, over to you in the studio…
 

Download them here.

Read 'Chantez plus fort' to find out about a project in the North East sharing songs across a Local Support Group.

to be connected:

There’s no ‘I’ in team, but somewhere there’s ‘me’. Be a part of a wider project, of a larger cause bigger than one’s own; see and be with others you know and others you don’t – meet new people and build new friendships; join a musical family and in fellowship and goodwill have many as one.

to forget:

Their woes, their troubles, an eagerly shut door to a past that remains locked. To escape this world, this reality, and suddenly, effortlessly enter another, and in so doing, feeling, within oneself, free. Unfold ones arms, balm an open wound and unclench a weary fist.

to create:

Starting with nothing – a blank page, five horizontal lines and an unstinting ambition; an adventurous goal set by an optimistic guide leads always to a most unforgettable journey marked by works of great dignity and heart.

to remember:

To view through a window the memory font in the corner at the back of the mind, to unlock that door, trigger a switch, awaken and ignite the imagination: first loves, favourite holidays, the Wars, family gatherings, the departed and that ever-shifting concept – ‘home’.

to express:

Their desires, their longings, the ambivalence, the rejections, the high celebrations, the wallowing lows, the misery, the elations, the angst, ebbs and flows; the thoughts on close friends, bully boys, geeky girls, feuding families, lost lovers, pugnacious pugilists viewed by maternal maidens, incorrigible conquerors peer over fateful unfortunates; a cluster of characters who, until that magical moment, remain silent ... and then, with a pen as a wand and the mouth as a sword, in an instant they are given voice.

to self-educate:

To explore old subjects in unusual forms; to discuss new topics in a fun and innovative way.

to overcome:

A seemingly ingrained fear of singing itself, afraid to open their mouths for fear of what they might impart. Despite their bravery, memories and attitudes linger still and, as yet, remain uncontested: ‘You shouldn’t be in the choir’ they recall ‘she cannot sing a note’ they summon. And yet they always should, and yet they always do. to breathe in: ‘Relax 2,3,4. Breathe in ... Relax 2,3,4’ to energise: Reinvigorate, start afresh and enliven. Stretch your arms until you are 12-feet tall, then lower them to the tips of your toes, singing at the top of your voice ‘bungalow, bung-bun-ga-low ’.

to experience:

Cultures other than our own, be they from the other side of the world or simply the other side of the street, enriching our own knowledge, broadening our horizons; to reach a hand out to other communities; to de-other and re-humanise.

to enjoy: enough said.

Aga runs compositional and cross-curricular singing workshops with various organisations including Hatch My Ideas (HMI) and the New London Orchestra (NLO). For Sing Up, he’s part of the education team for Pegasus Opera Company and runs the Sing Up Bedfordshire project, Community Voices for HMI.

From 2010, it will be a statutory requirement for schools to introduce a primary language progressively in KS2. Get ahead of the game using a tool that comes naturally, and start using singing as part of your practice.
In the North East, Sing Up Area Leader Shelly Ambury has been working with language advisors to develop a model using teachers’ own Local Support Group (LSG) networks to pass on French songs. She ran a series of INSET sessions for staff in schools, helping to build their confidence and skills in both singing and French. The sessions covered common repertoire, warm-ups and games in French.

FINDING THE REPETOIRE

In preparation for the sessions, Shelly worked with a French colleague from The Sage Gateshead, choosing a mixture of traditional material and adapted repertoire. She found that learning from a native speaker and hearing pronunciation firsthand really helped boost her confidence. Many schools may have families that can offer this support and are willing to help, so it’s always a good place to start.

Through this preparation, Shelly found that traditional songs are particularly useful because they are mini-masterpieces that have stood the test of time. They also give a flavour of culture, an important part of intercultural understanding, another aspect of the Languages Framework. You can also link traditional songs with stories, adding actions and games to increase learning and reach kinesthetic learners.

Adapting existing games and warm-ups can satisfy particular needs. For example, the North East accent makes the French ‘eeoo’ and ‘eugh’ sounds really hard to pronounce, so using the Plasticine person warm-up available online in the Song Bank) to practise French vowels can make it fun. Christine Robertson, a project participant and Primary Languages Consultant for Hartlepool, also creates flashcards (see 'More Online' below) to help support visual learners.

SHARING PERFORMANCE

To celebrate European Day of Languages, Christine organised a Singing competition and festival, using her Learning Support Group as the launch pad. Each school prepared a common song plus two extra songs in different languages. They came together in different venues during the summer term to perform their songs to each other, with one final culmination event at The Borough Hall, where a winner was chosen.

As part of the event, A-level French and Music students from local secondary schools were invited to come along, working together on the day to create new songs in French. It was a fantastic community event, celebrating not just song, but the diversity of language aswell. The learning covered so much – languages, music, global education, community cohesion and PSHE.
In addition to getting people across the North East singing and learning French, this project has helped link the community, creating a network of teachers sharing good practice and getting children learning French while making a beautiful sound.

Christine was elated, “… hundreds of children from different schools lifted the roof singing together. Every word was clear; every note was true! Singing in French has become a big part of our practice now: we’ve even written a French sea shanty to welcome the Tall Ships next year!”

Sharing experiences with others

“Shelly Ambury helped teachers to understand the benefits of singing and how to teach a French song, and showed them what fun it can be. Back in the classroom, the teachers were more confident in their ability to teach French songs (and French)!”
Christine Robertson, Primary Languages Consultant

“As a multicultural school with more than 70% of children learning English as an additional language – in an inner-urban area where even the English-speaking children come into Early Years Foundation Stage with poor speaking and listening skills – we have an uphill struggle to improve the children’s ability to communicate. Vocabulary development is an enormous part of our work and we have always used songs to help this. However, as speaking and listening skills are broken down with phonics training, it becomes very obvious that unless a child can identify a sound, isolate it in a string of speech sounds and replicate it, there is no chance of that child being able to read or write the sound. Singing simple songs helps develop the sounds and allows the child to hear them in a different context, which helps isolate the individual phonemes by linking them with a musical note.”
Cherry Diemoz, Headteacher, Breckon Hill School, Middlesbrough

“One teacher I know uses a song about what you buy at the shops. She finds that this song is an effective way of developing vocabulary as the children add different items and it gives them ‘ownership’ of that verse because they have chosen the words for themselves. She also reckons it has been instrumental in increasing her own word bank as she unearths new French words to match the children’s suggestions!
Recently, I was stopped by the mother of a Year 2 girl whose class I’d worked with. She introduced me to her pre-school daughter as the French teacher and asked ‘Would you like to sing your song for her?’ whereupon the child sang, in perfect French, in tune, with no hesitations, the whole of a number song I’d taught to her sister’s class. I asked how she knew it so well – her seven-year-old sister had taught it to her, of course!"
Maria Frazer, Primary Languages Support Teacher, South Tyneside
Take Note

The Primary Languages website offers resources, advice and training to help prepare teachers for the government’s National Languages Strategy coming into effect in 2010. www.primarylanguages.org.uk.

Bonus download

Find samples of Christine Robertson’ s flashcards in our Bonus Online Content Area.

Song Bank

There are many songs in foreign languages available in the Song Bank. As part of our resources and in addition to all of the usual goodies, we’ve provided English translations and guides to pronunciation where possible. You may also find the slower version of the echo tracks useful for help with pronunciation.
Looking for a song for your holiday concert in December?
You could try one of these:

• Stille nacht in German
• Le sommeil de l'enfant Jésus in French
• Dormi, dormi o bel bambin in Italian

We recently received this report from Ceri Dash, Music Coordinator at Almondsbury CE Primary School about how they're Singing Up

Our school has a strong musical tradition, especially for singing and especially for boys' singing. There is a well-established school choir and about 40 strong Y5 and Y6 voices. About 50 per cent of these are boys. The choir sings to a high standard and regularly wins local competitions. Singing is a cool thing to do at Almondsbury, and we are now working towards a Silver Sing Up Award. However, as music subject leader, I am concerned that not every child is being given the opportunity to sing. Consequently, we have set ourselves the challenge to become a singing school and have every child singing for at least five minutes a day. We have gone about tackling this challenge in a number of ways. To start off, we registered for Sing Up and held a staff meeting about the programme. We then sent out a letter to parents about Sing Up that included the web address. Every week, the Song of the Week from the Song Bank is flagged in the school newsletter and in the school hall, along with a reminder of the Sing Up website. We also set up Internet access in the hall, so the website can be easily accessed for Song of the Week to be sung to or listened to during assembly every Friday.

BRANCHING OUT

The music subject leader and another staff member have started a Sing Up Singers group after school one evening a week, which is open to any child from any age group. From this group, we are appointing out Sing Up Leaders and next year hope to give them a higher profile with badges and a Song Leader programme to work through. The Key Stage 1 children are taught music by Paula Vicary, a very enthusiastic and musical TA. She regularly uses the Sing Up website and has found that the echo track is very useful for the younger children who are only just learning to read. Paula encourages the children to make up their own actions to help remember lyrics, which is especially beneficial to the kinaesthetic learners. It is a real pleasure to hear the 'impromptu' singing that occurs throughout the school. One afternoon, the whole school did a 'walkabout' to look at each other's artwork and the Y6 children suddenly burst into three-part singing, which permeated throughout the whole school!

OUR SING UP STOP

In the playground, we have a Sing Up Stop where laminated song lyrics are hung on the wall for children to get together and sing during play times. Two talented parents came in one morning and painted a mural of the Sing Up characters using brightly coloured acrylic paints. The caretaker then varnished it to protect it from the weather. Every term, the children are asked what their favourite songs are. Nearly every age group chose one from the Sing Up Song Bank or from the Manchester Singing School books. We think Sing Up is already working! Hopefully, these ideas can help your school too.

Download them here.

Read 'Dive in with KS1' to find out more about developing cross-curricular activities with songs.

It features a sled load (you see what we did there?) of activity ideas including: colouring pages, making your own Dreidel, cooking delicious cinnamon cookies, putting together your own festive crackers and stir up a storm with our non-alcoholic mulled wine. It’s all at your fingertips!

We know this time of year is busy in the classroom and at home, so we've created both a Teacher and Family pack for your enjoyment.

Download the Festive Teacher's Pack
Download the Festive Family Pack

The performances were part of 60 second ‘mini-shows’ aimed at increasing awareness of Sing Up to both parents and teachers, highlighting the resources we can offer all primary aged children.

The shows were broadcast over 3 weeks across Heart FM and Real Radio networks and featured Sing Up Song Bank songs as well as sound bites from teachers.

A big round of applause for all the schools involved!

London: Nelson Primary School
Guildford: Tillingbourne Junior School
Yorkshire: Gladstone Road Infant School
Newcastle: Hazelwood Community Primary School
Oxford: Windale Primary School
Liverpool: St Oswalds School
Birmingham: Mapledene School

To listen to the Birmingham mini show, press play the attached video.

At the tender age of 2, the Sing Up numbers are adding together very nicely: 

• 8 out of 10 state schools registered
  
• 1,862 Schools pledges to the Awards.
  
• 5,000 young singing leaders.
• Over 6,500 visits to the website daily.
  
• 26,000 People have trained with us.
  
• 42,000 registrations.

The celebrations don’t stop there! We want you to continue to support us and get involved exploring our ever-growing resource:

Just Browsing?

• If you work in and around primary education, you can join us for free!

Already registered?

• Add, share and save favourites from our magazine, success and news areas
• View, download and favourite songs from our Song Bank
• Primary school teachers can gain recognition for their singing by starting their school on an awards journey
• Global search the whole of the site and our Song Bank with our seach toolbar

Social networking guru?

• Make your voice heard on our Quality Blog
• View up to the minute videos on our charity YouTube Channel
• Become a fan of our Facebook page

Sing Up

6-WEEK ACTIVITY PLAN BY ANDY BROOKE

English/Science

Read George’s Secret Key to the Universe by Lucy and Stephen Hawking. It’s a children’s story of a journey through outer space, which aims to explain real science in an entertaining way. You can read extracts at www.georgessecretkey.com. 

To reinforce learning, get the children to work in groups writing their own story to illustrate scientific concepts. This could work well not only with ‘spacey’ topics (such as QCA Science Unit 5E: Earth, Sun and Moon), but with any aspect of Science (or indeed any other curriculum area). Be as creative as you like – for example, as part of QCA Science Unit 4B: Habitats, ask children to write about being part of an alien reconnaissance team whose job is to investigate and report the various habitats and food chains on Earth.

English/Geography

Virgin Galactic aims to be the world’s first commercial spaceline, enabling space tourists to experience weightlessness and look down on planet Earth from an altitude of 100km. Watch the introduction video at www.virgingalactic.com (click on ‘videos’ and then on the ‘Short introduction to Virgin Galactic’ movie) to listen to Richard Branson’s views.

Children could carry out further internet-based research on Virgin Galactic to design and produce a leaflet or a page from a holiday brochure aimed at persuading readers to book a seat.

History

Explain that, while the school library has a number of books on space travel and exploration, the service would be much improved with a display. Tell children that they have been asked to produce a set of display materials based on the history of space travel and exploration. They could work in groups to produce a timeline, fact files and posters.

There are lots of research opportunities on the internet. You'll find ideas at www.spacekids.co.uk/spacehistory.

Design and Technology

Tell the class that it has won the contract to design a toy rocket for a local shop. Organise the children into design teams and provide a variety of materials for them to experiment with. There are several examples of how these might be produced on ‘how to’ websites such as www.instructables.com.

A fun means of rocket propulsion is to use sodium bicarbonate with vinegar in an upside-down photo film canister. The chemical reaction produces carbon dioxide that blows off the lid, forcing the canister into the air. (Make sure you do a risk assessment!)

Science

When a spacecraft enters the atmosphere from space it is in real danger of burning up, because of heat generated from the friction due to air resistance when travelling at high speed. Commission teams of children to design a low-friction spacecraft, by dropping
modelling-clay shapes into a measuring cylinder of water and timing the descent.

When they have selected their most efficient design, they could compete against other teams. They should discover that more aerodynamic shapes will cause less water resistance and therefore less friction.

The assignment could be extended to include a parachute design for the purpose of slowing down the spacecraft when landing. This seeks to make use of maximum air resistance. See QCA Science Unit 4E: Friction (sections 5 and 7) for further ideas.

Art & Design/ICT

There are numerous freely downloadable photo-editing packages available online. Get the children to take digital photos of people and places in school and then use colour filters and other special effects to turn them into alien creatures and landscapes. You may find an online editor more convenient. Picnik – www.picnik.com – is easy to use and you don’t need to register.

After uploading a photo from your computer, click on the ‘create’ tab and select one of the effects on the left of the screen – try ‘Heat Map’ for scenery and ‘Neon’ for people, and play around with the settings before saving.

Images could be printed or projected and used as a stimulus for further artwork or creative writing.

Maths

Mark out grids in the playground, hall or any other large space. In groups of four, with two children symbolising a rocket, and the other two representing ground control, teams have to move round the grid (outer space) according to predefined instructions. Children can access this activity at any skill level – those in lower KS2 could move in squares (A1-B4-E3, for example), whereas older children could follow grid coordinates, perhaps including negatives.

Create as many different scenarios as you like. Perhaps they will have to roll dice to carry out some kind of Star Trek-style mission, collecting objects or carrying out tasks en route. For instance, how about suddenly introducing the coordinates of hostile ‘cloaked’ (invisible) aliens, who children must zap with sponge-ball ‘photon torpedoes’? Or turn the activity into a cat-and-mouse game, where humans chase aliens around the grid, in an attempt to prevent an invasion of Earth.

RE/Speaking and Listening

After discussions on creationism versus the Big Bang theory, hold a debate about the biggest and oldest question of all time – how did we get here? 

To get things rolling, start brainstorming some of the main points together as a class, and then organise the children into groups to work on one side of the debate. Make the debate formal, with one side proposing a motion, for example, ‘This house believes that the Big Bang theory is a work of fiction’, followed by each side presenting their arguments in turn. After questions and comments from the floor, coordinated by the Chair, take a vote.

 Andy Brooke is a teacher, songwriter and freelance writer on music education. He has taught music to all age ranges from nursery to sixth form. He now combines the role of primary school music co-ordinator with that of SENCo.

Get in touch

Got your own cross-curricular dieas to share? Send them to us and they could appear in the next issue or on the website. Visit the Contact Us Area.

The concert has been organised in the hope of reviving an annual singing festival, previously a regular event in Carshalton. Area leader Angela Mackenzie is thrilled at the progress that has been made. She said, ‘The festival started as a vague notion at a music co-ordinators meeting and the enthusiasm of the teachers involved has built into this fabulous opportunity for schools and communities to come together in song.’

The concert is open to the general public and will feature performances from each school choir individually before the grand finale where all the choirs will sing together as a large massed choir. The concert starts at 6:30pm and the organisers are hoping for a packed audience of 600, including local MPs.

For more information, please contact the Surrey Area Leader via the Training section of our site.
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We are now offering regular updates on the Magazine, Success Stories and News & Media areas of our site.

Within the next week, we'll be adding 3 RSS Feeds, Song Bank Full Search Function, Global Search Function and Meta Tagging.

We really want your website experience to be intimate, fun and full of loads of possibilities to personalise Sing Up in the classroom. Erin Mell-Taylor, our Web Executive Officer is really looking forward to the developments, ‘Each of these features will give the user updates, more interactivity and more ways to look for the things they want to find. I am personally looking forward to the search functions!’

Have an explore and tell us what you think!
 

I have yet to come across anyone who does not agree that music has the power to move, excite, enthral and enrich everybody who hears or takes part in a performance. And no one has told me that we are wrong to believe that music can make a difference to the lives of children. Government remains completely convinced of the importance of music and the need to make sure that every child receives the best possible musical opportunities.

Singing is the first step and, for most, a continuing experience of music. It can be fun, enliven the school day and enrich the whole curriculum - this edition of the magazine gives some great examples of how that can be done.

During the last year I have visited schools where the singing is fantastic - and I had the privilege to be in the Royal Opera House in April when it was overflowing with children singing. Sing Up is in great shape.

But we still have a lot to do. The Ofsted report Making More of Music stated that singing was a strength in about half of the primary schools where it was evaluated. For the next report I want to see singing as a strength in every single primary school that the inspectors walk into. As you are reading this magazine you are, of course, already a champion of Sing Up and of singing - we need you to spread the word and get more schools and teachers on board.

Our aim from the beginning of Sing Up was that every school would be a singing school - and not just that every child does a little bit of singing, but that quality singing permeates every corner of the school - and the children progress from their first few notes to excellence, with leaders who are also growing in confidence. We're well on our way. I wish you an enjoyable and tuneful onward journey and urge you to encourage every teacher and school you come into contact with to get on board.

Sarah McCarthy Fry Parliamentary Undersecretary of State for Schools & Learners

We hope that at least one of them is singing!

If not, below are some good reasons too put Sing Up firmly on your New Years list!

• Want to brush up on your beat boxing skills? Looking to develop as a singing leader? We have regular training sessions running nationwide throughout the year for all tastes and interests via our Training Area.
• Keep up to date with Sing Up information, events and stories on the News Area of our site and on our Facebook fan page.
• Read all articles from previous magazines, download exclusive content and share your favourites on our Magazine Area.
• join the discussion on vocal leadership on our Sing Up Quality Blog.
• Find out who your Area Leader is and get involved in your local area via our Training Area.

So, don't hesitate! Dive into Sing Up for 2010.

Then the National Male Singing Leaders Conference is for you.

Where: Truro Methodist Church and Library, Cornwall, TRP 1EP

When: Tuesday 23rd February 2010, 1.30pm - 6.30pm and Wednesday 24th February 9.30am - 4.00pm

There will be presentations, workshops, performances and the harnessing of knowledge and expertise of delegates.

The conference is open to anyone who is interested in leading male singing and works with primary-aged children, with a particular focus on enabling male singing leaders to further and pass on their skills. 

There will be a keynote speech by David Lawrence – Associate Conductor of the City of Birmingham Symphony Chorus and Choir Leader for the City of Birmingham Young Voices as well as workshops and performances by renowned singer and composer Cleveland Watkiss and Professor Martin Ashley 

To find out more or to book your place email conference@singup.org or telephone Sing Up administrator Lindsay Bell on 0191 443 4695
 

• 83% of state schools have been reached
• 45,000 registrants
• over 300 songs in the song bank

So, thank you one and all!

To let you know, we will be closed from 3pm Christmas Eve until the 4th January.

Have a great time whilst we're away.

Here's to a successful 2010!

The specially commissioned piece tells the story of Purcell’s life and the major events - including a representation of the fire of London complete with flags and brightly coloured T-shirts.

The project was the result of collaboration between the National Centre for Early Music, York, and Sing Up. Children from 11 primary schools across York performed.

Have you been part of a great Sing Up concert? If so, we would love to hear from you. Please contact us.
 

Answer: They've all been involved in songs for BBC Children In Need!

But which one has created a song that any school choir can record and sell their own versions of?

Answer: Only Portsmouth!

Song for Children in Need 2009 was written by Music Service worker Simon Roberts and is license-free! This means any school choir can download the backing track, record their choir singing and then sell to friends and family.
 

Hundreds of school choirs across the country have already joined in on the act - and yours can too!

• Registered users can Download the song from our Song Bank.
• Teach it to your choir.
• Record the song.
• Start selling your music for charity!

After ten hours of non-stop singing in a karaoke booth on 2nd November, the Sing Up and Youth Music team has so far raised £1,000 for UK music charity Youth Music. But, we still need your help! Please visit our charity page and pledge your donations.

The team sang a whole range of songs and requests throughout the day; from George Michael to Steely Dan, from Jumping Jack flash to Mr Boombastic. They even went home with the award for best performance in the Urban/Rap category for a fresh and wholeheartedly obscure version of Eminem’s Stan !

Celi, one of the ringleaders for the team, was really pleased with their achievement. ‘I absolutely loved it - what an amazing day! I never thought I’d get away with singing Metallica in the style of an Opera Diva, but here I could! It’s been a great team performance by both us and the generous people that have donated to Youth Music. Way to go, team!’

To view our heroic efforts, check out our video and make sure to sponsor us!
 

World-renowned beatboxer Jason Singh’s Beatboxing and the Power of the Human Voice workshop is a fun way of exploring new areas of your voice. He explained, ‘Deep down, everyone’s a beat boxer - We all make sounds throughout the day. The problem is, people are afraid to try. I’m here to erase that fear, share my skills and give teachers the confidence to use it in the classroom.’

We visited the sold out London workshop and heard some great new beat-recruits. Christine, a Primary School teacher, found the day to be an exciting experience, ‘I really thought that I wasn’t cool enough to do it, but the day has been brilliant! Jason is so personable and I’ve learnt so much’. Natalie, an Early Years teacher, was excited about getting back to her school and ‘My kids know I’m here at the course and can’t wait for me to show them what I’ve learn… and I’m so excited about teaching them!’

If you want more information on this or, any of our other workshops, visit our Training area.
 

Yes, you heard right! Members of staff from the London office will be singing non-stop at a marathon event called Charioke at Lucky Voice on 2nd November to raise money for Youth Music, the UK’s largest children’s music charity providing music making opportunities for disadvantaged children and young people. Support our team by visiting our charity page and donating whatever you can.

Like any marathon, the training schedule has been tough. Everyone’s been learning the harmonies to Bohemian Rhapsody and doing vocal warm-ups and bench presses to Eye Of The Tiger.

Jo Hunter, instigator of the whole operation, is really looking forward to getting her vocal cords around some classic tunes. ‘Everyone in Sing Up loves singing, so we thought it was the obvious thing to do! I love karaoke and we can’t wait to don the wigs, put on the fancy dress hats and get going.’

Remember, you can get involved by sponsoring us. Song suggestions are also more than welcome in the comments once you have donated to the cause!
 

The voice is perhaps our greatest gift and is a primary educational and command tool. Yet it’s often taken for granted until it goes wrong. Research shows that two-thirds of primary school teachers have suffered voice problems, and one in nine patients at NHS Voice Clinics are teachers. The issue doesn’t stop just at occupational health: studies show that impaired teachers’ voices lead to poorer classroom results. With voice training almost non-existent in teacher training, grab any opportunity you can for voice CPD; why not ask your Headteacher for an INSET day session.

Top tips to take care of yourself:

Drink: To maintain their protective covering, your vocal folds (cords) need the body to be properly hydrated. You should drink two to three litres of water a day: so sip water in the classroom.
Warm-up: Think of your voice as an athlete would their body. To maximise performance and avoid injury, do some warming up each
morning.
Good posture: For the voice to work efficiently, the body needs to be centred: relaxed but ready for action. Sit or stand up straight, not crouched over.
Amplification: Using a microphone in the classroom is a great voice saver, particularly if the classroom acoustic is poor.
Steam: If your voice is tired, give it its own Turkish bath. Inhaling (from a steamer, or over boiling water) helps reduce any swelling and rehydrates your vocal folds.
Rest: Don’t try to force sound out when a cold or infection leaves you without voice. Better to take time out at this stage than increase the recovery time. Make sure you rest your voice outside of school too!

And some to avoid:

Tiredness and stress: When you’re physically or emotionally exhausted, your voice will tire more quickly.
Save your voice: In singing classes, don’t lead the singing all the time; encouraging the children to sing without you is good for them and allows you valuable rest.
Abuse: Shouting and competing against loud noises take their toll (see Amplification). Coughing can be a vicious circle of irritation and irritant: try sipping water and sucking glycerine sweets. The swallowing helps shake any phlegm off the vocal folds.
Irritants: Alcohol and caffeine dehydrate you, so drink water alongside them. Smoking coats the vocal folds and breathing mechanism with tar making it less efficient and more susceptible
to colds and coughs. Dust can also irritate the airways and voice. Avoid cough sweets that contain anaesthetic as they could allow more harm to be done.

If it all goes wrong...

If your voice sounds weak or distorted for more than two weeks, get your GP to refer you to a Multidisciplinary Voice Clinic. For a list of clinics in the UK and more information about the voice, go to www.britishvoiceassociation.org.uk. 

Children's Voices

Children’s voices are to be nurtured and good habits instilled now can be beneficial over their whole life. Their larynges grow as they grow, which is why a woman speaks lower than a girl. During puberty, boys’ larynges grow even more, hence the lower pitch still.

Helping your pupils:
Posture: Good posture is just as important for them as it is for you. Sitting cross-legged may be easy for them but it’s not always best. The ideal is either standing up straight or sitting on the edge of a chair so that the pelvis tilts forward. Why not alternate the two? Water intake: Depending upon their age and activity levels, children should drink one to two litres of liquid each day. Schools that allow water drinking in the classroom have significantly lower levels of underhydrated children. Aside from vocal and physical health, underhydration also leads to poorer concentration levels.
Dynamics: Singing loudly is fun! However, sustained loud singing will tire voices out. Find fun ways of varying soft and loud; it doesn’t just save their voices, it's more musical!
Warming up: Just as with your voice, it’s vital children’s voices are warmed up before they sing. But what is a warm-up and what is a work-out? In the next few issues of Sing Up, we’ll show you how to warm up voices ready for action, and how to use work-outs to improve focus, teamwork and musical skills.

How your voice works

The power behind it

Think of your lungs as bellows controlled by your diaphragm and abdominal muscles (‘support’). Breathing in lowers your diaphragm, pushing your stomach downwards and forward and the ribs outward, drawing air into the lungs. Good breathing-in requires a relaxed abdominal wall (allow your tummy to grow slightly fatter as you breathe). When you speak or sing, this is reversed, with the support muscles controlling the outflow of air through the larynx (your voicebox).

Where sound is made

Your larynx contains a pair of vocal fold (or cords). When you bring them together on the outbreath, they beat together hundreds of times per second, creating sound. The basis for all good singing or speaking is to make sound efficiently: using as little air as necessary and with as little tension.

From noise into speech

The tongue, lips and jaw work to create the different vowels and consonants. Ensuring they’re relaxed is vital for a good sound. Tension can add an unpleasant edge to the tone, and reduces stamina. Maintain good upper-body posture. If your head stretches forward or your upper chest sags, your voice will suffer.

Stuart Barr is President of the British Voice Association, a Vocal Coach at the Royal Academy of Music and a judge for BBC Choir of the Year. He is also a governor of an inner London primary school.

6-Week activity Plan by Sue Nicholls.

SCIENCE

• Conduct research into aspects of sea life using reference books and appropriate websites.
• Encourage the children to classify their findings as fish, mammals or plants.
• Discover which crab uses a discarded shell as its home.
• Experiment on seaweed to discover if the folklore about predicting the weather is true.

DANCE

• Use an accessible piece of music, such as Aquarium by Saint-Saëns, to generate ideas for a sea dance eg. practise sideways scuttling limb movements for crabs, or explore strong, dramatic whole-body actions that turn and thrash about for scary sharks. 
• Why not use your own percussion accompaniment to create a really grand sea-ballet performance?

MUSIC

• Use the following rhythmic chant template to elicit individual responses. Encourage the children to accompany each response by clapping the syllables, reinforcing the ‘Q and A’ structure. Begin each answer with ‘It’s a/an…’ to support the momentum of the rhythm – eg:

Leader: What’s in the ocean?
Child [1]: It’s an octopus.
Leader: What’s in the ocean?
Child [2]: It’s an eel.
Leader: What’s in the ocean?
Child [3]: It’s a jellyfish.
Leader: What’s in the ocean?
Child [4]: It’s a shark.

• In pairs, the children can create their own graphic scores reflecting the structure above using simple tables in Microsoft Word.

ENGLISH: DRAMA & SPEAKING AND LISTENING

• Talk with the children about their seaside experiences and gently steer the discussion to the creatures and plants that live in the sea. 
• Many children will be familiar with Disney’s The Little Mermaid and this might be the moment to show some footage to stimulate imaginative responses and develop oracy skills. The famous song from that film, 'Under the sea', is available in the Song Bank, and although it’s recommended for Year 3 upwards, when shown in the context of the film it provides a real performance piece guaranteed to delight KS1 pupils.
• Convert the home corner to an ‘under-the-sea’ location. Use blue and green shimmer papers to line the walls, cover the floor area with yellow fabric or a sheet and decorate with shells, pebbles and images of sea creatures. Invite the children to bring any appropriate items from home, such as buckets and spades, snorkel masks or flippers, and create an impressive seaweed entrance by attaching curvy strips of green paper to the top of the doorway, to wave and flow in an inviting subaquatic fashion!

ENGLISH: WRITING AND ICT

• Discuss and collect exciting adjectives for a small group of sea-related nouns, such as: pebbles, shells, coral, waves, rocks, fish, etc. Then encourage the children to arrange the lines as they wish, to construct prose poems – eg: 

Gleaming pebbles
Spiky coral
Darting fish
Delicate shells
Sharp rocks
All hidden under the sea …

• Invite the children to type their poems into Microsoft Word and import suitable sea-coloured backgrounds.

ART AND DESIGN

• Research the shapes and colours of exotic fish. Tie-dye pieces of fabric in brilliant blues and greens or use fabric paints in rich jewel tones. Cut out double fish shapes, sew together using simple stitches, stuff with padding and then embellish with sequins, buttons, ribbons and sparkly threads. Suspend the fish in front of a display board dedicated to an underwater sea collage.
• By frequently revising the original song during this unit of work, you can encourage the children to try out their ideas for alternative second lines, resulting in a ‘wave’ of new verses!
• Perform your song to the school and invite other classes to see the results of your topic work.

PERFORMANCE IDEAS

• Teach two children to play the introduction on xylophones or glockenspiels, but ensure that each player has two mallets. The little melodic snippet is really easy to learn by listening to the recording and only requires the player to work down the scale (adjacent notes) from the note ‘G’ to low ‘C’: G F E D C. (If your class can sing confidently without the backing track, you could add in this little introductory phrase before every verse.)
• Divide the class into one largish group, who will sing everything except line two, and several pairs of small solo groups to sing the individual lines that change in each verse: lots of fish, whales and sharks, etc.
• Add some rudimentary dressing-up items, like swimming costumes, snorkels and flippers, swimming rings and draped towels, for a dramatic (or comic) effect.
• Encourage the larger group to invent some movement to accompany its singing, such as swimming actions or undulating ‘wave’ arms, and end with gestures that point downward for ‘down there under the sea!’
• Add some percussion sounds – rain tubes, ocean drums or shakers – to enhance the performance.

Sue Nicholls has published many books for generalist teachers with A&C Black and contributed several songs to other song collections. She works as a freelance music education consultant, providing nationwide INSET and training.

Song Bank

Visit the Song Bank online to find this song and all of its accompanying materials. You'll also find a wide range of accessible and varied material that supports this marine theme, offering many opportunities to sing you way through the curriculum! Why not listen to the following songs as well?

• A sailor went to sea, sea, sea
• Going over the sea (This way, that way)
• I do like to be beside the seaside
• The mermaid
• Roll the chariot along
• Row, row, row your boat
• Song of the fish
• Under the sea

Download an example of a graphic score from the Bonus online content area.

Practical ideas for cross-curricular work at key stages 1 and 2

Singing is a great medium through which to inspire cross-curricular work. It requires children to work together towards a common outcome, achieved through synchronised activity in a fixed moment in time. Singing requires participants to use many skills simultaneously, including, importantly, the three Cs: coordination, communication and comradeship.

As many people will agree, singing assists the learning process and the ability to commit information to long-term memory. In addition, it's a thoroughly enjoyable activity in its own right and has the power to stir emotions like no other aspect of the national curriculum.

Sir Jim Rose’s final report on proposed changes to the primary curriculum will appeal to those practitioners who believe in a cross-curricular approach: that a connected curriculum makes links across and between ‘subjects’ and allows teachers to develop their own creative and innovative ways of enthusing and inspiring children.

Take Note:

You'll find activity idea that use a songs jump off point in the following articles:

Dive in with KS1

Get spacey with KS2

Through Sing Up, we have seen many times the dramatic improvements that becoming a singing school can bring to children and staff within a primary school, and we’re toppling myths along the way.

It was once considered acceptable to tell a child that he or she couldn’t sing, or to make them mime, or to humiliate them by making fun of their voices. It has long been held by some that boys won’t or don’t sing, that mixed faith schools ‘can’t’ give singing assemblies, that there’s no point in having songs for deaf children, that singing gets in the way of ‘proper’ learning like literacy and numeracy, that traditional British folk songs, once firmly part of the cultural landscape, are dying out among the young, and so on. Sing Up, I am very proud to say, has played a huge part in confronting and slaying these myths.

Most of the readers of this magazine, thanks in part also to Sing Up, will have seen entire schools of children aged 5-11 singing with glee and enthusiasm, but what happens to that singing habit when the Year 6-ers move on to secondary school?

TACKLING TRANSITION

The issue of transition has occupied much thought and has been the subject of some trail-blazing projects, especially those led by secondary schools with music as a specialism. British schools such as Formby High School, Twyford C of E High School and Guildford County School are pioneering techniques and innovations in this area.

But if we are being honest about the overall picture, secondary schools’ provision of group singing opportunities is a pale shadow of that increasingly offered by primary schools. For many children the leap from Year 6 to 7 is one in which their voices – literally – go silent. We can’t allow this to happen and there are various ways we can help give them a chance to carry their singing on into secondary school.

First, it is important that primary school children, especially the older ones, see adults singing. A school assembly where everyone sings should mean everyone, including teachers, classroom assistants and any other grown-ups. If an 11-year-old boy sees that the grown men in the room don’t join in with the singing, they will shrink from it themselves as they begin their journey into adulthood. They’ll see it as something that only girls or younger children do, and shy away from it.

Secondly, Year 6 pupils need to see that older teenagers sing. This sounds daunting but it isn’t impossible. Some secondary schools already engage in joint singing projects with their feeder primary schools.
Take their lead and try taking the Year 6 children to see the annual musical in the local high school or invite the choir of a local high school to sing at an assembly.

Another way of continuing to engage interest is to subtly transform the type of songs the children sing in Year 6 as their tastes mature. Their curriculum and their interests are changing, so it’s only right that their songs should, too.

SONG SELECTION

We can help by providing songs in the Song Bank that are tailored to the 11-13 age group. Finding them a counter-melody or slightly more sophisticated ‘rhythm section’ vocal line to enhance the melody the other children are singing is fun for the Year 6-ers and gives them a musical responsibility befitting their age.

We can, and should, help to improve the provision of singing at secondary level; a task that I am already beginning to grapple with. But even now, I hope we can inspire the music departments of senior schools by example. More and more primary school pupils are expecting to sing as part of their normal school day and have teachers who are increasingly confident at leading singing. The very thing that new Year 7 pupils fear most in their new environment – loneliness and isolation – can be helped enormously by their being able to lose themselves in a large group and find their voice, to fi nd safety in numbers and reassurance in doing something familiar in an unfamiliar world.

We all believe that singing crosses frontiers – here’s a perfect opportunity to prove it.

Take note

Check out 'New boy born', a holiday song that could work well as a transition project with KS3. Give it a go and let us know what you think. We'd also love to hear your ideas for tackling transition - Just contact us .

Song Bank

There's plenty of material in the Song Bank suitable for KS2/KS3 and more is coming! Remember you can search songs by useful filters including key stage, subject and song style.

Here are some suitable transition songs you may want to try:

• Ain’t no mountain high enough
• Ame sau vala tara bal
• Bad guys
• Be cool
• By and by
• Consider yourself
• Foundscapes and soundscapes
• Hey, Escher!
• Heiveinu shalom aleichem
• Hey, Mr Miller
• I can see clearly now
• The inch worm
• Information highway
• I turn on the tap / I walk to the stream
• I wanna be like you
• I wanna sing scat
• Just one person
• Life is a wonderful thing
• Life is what you make it
• Oh, happy day
• OK
• Siyahamba
• Spread a little happiness
• Sumer is icumen in
• This little light of mine
• Those magnificent men in their flying machines
• Under the sea
• We’re all in this together
• We all shine for each other

Though she didn't realise it until now, Rebecca Lawrence uses 'transition songs' to manage her daily class routine, from registration to home time...

WHAT ARE TRANSITION SONGS?

'Transition songs' was not a term I was familiar with before writing this article but I have now discovered a 'proper' way to describe the stress-relieving classroom management songs, phrases and chants that I have been using for many years throughout the normal working day. ('Normal' meaning any time, any place and anywhere!)

WHEN DO THEY HAPPEN?

These songs have a variety of purposes and are usually sung unaccompanied instead of speaking (use CDs or downloads sparingly so as not to spoil the flow of the lesson). They have an infinite number of uses - for example, gaining attention, as a stopping command for new instructions, and ending or beginning a session. They also invigorate or calm a class, act as a reminder of good manners, and can be used for a 'wake up and shake up' first thing in the morning, tidying up, getting dressed for PE, or collecting items for snack, lunch or home time.

WHO ARE THEY FOR?

Transition songs can be used for all children as long as they are age-appropriate. Singing has always been a powerful learning tool in the classroom and I heard recently about a maths teacher who had a song for learning equilateral equations!

Many early-years practitioners have been doing this for years, others have been awakened to its magic more recently; certainly its popularity and 'normality' is growing through Key Stages 1 and 2. I'm certain there are pockets of excellence out there and if you're saying "We've been doing that for years," that's fantastic, but I thought I'd let the secret out!

WHY ARE THEY SO USEFUL?

When you walk into a class that uses music as a daily part of learning and classroom life there is a tangible sense of joy about the place - the teacher spends more time in a relaxed manner without the need to raise their voice and this is mirrored in the children. Save your "I'm very cross" voice for rare occasions and it will be so much more effective and powerful. Singing gives everyone a chance to bond and gives a real 'feel good factor'.

Instead of shouting, try singing a command, it cuts across the sound of voices instantly and after a bit of practice children will be used to picking out the singing voice. This still may seem to scary for you to try - you may say "It's not my thing," or "She hasn't met my class," but I implore you to have a go, it is simply another string in your bow!

The songs will also develop children's musical skills daily - sense of pitch, rhythm, pulse etc - especially if they have to sing back in response to you. This 'little and often' approach is favoured by educationalists and it successfully establishes singing as part of everyday life for all ages.

WHAT ARE THEY LIKE?

There is a huge variety of transition songs. When you've found one, learn the tune provided, or make up your own or use a familiar melody. You could always use a CD for tidy up time - how about the theme tune from Mission Impossible for example?  Here are some examples: After a horrible wet day, sing these words to the tune of Let's All Do the Conga (repeating as you see fit).

1. 'We're feeling very whingy, Our smiles are very stingy, We moan and groan, we moan and groan' 'Now let's all do a wiggle, And find our inner giggle, La la la la, Hey, la la la la, Hey.'
2. 'Have you got your book bag? Have you got your drink? Take a look around and have a little think.'
3. 'I'm pointing to the ceiling, I'm pointing to the floor, I'm pointing to the window, I'm pointing to the door, I point at you, You point at me, Now it's time to listen, Very quietly...'
4. 'I wiggle my fingers, I wiggle my toes, I wiggle my shoulders, I wiggle my nose, Now there's no more wiggling, Left in me, I'll be as still as still can be.
5. 'Whoah I need your attention, Whoah are you looking at me' (Repeat twice)
6. To the tune Frère Jacques… ‘Come and sit down, Come and sit down, Close your lips, Close your lips, Show me your good sitting, Show me your good sitting, Well done, well done.’
7. Ending a session all together in the hall... Say, “Give yourselves a round of applause,” then say “a five-finger clap” (demonstrate five fingers). Then “a four-finger clap” (demonstrate). Then “a three-finger clap, a two-finger clap, a one-finger clap, a no-finger clap.”
   As the number of fingers reduces so does the clapping, to nothing. Signal to tuck one hand under the armpit, then the other hand, so all are now sitting in silence with arms folded. You can then whisper instructions.

WHERE CAN I FIND THEM?

Type ‘transition songs children’ into Google and you’ll find masses of websites devoted to giving examples of songs – with tunes you will recognise.

For example, look under the music and rhymes section of the wonderful early years site www.preschoolexpress.com in the transition songs area. For older children there is a huge variety on www.songsforteaching.com and you can click to hear each song or rap in the classroom management section. There are also songs for parts of the day in Maurice Walsh’s book The Singing School (details can be found on the Sing Up website – www.singup.org).

I DARE YOU!

In an ideal world it would be lovely to be known as one of the teachers who didn’t shout all the time, someone whose classroom manner oozed a sense of fun without any loss of respect – challenge you to have a go and find your inner giggle! 

They are the lifeblood of all we do: they motivate, enthuse, cajole, invigorate and humour our young singers. They hum and jig about and smile manically for hours of every working day. They work ridiculously hard, they live on caffeine and chocolate and drive around in beaten up Polos strewn with random pieces of sheet music and cat hair. Who are they? They are, of course, singing animateurs, teachers and choir leaders.

I became a singing Tsar because of these singing stars. Watching them at work, whether it's rehearsing 500 children in a massed choir at the Royal Albert Hall, or in a tiny primary school classroom, they have been my inspiration. So I have been trying over the past couple of years to get to the bottom of what they have in common, what methods and techniques work for them all. Generally they have ended up where they are because of a charismatic, kind, bubbly choir director in their youth, but they come from many different backgrounds and traditions and have different tastes in musical style and approach. But surely there are some things that emerge as truths for them all?

I must know scores, if not hundreds, of singing directors, so in order to make my task manageable I picked just a handful to see whether there were lessons to be learnt from their various successes. My first thought was one that has probably occured to many people who witness dynamic leaders at work: is their skill a gift, a piece of generic stardust that was sprinkled on them at birth, or can their methods by replicated and taught? There is a serious side to this question because if we are dealing with something very special in someone's character, then our Sing Up task is a hard one. If, though, good leaders can be grown by good teaching and mentoring, then we will be able, theoretically, to redraw the musical map of the country and populate it with many more inspired singing leaders.

Many of these singing stars themselves would agree with Sophie Pascall of Leicestershire, who says that when it comes to repertoire, for example, you should be following some straightfoward rules:

• Be broad in your taste, mix up the menu, don't get hung up on either too much pop or too much from one classical period.
• Let the children have a say in the choosing, empower them and let their creativity loose.
• Approach challenging pieces in an unusual or unexpected way.

But ultimately it is the conductor's passion that will win them over. If you are lukewarm about a piece of music, for whatever reason, your singers will be too. If you talk to school children about performing music, they will more often than not have enjoyed, with passion and enthusiasm the composers presented to them by a respected, admired, popular teacher.

Hilary Meyer  of Coloma Convent School in Croydon, like my other leader-icons, believes in involving children in singing early, when they have fewer inhibitions, then putting effort and patience into keeping them enthused during puberty and adolescence as a 'top up'. Establishing a good relationship with the singers is rated more highly as an attribute than, say, a need to know or cover the whole repertoire comprehensively, or the ability to play the piano.

Hilary emphasises the need for landmarks and occasions - concerts, recordings, special events, even occasional competitions - so that the singers feel there is something to aim for other than the day-to-day mastering of technique, or ploughing on for the sake of it.

Colona's thriving (teenage) choirs perform in local primary and special schools, at charity events and at a host of community events and concerts. She notices how much her singers get out of the visits to other schools, how lifted their spirits are when their singing is appreciated and noticed. Consequently, being around one of her choirs as an onlooker is a life-enhancing feeling, because they exude a palpable warmth and generosity. Again, I think this kind of virtuous circle of activity could be taught to anyone of a willing disposition.

Caroline Gale of Guildford County School, whose 100-plus choir of teenage boys had me reduced to tears at assembly one morning earlier this year, makes the obvious point that you should never make boys (and often girls too) choose between playing sport and being in the choir. They can and will do both, but if you force them to choose they will default to sport, because they have to be seen by their peer group to be making this selection, whether they prefer it or not.  Far too many schools' senior management teams simply don't get the significance of this, lazily assuming that extracurricular activities all melt into one mushy, non-lesson-time blur and imagine that good choirs just 'happen', whereas a good choir, like a good football team, clearly needs practice, time commitment and hard slog.

Caroline is so persuasive and so captivating a teacher that she gets the boys on her side anyway, but the tip is a well-learnt one: find a common cause with collegues and allow children to have their cake and eat it. She also actively encourages pupils who sing in one or other of her choirs to support each other's performances. When I saw the boys' choir singing that morning in assembly they got a huge, rowdy ovation from all the girls present. The kick the boys got from being admired for their singing was apparent on all their faces.

What strikes me every time I see a great singing leader at work- Kate Courage in Bristol, Val Whitlock in Solihull, Shirley Court in Cheshire, James Lewis in Rochdale, Susan Hollingworth in Scunthorpe, or Rebecca Ledgard of Birmingham's Ex Cathedra, for example - is how emotionally open you have to be to enable others to engage with their voices. Singing is a soulful experience but it can take new singers ages to surrender to its power, to mean it when they sing. Young singers learn by example: from you. Do you mean it? You have to give in to the emotion yourself for your singers to transmit it to their audience. I believe that young people need the emotional release of singing possibly more than the rest of us because of the helter-skelter pace of change going on in their lives, in their hormones and in their relationships, especially between the ages of 11 and 18. But they also need to be put in a position where their vulnerability is not exposed.

GOOD-NATURED BOSSINESS

I am glad to say that good singing leaders these days do not humiliate young singers, bully or pick on them like choir directors used to more or less routinely in previous decades, killing off many children's love of singing as a result. Young people don't have a problem with good-natured bossiness or discipline as such, but they do have a problem with unfair or aggressive behaviour. I am with them on this. Being in the room when the choir of St. Aidan's Harrogate are with their wonderful conductor Jo Leonard is like stepping into some sort of enormous family gathering.  She would no more tell a child in her school they couldn't sing than agree to go on Big Brother. It would be a ludicrous notion to her. There is no reason at all why setting high standards should not work successfully for all children without it becoming a stick to beat those whose voices need a little more help.

HAVE A LAUGH

All my singing leader stars agree on on things: humour. Keep it funny and light, and do not be afraid to look or sound silly yourself either. The best performances look good as well as sound good, and finding how best to express a song visually - through faces, movements, stage pictures - can often become an amusing and enjoyable voyage of discovery for all concerned.

Oh, and one other thing they all feel strongly about: less talking, more singing. So taking that hint I'd better wrap this up right now. Do I think these singing skills and qualities can be reproduced? Yes! Of course they can. When I think of Sharon Durant, who now works as a highly skilled and experienced vocal leader for the Sage Gateshead and Sing Up, I can also remember her when she was but a feisty, purple-haired student at Newcastle College, still not quite sure in which direction her love of music would take her. She learnt to be a great singing animateur and was brilliantly taught by Katherine Zeserson. Out there, in all those choirs and singing groups lurk tomorrow's Sharons. We need to find them, nurture them, train them up and send them out into the world. All hair colours welcome.

In August this year, Edward Milner was appointed Director of Vocal Force, a new singing initiative led by The Sage Gateshead, as part of Sing Up. Here he introduces this exciting new programme.

Singing was my lifeblood. At first school, I vaguely remember singing Morning Has Broken and, of course, The Lord of the Dance. I remember failing my audition at Durham Cathedral (it was Early One Morning that time). I did sing at the local church, but I really wasn't much of a singer - the choirmaster at the church has since admitted that I was pretty awful. However, singing was perfectly normal, and what's more, it was presented as perfectly normal. It didn't matter how good any of us were; we just sang. Later, I was lucky enough to keep singing in that same church choir and to meet a fine high school music teacher. In difficult times I would take refuge in music, in good times I indulged in it, and my mentors moulded my interest into actual talent. For me, singing was not only for singing's sake. I played the violin and folk fiddle for many years, and my first study at unviersity was the French horn, but behind the scenes, singing was always present. Soon, inspired by my leaders, and realising the actual social, emotional and educational worth of singing, I wanted to share with more people, leaders and children, the passion that others had instilled in me. Without their support I would not have struck out into self-employment or, prior to joining Vocal Force, have been appointed as Vocal Co-ordinator at Northumberland County Music Service. In Vocal Force, that is what we are endeavouring to do. As part of The Sage Gateshead's Access to Excellence Music Manifesto Pathfinder Programme, and evolving from Vocal Union, our innovative whole-school singing programme, we have the opportunity to inspire more vocal leaders to help make singing accessible, enjoyable and natural in primary education.

Singing schools

We believe in the strength of singing schools, in their power to unite school communities and to illuminate and liberate children's minds. Thanks to the on-going research, consultations, and existing excellent practice of many individuals and organisations across the country, there is now the chance, working with Sing Up to extend that impact. The Vocal Force programme will provide inclusive, learner-centred training in 20 areas across England, between September 2007 and March 2008. We will create localised networks open to anyone involved in primary education. We want to involve participants who are working within schools, music services and children's services; with those singing with primary age children in the community as a whole; with community music organisations; with existing networks; higher education and further education providers; with specialist professional singing organisations; with home educators. By assembling these diverse networks of individuals we can share the experience each group possesses, whilst developing a bespoke, individual training package to best suit the network's need. Each network will decide in what form it exists and what input it requires. Led by a facilitator and co-facilitator, training will be delivered in the shape of in-school/in-house activities; workshops, singing days and shared festivals; training days; repertoire development sessions and residential weekends. We can help form in-school adult singing groups and we can create opportunities to participate in co-mentoring schemes. The training will be inclusive, will promote healthy singing and will encourage singing in the context of the whole curriculum. Importantly, there is no charge for Vocal Force participation.

Greatest impact

We are at present mapping singing across the country, to find the most appropriate and viable areas, be they rural districts, towns, small cities or boroughs. We are liaising with singing and music organisations, with training partners and government officers. We are in conversation with educational institutions and national establishments and we are collating existing documents to best view national primary singing. We are not designing an accredited, structured scheme; the Trinity Guildhall KS2 CPD Programme is doing that. And we are not working in areas of existing best practice. Instead, we can strategically access areas where Vocal Force can have the greatest impact, where it can push into 'gaps' in provision, where it can act as a steppinig-stone to further activities together. By March 2008, we will not have finished, but rather will have founded networks that can choose how to continue in the future, linking in with continuing provision and further development proposed by the National Singing Campaign. Vocal Force is a development programme that will aim to give children in 20 areas even more than I had; access to quality singing of diverse material with inspirational leaders that is fulfilling, exciting, normal and natural. For more information go to the Vocal Force website.

As the teachers and pupils at our singing schools know, as well as being fun, singing is great for building self-esteem and confidence, for enhancing the curriculum, lifting the morale of a school community, and for encouraging both children and adults to work together as a team.

But did you know that singing can also be an excellent tool for behaviour management? As a music and singing teacher, a professional opera singer and, most recently, a teacher of children with behavioural, emotional and social difficulties (BESD), I have seen first-hand the beneficial effect that music and singing can have on children’s self-esteem and behaviour.

POSITIVE BEHAVIOUR

Through my last job as a SENCO, Music and PSHE teacher, working with children at risk of permanent exclusion from their mainstream schools, I inadvertently became a behaviour management expert! As well as working with these challenging children, I advised schools and families on behavioural issues and achieved a Post-Graduate Certificate in BESD.

Using all these strands of experience helped me realise that, as well as affecting behaviour in a positive way, singing can be used proactively as an effective tool for managing behaviour.
As anybody who works with children with BESD knows, there is no magic wand, or quick-fix solution. Effective behaviour management is about having a ‘tool box’ of strategies and techniques you can employ when the circumstances demand it. Learning how to
use singing to promote positive behaviour will just give you a few more handy tools to use.

Prevention is always better than cure, so I’ve put together a list of five useful tips and techniques you can try

1 Build a positive relationship with pupils: Don’t underestimate the value of this as a behaviour management technique as it can often diffuse situations before they escalate. When you sing together with your class or school, not only are you sharing an enjoyable activity, you are also all listening to each other and working together as a team. Inevitably, a bond develops, and you can use the positive relationship you’ve built with pupils when the going gets tough.

2 Use distraction: This age-old trick is always worth a try, and a call-and-response song is an excellent way to get the attention of the class. You can also use it to change tack and wrong-foot any pupil on the brink of indulging in disruptive behaviour. Have a look in the Song Bank at Who are we?, Boom Chicka Boom or Hot potato.

3 Give them a task: Many children displaying disruptive behaviour are desperate for attention – so give them some! Let them lead a song, or demonstrate actions. Children usually react positively to being given responsibility and it builds their self-esteem.

4 Keep your lessons interesting: This may seem obvious, but changing tasks and adding in something different every 15 minutes is not only an effective strategy for dealing with children with ADHD, but it generally works for the whole class. Try adding The alphabet song to your Literacy lesson, Chocoholics to Maths or Use the force to Science. By doing this, you are keeping the subjects interesting, so attention doesn’t drift, and enhancing learning.

5 Breathing and humming: To sing well (and in tune!) you need to develop a good breathing technique. The very mechanics of deep breathing can relax and focus your mind, plus lower your stress levels, by releasing endorphins. (These wonderful chemicals also make us happy – an added bonus!) Then concentrate on expelling air as a hum, changing pitch and dynamics. Persist with this and you will be able to use it to calm a rowdy class!

HAPPY DAYS

These are a few of the many ways that you can use singing to help you with behaviour management in the classroom. I’m a great believer that singing schools are happy schools, and a happy school has fewer behavioural problems. Since I’ve been Surrey’s Sing Up Area Leader, I’ve spoken to lots of teachers and Heads who agree. Try it for yourselves!

Did you know?

A recent American study has shown that people engaging in synchronous activity together (eg. singing and chanting) become more likely to cooperate with other group members. Another reason to keep singing!

More online

Area Leaders are on hand all over the country to visit your school, advise on training opportunities and connect you to your community and Sing Up

Get in touch with your local Area Leader by visiting the Training Area.

Over the first two years of Sing Up, researchers from the Institute of Education in London have visited 155 schools across England to measure the impact of the programme. We have assessed the individual singing behaviour and development of 8,162 children, aged 7-10 years. We have also noted children’s attitudes to singing in different contexts (such as in school or outside) and also whether singing has any impact on their self-concept and sense of social inclusion. Key findings are as follows:

SINGING BEHAVIOURS

When we compare the results for children who have had experience of Sing Up with those who have not, it is clear that Sing Up is having a beneficial impact.

For example:

Although we expect average children’s singing competency to improve with age (that is, older children tend to be more advanced in their singing than younger children), those with Sing Up experience demonstrate significantly greater improvements.

Furthermore, irrespective of social background and ethnicity, there are examples of measurable Sing Up-linked singing improvements for boys as well as girls.

CHILDREN’S ATTITUDES TO SINGING

A wide range of attitudinal data from participants’ questionnaire responses suggests that (a) girls consistently tend to have more positive attitudes towards singing than boys and (b) younger children tend to be more positive than their older peers.

This somewhat paradoxical finding – that as children get older, they get more competent at singing, but appear to like it less – relates to changes in their musical identity, which often becomes much more peer and popular music focused. Singing in school becomes a less ‘cool’ thing to do as children are increasingly influenced by popular music culture.

However, if children experience singing activities that have (a) positive, and expert, child (and/or adult) role models – such as in Sing Up’s Singing Playgrounds and Chorister Outreach Programmes – and (b) experience rich musical repertoire, including singing games and opportunities for performance, then older children (boys as well as girls) are likely to develop and sustain much more positive attitudes to singing and continue to be engaged and motivated to take part.

WIDER BENEFITS

With regard to possible wider benefits of singing, better singers tend to have a much more positive view of themselves – as singers and also in general – and a stronger sense of social inclusion. Unsurprisingly, better singers also have a stronger emotional and personal engagement with singing.

This finding links with other recent research on the other-than-musical benefits of music education, including positive impacts on physical and psychological (mental) health and wellbeing (such as relieving anxiety, promoting relaxation, improved lung function, lowered heart rate and blood pressure), as well as on self, social development and social attachment.

Children’s singing is part of their identity, and how they see themselves in relation to the world around them. If their singing behaviours are promoted and advanced in a collective setting, such as demonstrated by Sing Up, where the educational experience is exciting, shared and effective, where peers and adults offer supportive models, then it is not surprising that both musical and other-than-musical benefits are evidenced. Sing Up is making a difference.

Professor Graham Welch is Chair of Music Education at the Institute of Education, University of London. He is also the incoming President of the International Society for Music Education (ISME), Chair of the Society for Education, Music and Psychology Research (SEMPRE) and has a lifelong interest in children’s singing. More detailed information about the Sing Up research evaluation can be found at www.imerc.org/research_nsp.php.

Singing and wellbeing

A range of academic literature has addressed the connections between singing and wellbeing, and suggests that regular singing can enhance mood, happiness and emotional wellbeing, and reduce stress.

Much of this research has been based on field studies, interviews and focus groups. Eg. a study from Beck, Cesario, Yousefi & Enamato in 2000 reported that 67% of semi-professional choral singers surveyed ‘agreed’ or ‘strongly agreed’ that ‘singing has contributed to my personal wellbeing’. Similarly, Cliff and Hancox (2001) found that 71% of those in a university choral society ‘agreed’ or ‘strongly agreed’ that singing was beneficial for their ‘mental wellbeing’.

In a more recent detailed study*, 600-plus choral singers across England were asked to complete a questionnaire measuring their physical, psychological, social and environmental wellbeing. Common themes were that singing ‘helps make me a happier person’, ‘gives a positive attitude to life’ and ‘lifts mood and helps to forget problems’.

Singing has also been shown to aid social development among children. For example, the Chorus Impact Study 2009, by Chorus America, found that parents of children in choirs are significantly more likely to report that their children have more advanced social skills than those who’ve never participated. The vast majority of parents say their child’s ability to manage his/her emotions and/or read the emotions of others improved after they became choral singers.

While most existing research has focused on adult singers, Professor Welch’s latest study highlights its relevance for children and young people.

A 6-week activity plan by Sue Nicholls

Many KS1 teachers structure their medium-term planning around topics, delivering different subjects in a connected and holistic way to engage and enthuse young learners. A song can be a real focal point for introducing or developing a theme; I’ve got a grumpy face is a perfect example of a song that can lead children through many learning pathways.

This simple song describes different faces, involving notions of self-awareness, moods and feelings. For those who use SEAL (self-awareness, managing feelings, motivation, empathy and social skills) to underpin their teaching, this song provides a wealth of starting points.

INTRODUCE THE SONG

• Ask the children to make faces that are happy, sad, excited, bored, scared and crazy! Repeat with only half the class making faces, asking the ‘audience’ group which ones were convincing and why. Repeat with the other half, requesting new expressions, such as sleepy, spooky, nervous and ‘won-the-lottery’ faces and collect more audience responses.
• Listen to the song and notice that the melody goes down and then up. Warm up voices by making ‘roller-coaster’ sounds that swoop high and low, vocalising on the sound ‘Oooooh’.
• Can the children remember the order of verses? Ask for four volunteers to stand at the front and ‘model’ each face or action to guide the singers through the sequence. Now sing along – it’s simple, catchy and needs no formal teaching.
• Encourage the children to invent new verses, eg. a tearful or a scary face, and sing them with appropriate facial expressions.

PSHE, SEAL, LITERACY (SPEAKING AND LISTENING)

• Have large photographs of contrasting facial expressions and use this sequence of questions to elicit responses which will develop vocabulary and help children to understand and share others’ feelings (SEAL: Empathy).
• Show a photograph or picture of a person with a happy face. Ask questions such as ‘does this person have a grumpy face?’, ‘what sort of face do you think she’s making?’, ‘can you make a face like this?’, ‘what do you think could have happened to make her feel happy?’, and then ask the children to tell the person next to them something that makes them feel happy. Share and collect responses.
• Complete the activity by drawing a happy face in the centre of a sheet of A2 paper, leaving plenty of space around it. Give each child a Post-It label and ask them to write or draw something that has made them happy. These responses can then be stuck around the drawing of the happy face and used as an aid to writing or further discussion.
• This activity can be repeated with other ‘faces’, revisiting ideas developed from the song and harnessing children’s thoughts and experiences. Practitioners would, of course, need to be sensitive to children’s individual circumstances when tackling ‘sad’ faces and make themselves aware of any issues that might cause distress.

LITERACY (DRAMA)

• Tell the moving and engaging story Dogger by Shirley Hughes, then retell it as a class mime with the practitioner as narrator and the children assuming the roles of the characters, using gesture and facial expression to highlight the events. The story, a classic tale with which all young children can identify, explores many emotions and feelings – excitement, loss, worry, responsibility, empathy, unselfishness and, ultimately, happiness.
  (SEAL: Managing feelings).

LITERACY (WRITING)

• Use a Shared Writing session to create a class prose poem that encapsulates the story of Dogger demonstrating the sequence of events and the mood changes experienced by the characters.

For example:
Off to the jumble sale
Lots of things on the stalls
Getting lost in the crowds
What an amazing doll!
Everyone wants to win her!
Where’s Dogger?
Where’s Dogger! …

• Make a collection of the children’s treasured ‘cuddlies’ and invite class members to ‘interview’ each other about when they were given them, how they acquired their names and other special details.

SCIENCE

• Faces can link to QCA units for KS1: Ourselves, Sound and Hearing, Health and Growth.

DESIGN TECHNOLOGY

• Design a book of faces and find ways of producing movement for each face, eg. fold paper strips concertina-style, to make wobbly faces, or devise a pull-push ‘shutter’ to turn a sleepy face into a wide-awake face.
• Design and make ‘mood’ hats (linked to measurements in ‘Numeracy’) and decorate with accessories to wear for a performance of I’ve got a grumpy face. Sing contrasting ‘face’ verses and involve your audience by asking if they can match each hat to its face or mood.

ICT

• Ask everyone to practise making a face that shows a definite emotion, using mirrors to perfect the look! Work in pairs to capture these faces with digital cameras and arrange the photos as a patchwork montage. Debate and decide on the best adjective to describe each face and add these descriptive word labels to the photos.

ART AND DESIGN

• Ask the children to work in pairs to study each other’s faces, then draw or paint them to show a specific mood, ready for a gallery. Explore famous portraits from the National Portrait Gallery website and see if the children can ascribe any emotions to these faces.
• Make dramatic over-sized mood masks using torn paper collage. Stick torn fragments from magazines and textured papers on to cardboard bases to make fearsome faces. Glue on bits of shaped cardboard to create 3D noses, eyebrows or lips, that produce exaggerated effects when covered with collage layers.
• Investigate masks from art collections for ideas. Study the famous optical illusion that can be ‘interpreted’ as being a young or old woman – two faces in one drawing! Take a long look to find the second image; it’s really hard to see!
• PE Make up new verses from I’ve got a grumpy face and invent warm-ups to sing before a PE or Dance lesson: ‘I’ve got a hopping foot … two bouncy knees … two waving arms … two jumping feet … (last line) it/they move(s) like this!'

NUMERACY

• Surveys – Give every child a paper plate and ask them to draw a happy face on one side and a sad face on the other. Use them to conduct ‘surveys’; for instance, show pictures of different foods and appoint survey ‘chiefs’ to count the numbers of likes and dislikes. You could add a ‘don’t know’ face and collect more varied data.
• Measuring – Ask the children to work in pairs and measure the circumference of each other’s head, just above the eyebrows. Order the measurements from largest to smallest. Do some people share the same hat size?
• Problem solving – Solve some ‘face’ problems, eg. How many ears in Class 3? (Is there a quick way to find the answer?) If 10 people each wiggled their nose for 30 seconds, one after the other, how long would the wiggling last? Invite the children to invent more.

Sue Nicholls has published many books for generalist teachers with A&C Black and contributed several songs to other song collections. She works as a freelance music education consultant, providing nationwide INSET and training.

More Online

Download our special Pyramid Pack for children facing difficulties in their
social and emotional development in the Magazine Area in the Bonus Content section.

Song Bank

Try these other Song Bank gems that relate to this unit:
 

Good to be me
Hello, hello
If you’re happy and you know it
Well done, everyone!

Search for PSHE in the advanced Song Bank search for lots more! For tips on
how to use the advanced Song Bank search, check out Dear Sing Up... 

So far, more than 1,200 choristers have inspired their peers in more than 500 Primary Schools with their singing. The opportunity to perform in concerts in some of our best-known cathedrals has also proved a winner. The children have been wowed by the size and beauty of these buildings and have sung their hearts out for family and friends.

The Chorister Outreach Programme (COP) has had an impact, providing numerous longterm benefits. Many children (and teachers) have overcome shyness and now sing at the front rather than hiding at the back. They may not all be ‘stars’ but, as one Bristol child commented, “People used to say to me ‘shut up, you’re rubbish’ but now I know I’m not!”

THE POWER FOR CHANGE

COP input has changed the entire ethos of some primary schools; in others, whole classes have been transformed. “A miracle has happened with my class," said a formely reluctant teacher.The programmes have proved so popular and inspirational that often the most disruptive child has become calm, eventually joining in with enthusiasm. Much of the transformation can be put down to a change in the attitude of boys towards singing. One football-mad boy declared singing to be “the best thing all year”.

Lee Ward, who runs the London Oratory School’s COP in West London, found Year 5 boys at one school particularly challenging. “There were 15 girls and five boys and for three weeks the boys refused to sing. I tried every trick in the book, but it wasn’t until I took six male choristers into the school that things changed. The boys were astounded to hear trained voices. After some giggling and rude comments, they joined in.

“The next week I took five choral scholars, aged 16-18, including the captain of our first 15 rugby team who is very manly and a countertenor! The boys were amazed. Their music teacher told me that a few weeks later they all wanted to audition for the solo for Once in Royal David’s city at the school carol concert.”

MAGICAL MOMENTS

Another area where several COP programmes have made their mark is in local Special Schools. John, a pupil at Fosse Bank School, truly found his voice following input from musicians at Wells Cathedral. Singing Leader Jan Faulkner was teaching This little light of mine at one of the sessions when John began to sing his own improvised line over the top. It was a magical moment and just what Sing Up is all about. When his parents attended the public performance, they marvelled at what he had achieved.

COP has unearthed masses of hidden talent and not just in singing. One boy asked to take the music home from a school singing session run by Lincoln Cathedral to see if he could learn the piano backing. He mastered it quickly and was allowed to play the Cathedral grand piano and the organ. He is now being given organ tuition at the cathedral.

More online

For details of forthcoming concerts, make sure to keep checking our News Area.

Q How does it feel when you sing in the choir?

Jessica, 9 It’s magical! When we sing together it makes me feel very happy.
Megan, 9 I really like singing, especially in the choir. There are a lot of us and I’ve made a lot of new friends.

Q What songs make you feel good about yourself when you sing them?

Megan The songs in the choir, but I also like to sing Take That!
Jessica We sang Mamma Mia at school the other day – it made me feel very happy!

Q Do you sing when you’re not at school?

Megan I sing in a community choir with some friends and adults. We stand right at the front and when everyone sings it makes me want to dance!

Q How do you feel about singing in the Albert Hall?

Jessica It was a long way to travel here and we’re going straight home after. But I’m really looking forward to it.
Megan I’m nervous, but also excited! My family are going to be watching, so it’s going to be good. My sister got up and got ready twice as fast when she was told she was going to London today to watch us sing!

Q Have you sung in any other exciting places?

Jessica We sang at York Minster last week, which was a very big place to sing in. We’ll be singing the same songs again tonight, but it will be very different to singing them in York.
Megan We’ve sung at a care home. All the people there sang the songs with us. It was fun!

Taking part in National Sing Up Day is the perfect opportunity to share your love of singing.

You might want to encourage one of your colleagues to register on the website and start singing with their class – how about sharing your pupils’ favourite song with them? Your class could sing with another one at your school, or you could organise a singing assembly and invite parents and governors to come along. What about getting in touch with a local school and spreading a little singing down the road? Take it as far as you’d like, we’d love to hear your plans.

Our National Sing Up Day website – www.singup.org/nsud – is the place to go to let us know your plans for the day and to find out what everyone else is doing. People across the country are taking part, so join in!

From the site, you’ll also be able to access our new specially commissioned song by Alan Simmons, Strictly come singing. It has three parts and has been devised so that each one can be sung individually, but also together. Why not teach one to your class, encourage two other classes to learn the others and perform them together in a whole-school assembly?

Here’s a taste of what’s going on throughout the day – have a look and get inspired to ‘Spread a little Singing!’

PLATINUMS REACHING OUT

Sing Up Platinum Award Schools across the country are reaching out to their communities and sharing their singing.

Here are just a few examples:

• Horfield CofE Primary School, Bristol – working with a neighbouring school and performing next to the Concorde at Filton Airfield in Bristol
• Derby High, Derby – holding a concert with 10 local schools called ‘Sing Up Through the Years’ singing songs from different decades
• Ling Moor School, Lincoln – putting on a singing festival involving all of their neighbouring schools
• St Michael’s CE First School, Staffordshire – inviting singers from Welsh National Opera to work with them and six other schools in the area to sing songs from West End shows.

Check out our National Sing Up Day site for more details on what’s happening around the country.

RECORD OUR ANTHEM WITH PURESOLO

You can go along to our site and record part of Alan Simmons’ song, Strictly come singing. PureSolo’s Player will allow you to record the song and send it in to us. We’ll then put together a massive mash-up of all of your recordings and post it online!

SINGALONG WITH LUCKY VOICE

Head on over to our site and visit the new Lucky Voice area and have a singalong! It’s great to use for a school assembly or to have a sing with your fellow teachers. Why not organise an afterschool singalong with your colleagues and friends? 

For more details, visit www.singup.org/nsud today!

Salary: £30-34,000 + benefits (pay award pending)

Full time, fixed term to 30 March 2011

Based in London, SE1

This exciting opportunity offers the successful candidate an opportunity to head up one of Sing Up’s 4 main strands, Funded Programmes. This supports direct singing activity across England through the vehicles; Sing Up Beyond the Mainstream, Sing Up Clusters, Sing Up Communities, Sing Up Events and Sing Up Flagships. You will also oversee the Sing Up Awards scheme. With a budget of up to £2 million and a number of staff reporting to you, this role requires an enthusiastic team player that can demonstrate project leadership, management and an understanding of music education, social policy and the arts.

For further information or an application pack visit www.youthmusic.org.uk/Jobs.html or download the pack here.

Completed application forms must be returned by email (to jobs@youthmusic.org.uk), or directly to HR by 5pm, 28 January 2010.

Interviews will be held on 14 February 2010 (Secondments will be considered)
 

Where can you be part of a workshop that features giant inflatable beach balls and light-up tambourines? The Sing Up Training Programme, that’s where!

The mentioned props were used as tools as part of Jessica Curry’s Music and singing for children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder and other special needs workshop at the Albany Theatre, London.

It wasn’t all bright lights and hot air though, Jessica produced a programme that approached and developed ideas in a manner that was both sensitive and energetic. Every song and idea she delivered finished with every delegate up on their feet practicing the exercise and there were plenty of opportunities for everyone to share ideas and discuss the day-to-day problems they face.

Some fresh ideas came out of the session; including heartfelt advice on helping pupils with selective mutism. We were also introduced to one teacher’s ‘magic bag’ that makes pupils do ‘the best applause in the world’ every time it was opened (but not for too long, as it’s a very precious resource!).

The day was inspirational for all who attended. Lamorna from Linden Lodge School in Wandsworth was especially excited. ‘I’ve been to a lot of similar training sessions with various organisations, but this has been the most engaging’. Liann Hogg, another practitioner, went one step further. ‘It’s the first course I’ve been on were I’ve not wanted to go home!’ 

Want to know what all the fuss is about? Find a course to fit all your singing needs in our Training Area. 

Having walked the pupils to their Singing Playgrounds Workshop, the local 'bobby on the beat' decided to stay and join in.

The children really enjoyed the unexpected singing session and he was most unhappy when he had a call-out back to his duties.

Angela Renshaw, local Area Leader for Cornwall sent us this picture of the day and it goes to show how accessible the Sing Up workshops are for everyone!

For more information on Angela or your Area Leader, vist the Training area.

Do you have any examples of how singing has reached your community? Let us know what has been happening in your area by contacting us.