Government Invests £40 Million in Sing Up
09 January 2008
The Sing Up campaign has been launched with £40 million funding over four years.
The Sing Up campaign has been launched with £40 million funding over four years. Its aim is to put singing at the heart of every primary school in England by 2011.
The £40 million government investment in singing aims to ensure that every primary school-aged child has the opportunity to experience high quality singing as part of their everyday lives in the school, the home and the wider community.
Sing Up will encourage teachers – as well as parents and kids – to get singing back into classrooms by giving them online resources (www.singup.org, which launches today) and training, as well as funding singing programmes across the country. The campaign will promote singing as both a stand-alone activity, as well as ensuring that singing is integrated into other subjects and facilitated in class.
According to the Music Manifesto Report ‘Making Every Child’s Music Matter’, singing provides a universal route into participative music making for every child and builds community involvement at all ages.*
The investment in singing is part of a wider government commitment to provide £332m to support music making in schools over the next three years. Supporters of the scheme say that this four-year commitment to increased levels of funding will dramatically improve the quality and quantity of music making provision for children and young people. The Government has decided to back music for children having been convinced by compelling accounts of engagement in active music-making. Singing has been shown to have a central role in improving the development of skills in other key areas such as language and maths as well as improving children’s confidence, behaviour, health and even attendance at school.
The Sing Up programme will incorporate:
Howard Goodall, National Singing Ambassador, said: “Research has shown that young people who are lucky enough to learn music and sing from an early age develop better social skills, memory, ability to listen and have more confidence. It can be used to improve motor-skills and language development, as well as cognitive abilities in maths. The skills needed for singing, including coordination and listening also help develop the brain.
“Singing also builds a child’s self-esteem, promotes team-work irrespective of age, gender, and background, celebrates diversity, facilitates self-expression – and is just plain fun.
“Sing Up will help teachers, parents and children have fun and learn together; using a trusted and easy-to-use online resource that delivers positive developmental benefits and helps kids sing well.”
Leading the support for the initiative, urban artist and Sing Up spokesperson Jamelia says: “I'm so excited to be involved with the Sing Up campaign and can’t wait to get kids singing again. Singing in a class is something I got a great deal from as a child – it really helped to build up my confidence and taught me how to express myself better.
“I want all children to have the same opportunities to sing in school. It’s crucial that kids today learn how to find their voice and realise how much fun they can have through singing.”
Sing Up is the campaign name for the Music Manifesto National Singing Programme, produced by Youth Music with AMV-BBDO, Faber Music and The Sage Gateshead, supported by Government.
Howard Goodall, concluded: “Music has in the past been seen all too often as an optional extra, a non-essential part of a child’s education. The Government getting behind music in this way makes real the prospect of vibrant music-making across the nation – both inside and outside our schools.”
Contact
Caroline Eardley, Jess Cross or the Sing Up team at Seventy Seven PR
020 7492 0977 or 07940 570 288
singup@77pr.co.uk
The £40 million government investment in singing aims to ensure that every primary school-aged child has the opportunity to experience high quality singing as part of their everyday lives in the school, the home and the wider community.
Sing Up will encourage teachers – as well as parents and kids – to get singing back into classrooms by giving them online resources (www.singup.org, which launches today) and training, as well as funding singing programmes across the country. The campaign will promote singing as both a stand-alone activity, as well as ensuring that singing is integrated into other subjects and facilitated in class.
According to the Music Manifesto Report ‘Making Every Child’s Music Matter’, singing provides a universal route into participative music making for every child and builds community involvement at all ages.*
The investment in singing is part of a wider government commitment to provide £332m to support music making in schools over the next three years. Supporters of the scheme say that this four-year commitment to increased levels of funding will dramatically improve the quality and quantity of music making provision for children and young people. The Government has decided to back music for children having been convinced by compelling accounts of engagement in active music-making. Singing has been shown to have a central role in improving the development of skills in other key areas such as language and maths as well as improving children’s confidence, behaviour, health and even attendance at school.
The Sing Up programme will incorporate:
- www.singup.org, which will become a national singing resource – a web-based songbook of new and traditional songs and all the resources that teachers need to integrate singing in their classroom activities. The website will be supported by a magazine and CD materials which is available free of charge to all primary schools. Combined, they will give teachers guidance on how to incorporate singing into the school day no matter what their own singing ability is. In addition to lesson plans, teachers will be able to download song sheets and backing tracks for use in the classroom.
- a workforce development programme to build the confidence and expertise of teachers and other singing leaders. 24 Area Leaders will coordinate singing programmes across England, providing direct support for schools and organising tailored training programmes.
- funding for national and regional singing groups . This includes, for example, Ex Cathedra’s “Singing Playgrounds” initiative, which is already benefiting from Sing Up funding. Sing Up will fund organisations with a strong track record in singing project delivery helping them to extend and broaden their work.
- The online resource (www.singup.org) will offer parents and children resources to carry on singing in their homes – with downloadable songs and lyrics – and for those never ending car journeys.
Howard Goodall, National Singing Ambassador, said: “Research has shown that young people who are lucky enough to learn music and sing from an early age develop better social skills, memory, ability to listen and have more confidence. It can be used to improve motor-skills and language development, as well as cognitive abilities in maths. The skills needed for singing, including coordination and listening also help develop the brain.
“Singing also builds a child’s self-esteem, promotes team-work irrespective of age, gender, and background, celebrates diversity, facilitates self-expression – and is just plain fun.
“Sing Up will help teachers, parents and children have fun and learn together; using a trusted and easy-to-use online resource that delivers positive developmental benefits and helps kids sing well.”
Leading the support for the initiative, urban artist and Sing Up spokesperson Jamelia says: “I'm so excited to be involved with the Sing Up campaign and can’t wait to get kids singing again. Singing in a class is something I got a great deal from as a child – it really helped to build up my confidence and taught me how to express myself better.
“I want all children to have the same opportunities to sing in school. It’s crucial that kids today learn how to find their voice and realise how much fun they can have through singing.”
Sing Up is the campaign name for the Music Manifesto National Singing Programme, produced by Youth Music with AMV-BBDO, Faber Music and The Sage Gateshead, supported by Government.
Howard Goodall, concluded: “Music has in the past been seen all too often as an optional extra, a non-essential part of a child’s education. The Government getting behind music in this way makes real the prospect of vibrant music-making across the nation – both inside and outside our schools.”
Contact
Caroline Eardley, Jess Cross or the Sing Up team at Seventy Seven PR
020 7492 0977 or 07940 570 288
singup@77pr.co.uk
£10m National Singing Programme underway
New government-funded programme to be produced by Youth Music with Abbot Mead Vickers, Faber Music and The Sage Gateshead
New initiative to get children singing from an early age
