Awards tips and tricks
HEADTEACHER
The Headteacher and the governors endorse the decision to apply for the awards and all staff know the school is applying.
1. As music coordinator or singing leader, why not ask the Headteacher and governors if you could attend a governors' meeting to give a short report on Sing Up in general and the schools' application for the Awards.
2. Why not ask for a 5 minutes update on the progress of your Sing Up Award at every weekly staff meeting until completion of the process. This will also act as a reminder to colleagues that they need to keep uploading evidence onto the website.
3. Invite members of the governing body to come along and participate in any Sing Up training offered to the staff or pupils. Even if they do not attend, it keeps singing and the awards on their agenda.
PUPILS
Singing occurs in every class more than twice a week.
1. Encourage each teacher to try singing the register rather than saying it. Welcome Everybody A song for the beginning of a session also with a role call. Good for younger children. Name Stomp A Rhyme with movement that also contains a role call. Good for older children.
2. A 'Tidying up Song' really helps the process to happen. Try teaching such a song to various classes for use at appropriate moments.
3. Songs which include counting, etc., really aid the memory for number work. Similarly, multiplication tables are much easier to learn if sung to a tune. Five little monkeys Is a song that can help teach subtraction. One Potato Can help teach counting and estimating. Circle to the Left helps to teach moving clockwise or anti-clockwise One to Three Four teaches forward counting, patterning, and internal counting.
4. We sing slower than we speak and songs contain much repetition. As a result, learning new words is easier through song and this can be used to great advantage in foreign language teaching. Bonjour ma Voisine helps with conversational French
The whole school sings together at least once a week.
1. A singing assembly is one way to achieve this criterion. As a singing leader, you may be responsible for this. Try to encourage all the staff to stay, join in and endorse what you are doing. They will then learn new songs which they can use with their class and will learn from you the best methodology of teaching songs. All in the Dreamtime is a song in aboriginal style suitable for large numbers.
2. To keep the singing assembly fun, make your assemblies interactive.
3. Make a collection of songs which celebrate festivals in various traditions. Mary Had a Baby is a great Christmas song; One for Each Night is fantastic for Hanukkah, Prayer to the Prophet Muhammad is exciting for Eid-ul-Fitr and Chinese New Year is good for...Chinese New Year!
STAFF (teaching and non-teaching)
All staff are being encouraged to get involved in singing.
1. Teach staff one new, short song each week at the beginning of the staff meeting, just for five minutes. Ask your Headteacher to endorse what you are doing and learn the song alongside the staff.
2. Gather a collection of playground songs and share with playground and lunchtime supervisors. Jack Be Nimble is good for KS1 and I Like Coffee is a good playground game for KS2.
3. Assemble a collection of indoor singing games which are suitable to play when it's too wet to go outside. Share these with teaching assistants, and lunchtime/playground supervisors. Here Sits Mousie is great for KS1 and Moses Supposes is fun for KS2.
At least two staff are confident to lead singing.
1. You don't need to be a pianist to lead singing, nor do you need to be able to read music. Sing to children with an unforced singing quality and with obvious enjoyment and they will be keen to copy you.
2. Contact your Sing Up Area Leader to put you in touch with singing courses in your area, or to help build singing into your classroom teaching.
3. Investigate the Song Bank, new songs are added every week which will help you build your classroom repertoire.
WHOLE SCHOOL COMMUNITY
Families and visitors can get involved in singing activities.
1. All schools are diverse, so why not get parents involved by inviting them to teach a song from their cultural background.
2. Try finishing school concerts with an audience song.
3. Start a parent/child weekly singing session for families before their children start school. This helps build relationships for transition years with parents, teachers and children. Little Johnny dances is a French song which is a fun puppet action song.
Singing supports the School Development Plan and is included in the Self Evaluation Form.
1. Singing can be of huge benefit to the child as an individual. Not only does involvement in singing improve creativity within the school but it is though to impact on standards in literacy and numeracy.
2. If you are the music coordinator, you might consider rewriting part of your 'School Music Policy' to include your involvement with Sing Up and your commitment to the Sing Up Awards.
HEADTEACHER
The Headteacher sings with the school.
1. When training new songs to the rest of the staff (perhaps in a staff meeting or training day), encourage the Headteacher to take part and endorse what you do.
2. Suggest that from time to time, the Headteacher goes out on the playground and helps children to sing.
3. Suggest that the Headteacher accompanies the children when they take part in singing festivals and Sing Up events.
PUPILS
Children develop reflective and critical skills about singing.
1. Try recording or videoing a class or school performance and show it to the children for their analysis.
2. During the teaching of a song, ask your pupils to give their opinions about certain decisions that need to be made. Song of Youth is a Chinese Folksong and great to ask for various questions about.
3. Try performing a song in different ways and ask a group of pupils to listenand choose the performance they consider the most appropriate.
Pupils sometimes lead singing.
1. Create pupil singing leaders on the playground who help younger pupils play and sing playground game and songs.
2. Suggest that each class has a 'lucky dip bag' full of the names of known songs or song props. As a reward for hard work or during Golden Time, a selected pupil pulls out a lucky dip song and leads the song with the class.
3. Have a pupil who is confident singing lead the class in singing a known song.
There is group singing for every child in the school everyday.
1. Use songs to enhance and inform other subject areas. Paddy works on the railway can be used as a part of a history lesson on Victorians.
2. Group activities can be assisted by singing together. Old King Glory is a great song to help kids find the 'pulse' while they are walking together.
Children take part in choosing repertoire, and in bringing or creating their own.
1. Ask the children to 'collect' singing games, skipping games and playground games from their parents, grandparents and relatives.
2. Encourage pupils to make up their own playground songs and games.
3. Ask the class to take a well-known tune and create new words to use in certain class situations.
Children can sing in a range of ways such as solos, playgrounds, squads and choirs.
1. Many singing games give children the opportunity to sing a phrase or two by themselves as part of a game. If started young enough, this becomes the norm for children in the music lesson and in the playground. Here I Come and Witch Witch are fantastic examples of easy songs that children feel confident singing phrases by themselves.
2. If you haven't had a regular school choir, this is the time to start. Contact your Sing Up Area Leader and ask for advice.
Children and staff create new original music with their voices.
1. As your Sing Up Area Leader if they are organising a song-writing/improvisation course for singing leaders in your area.
2. Invite younger pupils to create new movements to songs and suggest new verses.
3. Very young children improvise snippets of songs as they play. If the staff that play with them also do this, it encourages the practice to continue.
4. Some music software available in schools allows children to compose songs on the computer. Check out one that suits your needs.
STAFF (teaching and non-teaching)
Two or more people lead singing at least twice a week.
1. The singing leaders can build a school song repertoire with the help of the Sing Up Song Bank and the Sing Up magazine.
2. Further musical knowledge can be acquired through continuing professional development. Contact your Area Leader or email.
All staff are involved in singing at least once a week.
1. Encourage all staff to stay and sing in a whole school assembly.
2. Ask the Headteacher if you can teach a new song to all staff at the beginning of a staff meeting.
3. Try and book a CPD training session during part of a training day for all staff.
4. Invite individual members of staff to help with school performances in a variety of capacities.
WHOLE SCHOOL COMMUNITY
Singing takes place acrossand beyond the music curriculum.
1. Get involved in Primary School Singing Festivals run by your Music Support Service or Specialist Performing Arts College.
2. Encourage yourchildren to join localchoirs after school and attend holiday singing clubs and camps.
3. Take a class out of school to perform in local care homes or community centres.
4. Have a special day or week which focuses on a certain subject or country or topic.
Singing engergises a range of everyday school activities and routines.
1. Sing on the bus to swimming lessons or other visits. Create laminated 'bus cards' to help teachers who escort the bus. Three Native American Chants are a good way to introduce singing on bus journeys.
2. Invite a local Guide/Scout leader or commissioner to come into school and teach some songs which work well whilst lining up, making a circle, etc.
3. Encourage each class to chant or sing on the way to and from assembly and to walk to the pulse of the music.
Communal Singing marks significant moments of school life.
1. If the school has a special award assembly, why not 'commission' an Award Song from one class in the school which is learnt by all.
2. Singing is a great way to say goodbye to Year 6 children at the end of their time in primary school. Have a special farewell singing assembly for them.
Pupils explore and value a diverse range of singing.
1. Teach and learn a variety of stick or stone passing games which are traditional in many cultures. Way, or way, Oh the lion is a traditional Zulu song which incorporates a passing game.
2. Explore a range of work songs, discussing why these songs were originally created. Encourage the children to explore the history of these songs.
3. Ask your Sing Up Area Leader if a Gospel workshop can be booked in your area. Make use of local community musicians.