Sarah Kekus's blog

The annual NAME conference takes place at the end of the week, with the opportunity to network and gain inspiration for the year ahead from the workshops, keynotes and discussions. Musical Pathways are many and various and we should keep open all the different ways to engage with music. Keeping an open mind to new possibilities in the field of technology and new musical ideas from exciting collaborations between musicians.

The Summer holidays are almost upon us, and as yet no Music Plan but a consultation should take place during August; no rest for the wicked! In the meantime we need to keep up our resolve and really interrogate what makes up the vital components of a good music education.   There are still areas of the music education forest that need a bit of investigating, we can always improve and I fear that there is still complacency and acceptance of mediocrity in some quarters.

Cultural Education, music hubs and NYO auditions!

The unceasing calls for evidence  on one review or another has brought about review fatigue. It seems as if the Government is trying to batter us into submission! However we battle onwards and continue to make representation. The evidence for the review of Cultural Education has just been submitted and NAME is arguing for a holistic education :

Date for your diary!  23rd and 24th September is when our National Conference takes place and is again at the Yarnfield Park Conference Centre in Stone, Staffordshire.

The Henley Review has put forward strong recommendations for music provision for all, a broad music education encompassing  performing, composing and listening. This should be delivered in partnership with schools and music organisations to offer the broadest and best quality posssible.   How this should or could be done is something to be worked out.

 
I have just returned from the Launch event of the review of the National Curriculum in England. Held at Twyford Church C of E High school in Acton.  NAME was invited to this launch as the main voice for music education in schools and as subject representative for Music.

So it all heats up we are still waiting for the Henley review to be unveiled,  likely to be next week, and in the meantime the English baccalaureate has been causing a stir. Now I am all for having a broad and balanced qualification and the international bacc.

Last week I attended the institute of Education Conference - The Changing face of music education. It predictably got off to a gloomy start, there are challenges facing us all and inevitably in uncertain times there is a lot of fear.
In the 5 minutes I had to present I asked delegates to reflect on their own journeys of musical learning - Take 5 minutes to reflect on who has inspired you, what was your first musically defining moment. I do think we have to reflect on our own routes and how we can enable others to fulfill their musical potential.

Well the evidence for the music review has long past and Darren Henley will be reading his way through the submissons. We wont have any news until early January. However whatever the outcome the review has stirred up debate and gives us something to think hard about. We do need to look at the good and successful models of practice for music education and also acknowledge where there is a weakness and a need for developing higher quality and inspirational provision.

This year's conference was stimulating and lively with a theme of "Finding the pupil voice".  There was much debate during the conference around the future of music education and particularly Key Stage 3 and the effective use of assessment.  The conference began with an inspiring keynote given by Dame Evelyn Glennie;  the message I took from this keynote was:  keep exploring new sound worlds;  keep an open mind and listen.