Music Education Research Bank

We are dedicated to using music to increase the aspirations, confidence and achievement of children.

We are committed to ensuring that all young people have access to a wide range of cultural and artistic experiences. In addition to the richness this adds to their lives and the enjoyment that confidence in accessing the arts will bring them in adulthood, we believe it also unlocks their creativity. Creativity brings with it the ability to question, make connections, innovate, problem solve, communicate, collaborate and to reflect critically in a cost effective way. Creative approaches allows your pupils to question, explore and challenge ideas. These are the skills that are demanded by today’s employers.

Engagement with culture helps them to develop a sense of group identity and togetherness, developing your pupils’ confidence and self esteem. Engagement with culture can influence your pupils’ development in and out of school by fostering their personal development and maturity, creating a sense of achievement and self-worth.

Above all, creative learning empowers young people to imagine how the world could be different and gives them the confidence and motivation to make positive change happen.  Creative approaches to learning can help raise your school standards supporting your pupils to reflect on and evaluate their learning

National Plan for Music Education - The Importance of Music (November 2011)

The government's first National Plan for Music Education published in November 2011 by the Department for Education and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

High quality music education enables lifelong participation in, and enjoyment of, music, as well as underpinning excellence and professionalism for those who choose not to pursue a career in music.

Children from all backgrounds and every part of England should have the opportunity to learn a musical instrument; to make music with others; to learn to sing; and to have the opportunity to progress to the next level of excellence.

This publication outlines the aims of the National Plan for Music Education and how the initiatives set out by the plan will impact schools, LAs and private music teachers.

https://www.education.gov.uk/publications/standard/publicationDetail/Page1/DFE-00086-2011

Music Education in England - A Review by Darren Henley for the Department for Education and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Many children in England benefit from excellent music teaching from excellent teachers. In some parts of the country, the opportunities for children to take part in musical activities are immense. However, some children in England do not currently receive an adequate, let alone good, Music Education.

This Review lays down recommendations for minimum expectations of what any child going through the English school system should receive in terms of an education in music.

It also outlines a national plan, which describes the expectations of how Music Education should develop over the coming years - this section of recommendations is designed to ensure that patchiness is replaced by consistency, so that children are able to enjoy the same level of Music Education, no matter where in England they happen to live.

https://www.education.gov.uk/publications/standard/publicationDetail/Page1/DFE-00011-2011

Wow it's Music Next-Impact Report on KS2 Wider Opportunities

This research report, written by Professor Anne Bamford and Paul Glinkowski, tells us very clearly about the impact of the programme – how, at its best, it can transform the lives of children, giving them a sense of pride and achievement, whilst providing them with a real opportunity to learn an instrument in a large group.  This programme is about giving a child the opportunity, indeed the entitlement, to learn an instrument for a year – free of charge – and then giving them the choice of whether to continue or not.

http://www.thefms.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/fms-impact-evaluation-one-page-version.pdf

The Power of Music: its impact on the intellectual, social and personal development of children and young people

Recent advances in the study of the brain have enhanced our understanding of the way that active engagement with music may influence other activities. The cerebral cortex selforganises as we engage with different musical activities, skills in these areas may then transfer to other activities if the processes involved are similar. Some skills transfer automatically without our conscious awareness, others require reflection on how they might be utilised in a new situation.

http://www.n-somerset.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/810EED4E-4BBA-45EF-9F9C-ED4530088ED5/0/Powerofmusic.pdf

Sing Up Evaluation Reports

Sing Up 2007-2011 was the Music Manifesto National Singing Programme, led by Youth Music, with AMV-BBDO, Faber Music and The Sage Gateshead, supported by Government. It aimed to raise the status of singing and increase opportunities for school children throughout the country to enjoy singing as part of their everyday lives, and to support all primary schools to become ‘singing schools’.

Sing Up commissioned the Centre for Use of Research & Evidence in Education (CUREE) to undertake an external evaluation of the whole programme.

http://www.singup.org/magazine/magazine-article/view/268-sing-up-an-overview-2007-2011-research-and-evaluation/

Find your talent summary evaluation report

The Find Your Talent (FYT) programme commenced with an announcement of a pilot of a cultural offer to all children and young people in England in The Children’s Plan comprising an entitlement to five hours per week of high-quality cultural experiences. The intention was to help ensure children and young people stay on the path to success by participating in positive activities and experiences which develop their talents.

This report provides an overview of the main findings of the FYT programme evaluation. The aim of the evaluation was to assess the impact of the programme in the ten pathfinder areas between 2008 and 2011, and to construct the evidence base for future investment based on different starting points for different delivery models in different places.

http://www.sqw.co.uk/file_download/330

Learning: creative approaches that raise standards, OFSTED Report, 2010

This survey evaluates and illustrates how 44 schools used creative approaches to learning. These schools had aspirations for their pupils to ask questions independently, make connections between ideas, think creatively, challenge and participate effectively, and reflect on their learning. The report also evaluates the impact on pupils’ achievement and personal development. All the schools selected for the survey had been judged good or outstanding in their most recent inspection in terms of their pupils’ enjoyment of learning, their preparation for future economic well-being and the curriculum.

http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/node/2405

Motivating young people through music: Sound It Out Community Music – OFSTED Case Study November 2011

Sound It Out’s ‘Initi8’ project demonstrates how music can be a powerful force in inspiring young people, motivating them, building their self-esteem and helping them to progress through involvement in music projects, either as a participant or through working as a volunteer.

http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/resources/motivating-young-people-through-music-sound-it-out-community-music