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British Journal of Music Education
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Singing in primary schools: case studies of good practice
in whole class vocal tuition
Alexandra Lamont, Alison Daubney and Gary Spruce
British Journal of Music Education / Volume 29 / Issue 02 / July 2012, pp 251 - 268
DOI: 10.1017/S0265051712000083, Published online: 09 May 2012
Link to this article: http://journals.cambridge.org/abstract_S0265051712000083
How to cite this article:
Alexandra Lamont, Alison Daubney and Gary Spruce (2012). Singing in primary schools: case
studies of good practice in whole class vocal tuition. British Journal of Music Education, 29, pp
251-268 doi:10.1017/S0265051712000083
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B. J. Music Ed. 2012 29:2, 251–268 Copyright
C
Cambridge University Press 2012
doi:10.1017/S0265051712000083 First published online 9 May 2012
Singing in primary schools: case studies of good practice
in whole class vocal tuition
Alexandra Lamont1, Alison Daubney2and Gary Spruce3
1School of Psychology, Keele University, Keele, Staffordshire ST5 5BG, UK
2School of Education and Social Work, University of Sussex, Essex House, Falmer, Brighton BN1 9QN, UK
3Department of Education, Faculty of Education and Language Studies, The Open University, Walton Hall,
Milton Keynes, MK7 6AA, UK
a.m.lamont@keele.ac.uk, A.Daubney@sussex.ac.uk, g.j.spruce@open.ac.uk
Within the context of British initiatives in music education such as the Wider Opportunities
programme in England and the recommendations of the Music Manifesto emphasising
the importance of singing in primary schools, the current paper explores examples of good
practice in whole-class vocal tuition. The research included seven different primary schools
in England and combined observational methods and semi-structured interviews with
musicians, teachers and headteachers. Results indicate a variety of successful approaches to
promoting singing in primary schools. Essential motivators for developing singing include
an enthusiastic staff member, a supportive headteacher and support from other school
staff. Additional motivators include access to musical expertise within and beyond the
school, and a singing leader with keyboard skills. Challenges to good practice centre on
the issue of confidence and skill in singing from both teachers and pupils, individually and
in groups, recognising and rewarding quality in singing, and the sustainability of externally
funded initiatives as pupils move through their schooling and particularly from primary
to secondary school. Good-quality support from specialists and external organisations can
facilitate good practice in schools, but it seems to be important to integrate singing into
children’s wider musical learning and development within the curriculum, in the extended
curriculum and beyond school in order to help sustain a lifelong interest in singing.
Introduction
Singing is found as part of every musical culture, both worldwide (Trehub & Trainor, 1998)
and across history (Falk, 2004; Mithen, 2005), and vocal sound has been argued to be
‘one of the defining features of humanity’ (Welch, 2005, p. 239). In addition to serving
important functions in early social interaction and bonding throughout life (Malloch, 1999;
Powers & Trevarthen, 2008), singing also brings many non-musical benefits to a wide range
of people. For example, studies have highlighted the therapeutic potential of singing for
patients with neurological impairments (Cohen & Masse, 1993) and for the elderly (Wise
et al
., 1992). Singing has also been found to increase levels of trust and cooperation (Anshel
Correspondence to Alexandra Lamont
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Alexandra Lamont, Alison Daubney and Gary Spruce
& Kipper, 1988), to reduce tense arousal and increase energetic arousal, positive hedonic
tone and heart rate (Valentine & Evans, 2001) and to improve psychological well-being
(Clift
et al
., 2010). Historically, vocal music has been valued through its connections to
religious rituals, and singing has been a major component of music education in different
educational contexts across the world for many years for a number of practical and
ideological reasons (Spruce, 2002). Good singing experiences at school are also believed
to be a major component of developing a lifelong interest and involvement in music (Pitts,
2009).
However, in England, a range of negative attitudes and behaviours are shown towards
general curriculum music from both teachers and learners (e.g. Bray, 2000; Harland
et al
.,
2000; Lamont & Maton, 2008). For example, as children move into secondary school many
drop out of instrumental tuition (Sloboda, 2001); around a third of school pupils show no
interest in learning to play musical instruments (Lamont
et al
., 2003); and very few pupils
opt to study music formally when it becomes a curriculum option at age 14 (Bray, 2000;
Bell, 2001). This problem has persisted despite many attempts at the curriculum level to
make music more inclusive, more up-to-date, and more resonant with the kinds of music
that pupils like and listen to outside school, reducing the emphasis on formal tuition,
classical instruments and repertoire (e.g. Green, 2008).
Similarly, while most children sing relatively spontaneously both in pre-school settings
(Temmerman, 2000) and in the school playground (Marsh, 2008), and the inclusion of
music in the various National Curricula in the UK should have provided a central role
for singing and music-making across schooling, evidence suggests that singing is still
a relatively low-status element of school music (Finney, 2000). Children’s singing skills
progress relatively slowly at the start of school (Leighton & Lamont, 2006) and need
appropriate support, modelling, guidance and teaching in order to develop. However,
many primary school class teachers lack confidence in their own singing skills (e.g.
Hennessy, 2000; Seddon & Biasutti, 2008; Neokleous, 2009) and may not be singing
very much with their classes, preferring to rely on recordings or leaving singing for the
playground. In many schools singing has become a selective element of school music
(for example, extracurricular choirs and performances), which can make it an unattractive
activity for children lacking in confidence to volunteer and take part in auditions (Bray,
2009).
At the start of the 21st century, the UK Labour Government made a numberof manifesto
pledges to enable access to music for all (DfES, 2001), and subsequently launched a Music
Manifesto, with the support of prominent musicians and policy makers, to take these
pledges forwards (DfES/DCMS, 2004). While much of this emphasis initially focused on
the opportunities to play a musical instrument through Wider Opportunities (see Davies &
Stephens, 2004; Bamford & Glinkowski, 2010), the second report by the Music Manifesto
group (DfES/DCMS, 2006) prioritised singing as a central and vital musical activity in
school music education. This report was followed by the allocation of £10 million by
the Government to support the development of singing in schools, particularly through a
National Singing Programme ‘Sing Up’ (providing resources and training for supporting
singing), thus illustrating the commitment at national level to promote high-quality singing
in schools and the wider community. The report identified the importance of promoting
high-quality singing, irrespective of genre or tradition; of respecting and valuing children’s
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Singing in primary schools
musical choices, interests and aspirations; and of acknowledging both the role of singing
as a way into participative music-making and the extra-musical benefits that singing could
bring, including enjoyment, the development of language, and the promotion of mental
and physical health (DfES/DCMS, 2006).
In order to achieve this, the report recommended that singing should be put back at
the heart of all primary school musical activity, with group singing opportunities offered
to every primary-age child, the development of singing ‘clusters’, consultation with young
people about their singing interests and preferences, and the training and development
of singing leaders from diverse cultural backgrounds. Resonating with arguments from
ethnomusicology and anthropology, the initial Manifesto Champion Marc Jaffray stated
that singing ‘is the most elemental form of music making’ (DfES/DCMS, 2006, p. 4). One
might suggest that singing also offers a relatively low cost way of engaging children in
music, without the need for expensive instruments or highly specialist tuition (although
the issue of teacher confidence has already been mentioned above). These initiatives,
although well-intended, were based on a lack of evidence about what works in schools
to promote and support singing beyond a rather vague exhortation to strive to develop
‘singing schools’, and what training needs might exist amongst school and specialist staff
to support such ‘singing schools’, set against a context of known lack of confidence in
singing amongst many primary school teachers. As a consequence, Trinity Guildhall and
The Open University convened a consultative conference on the professional development
needs of singing leaders in April 2007 which explored training needs that might arise from
singing integrated into the school curriculum, singing as part of the music curriculum,
and singing beyond the classroom and sometimes beyond the school (Trinity College
London/The Open University, 2007).
The current project grew out of that conference to explore and identify some of the
key features of good practice in school singing at the primary level, to identify limiting
factors, and to consider how good practice could be translated into different educational
settings. The aims of this project were thus to pinpoint a range of contexts in schools in
which children sing and can be enabled to sing in order to provide a greater insight into
the factors that enable and support good practice. While the landscape of music education
in Britain has moved on since these initiatives with a change of government, a review of
music education (Henley, 2011), an ongoing review of the National Curriculum and a new
national music plan (DFE 2011), at the time of writing the present government remains
committed to the notion of music in the curriculum and singing at the heart of this, and
ways to promote this continue to be sought.
Method
The current research comprised a series of case studies in a range of schools which had
different kinds of experiences of and approaches to enhancing and developing singing.
At a policy level the project explored how the strategy recommendations of the Music
Manifesto at a national level were being put into practice in specific local settings. From a
research perspective, the project aimed to uncover examples of good practice and explore
their transferability to different settings.
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Alexandra Lamont, Alison Daubney and Gary Spruce
Participants
The process of selecting examples of good practice started with the potential motivators for
good practice in singing in Key Stage 2 which were identified through discussions at the
Vocal Conference (Trinity College London/The Open University, 2007). These included:
an inspirational head teacher; a specialist on the school staff; access to CPD for staff;
input from visiting specialists on a short or longer-term basis; involvement with a singing
network; and the opportunity for enhancing singing through the Wider Opportunities
initiative.
With input from vocal leaders, music service singing specialists, and other contacts
in music education, a shortlist of schools with one or more of these features was drawn
up, and a balance of criteria was established across the study schools (see Table 1). Head
teachers were invited to participate, and every head teacher contacted gave their consent
for the research to be conducted as a way of recognising the good practice they had
developed. Names of schools, teachers and other individuals have been changed for
reasons of confidentiality.
Measures
Visits were made to each school by a member of the research team between October and
December 2007, and where possible singing activities were observed in different settings.
An observation template was drawn up covering the classroom layout, teachers, learning
outcomes, observed activities, feedback, behaviour management, and any other notable
features. In addition, semi-structured interviews were conducted with head teachers, class
teachers, music specialists, visiting specialists, pupils and parents (in as many contexts
as possible) covering the ways in which singing took place in the school, issues of access
and inclusion, repertoire, teaching styles and integration with other school activities. In line
with the national initiatives focusing on Key Stage 2 the research centred on the experiences
of Key Stage 2 pupils (aged 7 to 11), although in some relevant cases data are presented
relating to other Key Stages.
Analytic strategy
All interviews, singing activities and other observations were transcribed and analysed
using thematic analysis (Richards, 2006). This aimed to uncover the motivations behind
the singing initiatives in these school settings, enabling factors and challenges, and
to explore the experiences of and attitudes towards singing from teachers, pupils and
parents.
Results
In the first section we consider the original contexts of singing across the curriculum,
in the music lesson, and beyond the classroom in relation to the case studies and
analyse how far different models of good practice might be applied to different school
settings.
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Tabl e 1
Participating schools (see Appendix)
School
pseudonym School characteristics
Singing focus/ reasons for
selection
Red School Medium-sized Church of England
urban first school, small proportions
of ethnic minorities and English as an
Additional Language; very low
proportion entitled to free school
meals. Ofsted rated 1 (2006)
Linked to national singing
initiative provider
Orange School Small rural non-denominational first
school; low proportion of ethnic
minorities; very low proportion of
English as an Additional Language.
Ofsted rated 1 (2008)
Linked to national singing
initiative provider
Yellow School Small rural Church of England primary
school; mainly White British pupils
from favourable socio-economic
backgrounds. Ofsted rated 2 (2008)
Visiting singing specialist as
part of Wider
Opportunities
Green School Very large non-denominational urban
primary school; high percentage of
ethnic minorities and English as an
Additional Language. Ofsted rated 2
(2007)
Part of music service
singing initiative
Blue School Very large urban primary school, very
high proportion of ethnic minorities;
high proportion of English as an
Additional Language pupils; very
high proportion entitled to free
school meals. Ofsted rated 3 (2008)
Involved in extra-curricular
music and arts project
with local education
authority and music
festival
Indigo School Very small rural Church of England
primary school; very low proportion
of free school meals; no pupils with
English as an Additional Language.
Ofsted rated 2 (2007)
Inspirational head teacher;
links with local cathedral
Violet School Very large Roman Catholic primary
school; mixed social and ethnic
backgrounds; average proportions of
pupils with English as an Additional
Language. Ofsted rated 1 (2007)
Vocal specialist on school
staff
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Alexandra Lamont, Alison Daubney and Gary Spruce
Singing across the school curriculum
Four of the seven schools could be clearly characterised as ‘singing schools’, as singing was
fully integrated into all aspects of the school day (Red, Orange, Green and Indigo Schools).
It might be assumed that this approach would work best in a context where all staff were
actively engaged in teaching National Curriculum music to their classes, as they would be
aware of their pupils’ skills and motivations in singing and able to integrate these with other
curriculum subjects. However, two of these schools (Red, Green) had a specialist teaching
all National Curriculum music (including singing), while class teachers only used singing in
other curriculum subjects and to accompany school routines like taking the register. As Year
4 pupils at Red School explained, ‘Sometimes when we’re working in class, we listen, we
listen to a few songs, practising, whilst practising, whilst we’re doing our work, we listen to
the songs and then we can sing along’. In the other two schools (Orange and Indigo), class
teachers delivered singing in music lessons supported by the music coordinator. Music was
used in a range of other curriculum subjects including French, Spanish, history, maths and
science in all these schools, as well as for topic-based classroom activities (such as The
Aborigines or The Tudors). At Indigo School, one year 6 pupil told us about how music
fitted into their class project:
... in the Aborigines we had to write an Aborigine song about how it must have felt
with the stolen generation, when erm, we were being taken away from our families,
and we had to write a song about how we felt and then we performed them to our
parents.
Commonly these topics were done in class, but occasionally the entire school might be
involved in a project which included singing (e.g. a County Murals project at Indigo with
other primary schools).
The four faith schools studied here (three Church of England: Red, Yellow and Indigo,
and one Roman Catholic: Violet) included hymn singing in daily assembly and in class at
other times of the school day, and all organised dedicated time to hymn practice, and one
other school (Orange) also had a more traditional assembly with hymns and hymn practice.
In the non-faith schools, special ‘singing assemblies’, held on a weekly basis, gave the
children additional opportunities to sing together (organised by Key Stage at Green School).
Finally pupils were involved in a wide range of school productions, including
traditional Christmas concerts and theatre productions (across all schools observed) as
well as more specialised and innovative experiences such as opera projects (Indigo and
Violet Schools). In addition to the opportunities offered to all pupils, every school observed
had at least one choir which operated on a voluntary basis. The choir was often centrally
involved in school productions and concerts, as well as in opportunities to sing outside the
school (see further below).
Singing across the school curriculum, when done effectively, was observed to be a
way of making singing part of the fabric of school life. This kind of singing did not require
high levels of technical skill or complex learning objectives, but could make a noticeable
difference to the school culture. As the class teacher at Yellow School noted, ‘it doesn’t
matter to them whether they’re good singers or not, they’ll all have a go’. This kind of
cross-curricular singing can thus help to develop singing as a normal activity in school
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Singing in primary schools
that everyone simply takes part in, and one which fosters inclusion: the same teacher also
noted ‘there are one or two droners in, no-one is ever excluded’.
Singing in the ‘music lesson’
The music lesson provides the potential to enrich the basic entitlement to singing and
places singing in a wider musical context. In terms of vocal skills, there was some very
good work observed to be taking place in terms of use of the voice, vocal health and good
vocal techniques (especially when singing specialists were involved, such as at Yellow
and Violet Schools, or the input from the national singing initiative provider at Red and
Orange Schools). Warm-ups featured in all the singing observed. In many schools the pupils
recognised how the voice works and were aware of the parts of the body involved in singing
(one Reception class even demonstrated understanding of the location and function of the
diaphragm). They also showed their understanding of sophisticated vocal concepts such as
aspirate singing (Yellow School) and other elements of vocal technique, as demonstrated
by a group of Year 5 pupils at Green School who sang for us:
You’ve got to put the tongue on the teeth and the lips, and making each word as clear
as can be, the tip of the tongue, the teeth and the lips, and they come together as you
can see.
There was also much good teaching and learning of vocal expression and communication.
For example, at Yellow School, the pupils informed us that to sing, ‘you have to use your
eyebrows, [Visiting Specialist] says that’s what they’re there for’. Finally, in some instances
pupils were involved in leading others in singing (Yellow School) or in considering how
singing could be explained to other groups of pupils (Violet School).
However, there was a potential dislocation between what happened in ‘singing’ and
what happened in ‘curriculum music’. When singing was delivered by a visiting specialist,
efforts had to be made to link this with the curriculum music delivered by class teachers
(e.g. class teachers following up on notation and terminology covered in the singing lessons
at Yellow School). Some of the singing experiences observed were focused exclusively on
preparing pupils for performances, although this might not be an accurate reflection of
how singing would link to curriculum music more generally throughout the year. When
singing was taught alongside curriculum music, in many instances it was integrated into the
activities (e.g. singing within a composition activity at Indigo School). However, sometimes
singing was separated structurally from the rest of the music lesson (e.g. Green School,
where the first 15 minutes or so of every music lesson was dedicated to singing followed
by the rest of the lesson devoted to other musical activities). In some cases singing was very
effectively linked to other areas of musical understanding such as structure, terminology
and notation (e.g. Green, Violet Schools), although in general most songs were taught
by rote rather than reading notation (supported by displaying words on an overhead
projector or whiteboard), fitting with the philosophy of sound before symbol (Odam, 1995)
and providing an accessible foundation as preparation for developing a more technical
understanding of the elements of music.
Singing in the music lesson was thus focused on acquiring singing skill, using principles
of good vocal health, and as a way of developing musical understanding. It could support
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the teaching of National Curriculum music in a range of ways (performing, composing,
evaluating, communicating). In many cases, input from specialist singers and musicians was
useful in developing high-quality singing and in linking singing to music more generally.
Singing beyond the classroom
In the schools studied, there was a wide diversity of locations at which pupils sang beyond
the classroom. This included singing activities and opportunities for choirs, concerts and
other performances both at school but outside curriculum time and beyond the school
setting. These were either inclusive (offered to all classes or all pupils) or optional (e.g.
school choirs).
Learning songs for school plays and performances were one of the major highlights
from the pupils’ perspective. Although children at this age tend not to verbalise a great
deal about emotions and enthusiasm, evidence for this can be gleaned from the way
they communicate about special performances. Across all schools pupils talk a lot about
the songs they are learning, and in many interviews sing snippets for the researcher, as
illustrated by this group of Year 2 pupils in Violet School:
Kyle: Singing’s really fun.
Interviewer: Is it?
Sophie: Yeah, you get, it’s just like talking, but you move your voice up and down.
Kyle: And there’s a new song, it’s [
starts singing
]
Interviewer: Do you do some acting when you do your singing?
Sophie: Yeah, we like, like a song, yeah, that goes, you know ‘on the bumpy journey’
one, we go [
Sophie starts singing, other two join in
]: ‘on a bumpy journey, and we’re
leaving early cause Beth-le-hem and so far away.’
Sophie: and then it’s [
continues singing by herself
]: ‘take it nice and steady, and the
bags are heavy’, that sort of stuff.
This enthusiasm is also demonstrated by the children’s willingness to volunteer for singing
opportunities such as solos: at Yellow School in one class we observed over 20 children
putting themselves forwards to audition to sing a solo in the forthcoming Christmas concert.
In most schools there were opportunities for all children to sing outside the school, but
some schools with less experience of singing were concentrating these opportunities for
the time being on those pupils who had opted for the choir (e.g. Blue School). The staff and
parents’ choirs at Red and Orange Schools provided a structured opportunity for children
to sing with adults. The music coordinator at Orange School had chosen to teach the same
repertoire to all three choirs (pupils, parents and staff) to create opportunities for them to
sing together, and parents and teachers spoke positively about the benefits of learning the
same repertoire as the pupils.
As well as school concerts and shows, and church singing (especially for the church
schools), pupils had the opportunity to sing at large concerts in major performance venues
(including large arenas, concert halls and cathedrals). Singing also took place in old people’s
homes (Orange School) and hospices (Violet School), at railway stations raising money
for charity (Orange School), in a garden centre (Yellow School) and a shopping centre
(Violet School), in caves (Indigo School), on television (Yellow School) and in a village fete
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procession (Red School). Some children were also involved in competitive singing festivals
(Violet School entered a musicals competition and a competition for Songs of Praise;
Red School regularly entered a local singing festival). The opportunities to be involved in
such events were valued by all those concerned. The pupils had vivid memories of the
arrangements around visits outside school. For example, pupils from Yellow School told us
about their forthcoming out-of-school trips:
Georgia: Yeah we go to [Yellow] Garden Centre tonight, we go on TV a week on
Thursday.
Lucas: Yeah we have to get up at, erm ...
Georgia: [
interrupts, laughing
] We have to be at school for ten to six.
Luke: At least you get a bacon butty though.
This detail of the unusual experiences surrounding singing excursions illustrates the lasting
impact that such events can have.
Singing outside the school was seen as very valuable, and pupils, parents and staff
were enthusiastic about this. Schools could make links with other schools (primary
and secondary) and with the wider community (village, church, city), and use these
opportunities to showcase their good singing to a wider audience.
Enabling factors for good practice in singing
In this section we consider the factors that helped get singing initiatives off the ground in
our case studies. All the schools were following the Government guidance as first set out
by the National Curriculum and later emphasised by the second Music Manifesto report to
include singing in the school. However, some had additional motivators, including using
singing as a way to develop musical achievement or teaching in the school (Blue School)
or non-musical motivators including enhancing a sense of community within the school
(Orange School) and developing links with the wider community (Yellow School). Three
common essential factors for supporting singing initiatives have been identified, in addition
to two beneficial factors, from the cases observed.
From our observations of the singing activities that took place in school, and from
discussions with pupils, it is clear that in order for music making to be rewarding an
inspirational and enthusiastic leader is required. Many of the external singing leaders
could be seen to fulfil this role from the children’s perspective, as pupils from Green School
described a visiting local authority singing leader as ‘hyper’, and the visiting animateur at
Yellow School was observed to have almost cult status, with pupils noting that they were
‘really lucky because we’ve got her’. However, for the singing school to really become
established, the first essential factor was the presence of a committed and enthusiastic
individual to drive the singing agenda forward
within
the school. In all cases observed, the
singing initiatives could be traced to at least one or less rarely more than one staff member
at the school, who provided an initial stimulus to engage with a particular activity.
For this to work, you’ve got to have a teacher in school that will push it on, and have
that genuine love of wanting to keep the singing going in school. It doesn’t have to be
someone who’s fabulous at singing, it just has to be somebody who wants it to happen.
(Head, Orange School)
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Alexandra Lamont, Alison Daubney and Gary Spruce
This stimulus might be the individual working alone to develop singing, or motivating
and inspiring other staff to engage in singing, or seeking external support from schemes
offered by specialist organisations. Although there were a range of existing programmes
available and offered by specialist organisations, a committed individual within the school
was necessary. For example, in the case of the arts festival education project which Blue
School were involved with, applications were selected by the organisers on the basis of
the need to have a supportive individual within the school.
In addition, the support of the head teacher was found to be vital in getting initiatives
started. Every head teacher expressed their firm support for the singing initiatives, even
if they had little day-to-day involvement with them, and in two cases the head was
implementing the initiatives personally (Red and Indigo Schools). Moreover, gaining
support from other staff beyond the inspirational individual and the head was also essential
in enabling initiatives to be accepted in the first instance (e.g. to reorganise the timetable,
to engage with continuing professional development for singing, or to introduce singing
into other areas of the curriculum and the school day).
In addition to these essential factors, it seemed to be beneficial for there to be a level
of musical skill amongst the staff. Each school studied had at least one member of staff
with some musical experience, which ranged from music coordinators with confidence in
teaching singing and music but without keyboard skills (e.g. Blue, Red Schools) through
to very experienced staff with teaching qualifications in music (e.g. the head teacher at
Yellow School had a music degree; the music coordinator at Green School was a former
secondary music teacher). Having someone who could play the piano (whether within
the school or a visiting specialist) was felt by many to be important, with a perception
voiced by some teachers that singing with a piano ‘lifted’ the quality of the experience and
could also result in better quality performances. However, some schools without access
to a keyboard player did not see this as a limitation (e.g. Red School), and some schools
had sought external help from specialists in terms of repertoire and teaching strategies to
develop their confidence to overcome this perceived problem (e.g. music coordinator, Blue
School).
External organisations were also able to help stimulate singing activities within school
in a number of our case studies. This was in the form of: providing specialist input directly
in to the school for the staff (staff choirs) and the pupils (Red and Orange Schools); providing
CPD programmes for teachers outside school (e.g. the Royal Opera House Write an Opera
project, which both Indigo & Violet Schools had participated in; CPD provided by two
music services); and providing indirect support in terms of repertoire, teaching materials
and access to community artists (Green and Blue Schools).
Challenges and sustainability
Many of the initiatives observed were relatively new, and as such the emphasis in much
of the discourse from staff was on the processes of initiating the projects and generating
enthusiasm for singing, rather than on how to sustain singing in the schools into the future.
However there were some emerging themes in relation to sustainability which can be used
to identify what might be necessary to maintain and develop singing initiatives into the
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future, both within the schools studied and across the transition into secondary school.
Some obvious challenges also emerged through discussions and observations.
The first essential item is resourcing of the initiatives themselves. Continued funding of
external schemes such as Wider Opportunities was felt to be vital to ensure continuity in
the contexts which were heavily dependent on specialists funded through these schemes
(e.g. Yellow and Violet Schools). Put simply, without continued funding the experts could
no longer be involved with the school and it was feared the singing initiatives might halt
entirely. This issue emerged explicitly at Indigo School in relation to their link with the
local cathedral, which had been part of the reason for selecting the school for the present
study but had ceased due to lack of funding (although links with cathedral schools have
been formalised through Sing Up). As the head teacher explained to us,
Head: It was really, you know, it was a worthwhile experience for them.
Interviewer: And is it something that can continue or has continued?
Head: It hasn’t continued, the funding has moved on. I think the problem is in so many
different funding strands the government gives funding for something and then takes it
away, and it, it gets assigned or reassigned to something else.
In situations where specialists (internal or external) were currently taking the lead in
developing singing, the importance of developing singing skills amongst the non-specialists
was strongly emphasised, through the provision of adequate and appropriate CPD
opportunities, in order to sustain the momentum of singing in the school. As indicated
above, each successful singing context observed here had at least one staff member
with some musical expertise, and in every context singing initiatives were focusing on
developing musical skill and confidence in singing amongst staff as well as pupils. The
relationship between the visiting specialists or staff member(s) with appropriate expertise
and the class teachers was also a problematic issue, and the need to develop expertise was
emphasised, as shown in these two quotes from the same school:
There could be a tendency, I think, maybe for some of us as teachers to think, ‘well,
because we’ve got a music specialist, you know, we kind of don’t need to worry too
much about the singing’, but I think it would be really good if teachers generally had the
confidence, I mean, mainly it’s confidence really, but also then just some understanding
of how the voice works, so they can develop that with their own children themselves.
(Year 4 teacher, Violet School)
Sometimes you can walk past and there’s some singing going on, but they’d never
tell me that! But that’s their business with their class, isn’t it? (Music specialist, Violet
School)
The notion of buying in expertise from outside was seen as a powerful motivator for
getting singing initiatives started, but one which also posed a problem for sustainability.
People that are good practitioners from [national singing initiative provider], they’ve
got it all in their heads, you know, they come in, they do these fabulous things,
and the teachers love it, but when they’ve gone, we don’t have, the ones that aren’t
particularly musical, don’t have that musical memory, you know, and they can’t recall
it well enough to teach it to the kids. (Head teacher, Orange School).
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In more isolated communities, the school itself could play an influential role in
supporting children’s singing (e.g. Indigo School), but the opportunity to come together
with other schools and sing in large massed concerts seemed to be particularly valuable.
Sometimes external organisations were seen to facilitate networking on this scale, such as
national singing initiative providers or music services, and sometimes schools had built the
networks themselves (e.g. Green School’s involvement with the schools Network Choir in
their local area). A final beneficial factor in terms of guaranteeing sustainability was the
establishment of links through singing with related secondary schools, which had already
happened in two of the case study schools. Violet School had established a joint year
6/year 7 choir, while Blue School had developed links with their secondary school with the
assistance of the local schools network, which included a secondary school and its feeder
primary schools. A further school (Green) was aiming to develop links with its related
secondary school in the near future. Such links were seen by those involved as highly
beneficial in helping to sustain pupils’ motivations for singing as they moved to secondary
school, at a point in their schooling where interests and motivations for music can be
particularly fragile.
A final challenge relates to the notion of recognising and rewarding quality in singing
from both individuals and groups. In the singing activities observed, the singing leaders
consistently applied verbal praise and encouragement to reward good-quality singing
in group settings, and in many contexts pupils volunteered and were selected for solos
or duets, thereby giving indicators to the other pupils of what was valued. In some
contexts, innovative reward schemes had been devised. For example, good singing in
singing assemblies at Green School was rewarded by picking children out to sit on the
bench, and chance cards were distributed to reward achievement in class. At Red School
children were involved in assessing their peers in music. However, when visiting specialists
delivered singing, this could create challenges for addressing individual progress within a
group session which was always time-limited. For example, the visiting specialist at Yellow
School spoke about being aware of some of the children’s individual limitations in the class
but not being able to address this herself within the hour-a-week singing lesson.
Discussion
The case studies reported here have enabled some essential and beneficial factors for
developing singing in primary schools to be identified, and challenges to the sustainability
of such endeavours to be considered. The results show that singing is a musical activity
which
all
children can join in with, and which all staff can develop the confidence to
support and lead (cf. Welch, 2001, 2005). Singing can become an integral part of the
school day or can be an activity undertaken primarily in specialist lesson time. Every type
of singing can be enjoyable and rewarding for all involved. The examples of good practice
observed in the case studies have shown a diversity of ways of implementing the national
strategy of singing in primary schools. In every case, the enthusiasm and motivation of one
key individual in the school has been vital to the success of the initiative. Support from
other colleagues is also important, as is the contribution of someone (either in or outside the
school) with some expertise in singing and in music. In every case singing has been seen
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Singing in primary schools
to be enhanced by these steps, and although many projects were relatively new, schools
were seen to be planning for the future to ensure they build on these.
The essential enabling factors identified above (at least one committed individual
within the school, supportive staff, and access to musical expertise within and beyond the
school) were found in every context observed here where singing has been successfully
promoted and sustained. Other factors are also likely to contribute to the status of
singing in a school, such as access to good-quality resources such as CDs, song books,
online materials, and opportunities to sing with others. In particular, it is probably not a
coincidence that many of the schools identified as demonstrating good practice by vocal
leaders were Christian faith schools which provided ready-made opportunities to sing at
different points in the school day and in different settings other than school (such as links
with local churches). High levels of concentration and good class behaviour in singing
were not only observed in those settings which were higher in socio-economic status,
although it seems likely that introducing initiatives which can benefit from support from
parents would be easier in situations where parental support for school activities is already
well established. Successful singing practice in schools is not a result of any one factor but
rather this combination of factors which, with planning and appropriate resourcing, can be
replicated in different settings. The current results chime with preliminary evaluation of the
Sing Up programme conducted over the same timespan (Welch
et al
., 2008) which shows
that enhancing children’s singing opportunities leads to improvements in both singing
behaviour and attitudes towards singing. It also relates to the finding from this evaluation
that differences in children’s abilities and interests in singing between schools are largely
linked to school leadership decisions on the importance of singing in school.
The practical implications of the research both relate specifically to singing and also
apply more generally to supporting classroom music or any other realms of curriculum and
extra-curricular activity where staff and pupils lack confidence and skills (cf. Hennessy,
2000; Seddon & Biasutti, 2008). The first main implication is that while buying in external
specialists is one way of providing a new impetus to engage in a new activity, the longer-
term success of any scheme that depends on external expertise can only be guaranteed if
there is appropriate time and resource for confidence and skills to be developed amongst
the class teachers as well as the pupils (cf. Davies & Stephens, 2004). In particular it is
important that external specialists do not ‘deskill’ existing school staff, who with a minimal
amount of training in principles of good vocal health are all able to teach singing and to
include singing in their daily school activities. If class teachers are confident in singing
themselves, they will find it easier to integrate singing into school routines, to provide
effective role models for their pupils, to introduce singing into other curriculum areas, and
to teach singing as part of National Curriculum music (cf. Hennessy, 2000). In addition,
through learning about their own singing voices, teachers will also gain understanding of
how the voice works and principles of good vocal health which need to be part of any
singing initiative in schools. This needs to be added to with understanding of the specifics
of children’s voices (especially in relation to vocal range and suitable repertoire but also in
terms of ways of promoting good vocal health for children).
Making singing happen is the first necessary step; making good singing happen can take
longer. As well as motivation to sing, an understanding of teaching singing is also required
for class teachers. This includes access to specialist support and training in teaching vocal
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Alexandra Lamont, Alison Daubney and Gary Spruce
technique, ways of teaching a song, making singing part of an integrated music curriciulum,
knowledge of singing in a wider musical context and so on. The ability to recognise
and reward quality in children’s singing and understanding how to develop singing in
individuals as well as groups is also important. Support for teachers in schools is also vital.
Teachers need to know where to find good repertoire and how to adapt songs to their own
purposes, and to be able to access high-quality CPD opportunities to develop their own
skills and their teaching skills in singing. These seem to be most effective when teachers
are involved first hand or teams are created to support each other in developing singing
pedagogy. Music coordinators and visiting specialists can be important in facilitating this,
but access to external organisations is also beneficial for boosting confidence, especially if
long-term sustainable relationships can be developed.
Finally, providing a suitably broad range of opportunities for all children to sing outside
school, as a school and with others, seems to be vital in encouraging singing not only while
pupils are at primary school but to ensure continued motivation for singing into secondary
school and beyond. Such opportunities can help to establish good singing links between
secondary schools and their linked primaries so that the momentum gained through high-
quality experiences in Key Stage 2 is not lost as pupils move into Key Stage 3, as often
happens with extra-curricular instrumental lessons (Sloboda, 2001).
The research described here has certain minor limitations. Due to the nature of the
project, the research team had contact only with the children who were involved in singing
(e.g. participating in Wider Opportunities, singing in the school choir, or benefiting from
a whole-school approach to singing). However it is possible that the ways in which these
initiatives are implemented may leave some pupils feeling that they have been left out
and not given a chance to benefit, and future research will need to consider this carefully.
Furthermore, our observations were based only on single visits to the schools concerned
(with advance consultation and negotiation with the schools to help select as representative
an occasion as possible), and more sustained research which adopts a more ethnographic
approach to understanding singing schools may shed further light on the issues raised here.
Finally, the examples studied were all of schools where singing was known to be of a
high quality and where motivation for singing was high. Future research should encompass
situations where the conditions may be favourable but the schools, for whatever reasons,
may not have fully benefited from these conditions, although it should be borne in mind
that gaining access to schools to study music because it is not working presents substantial
challenges to researchers.
In summary, the initiatives dedicated to supporting singing at Key Stage 2 (DfES/DCMS,
2006) have been shown to have had considerable impact in a range of different settings.
Some of these have been targeted more at motivating schools to consider singing as
important, while others have been focused on developing sustainable singing experiences
that help give both pupils and staff more skills and confidence in singing. For any
initiative to have long-term potential, it needs to be coherently embedded into the
structure of the school. Visiting specialists can play an important role when their remit
is carefully considered as a means of developing skills and experiences, but the support
and engagement of the whole school staff is necessary to sustain such input over longer time
periods. Building on the singing and musical expertise already in schools and developing
less-confident class teachers’ skills in singing is essential to ensure high-quality singing
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Singing in primary schools
experiences for pupils, which may help put singing back at the centre of the school and at
the heart of the music lesson.
Acknowledgements
Thanks are due to Rebecca Hale for assistance with transcription and to all the singing
leaders, staff and pupils who helped with the research.
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Appendix. Case study details
Red Church of England First School
This urban first school has been involved in Creative Partnerships since 2005, and has a
number of initiatives around singing including a staff choir organised by the local music
service as part of a local initiative on singing. Singing and curriculum music are taught by
the head teacher, supported by a music coordinator, and class teachers regularly use singing
as part of other curriculum subjects. Pupils also sing in assemblies and school productions,
and participate in festivals and charity events. The voluntary but popular staff choir was
introduced in 2007 by the head with the primary goals of developing staff confidence and
enthusiasm for singing.
Orange First School
This small rural first school has been involved with projects run by the local music service
as well as Creative Partnerships for around four years (initiated by the music coordinator).
In 2006–7 the music service supported singing through a project involving weekly visits to
the school to support teachers and pupils, and pupils were involved in performances with
other schools. As well as the pupil choir there is a staff choir and parents’ choir, with much
sharing of repertoire and opportunities to perform. Singing in music and other curriculum
subjects is taught by class teachers and their confidence has been dramatically improved
by the compulsory staff choir
Yellow Church of England Primary School
This small rural church school has been involved in the Vocal Strategy as part of the Wider
Opportunities initiative since September 2006. A visiting specialist teaches singing in years
5–6 for an hour a week, with follow-ups from class teachers. The current head teacher
has a music degree and takes an active role in supporting music, singing and choirs in the
school. The school has two choirs who perform within and outside the school on a regular
basis, and enthusiasm for singing is very high amongst pupils. In addition, pupils show high
levels of concentration, good behaviour, good vocal health and technical skill in singing.
The vocal programme was rated as outstanding by Ofsted in 2007.
Green Primary School
This large urban school is part of a local education authority singing initiative, and the
music service provides considerable support (materials for teaching and CPD opportunities
for teachers). Music and the arts have been strong within the school for some time and
it has an Artsmark gold award. The current music specialist is a former secondary music
teacher and there has been a tradition of having another staff member with some musical
expertise. Singing is used throughout the curriculum and helps to develop language skills
and confidence in the high proportion of English as an Additional Language pupils. Singing
beyond the classroom includes singing assemblies, school productions and musical events,
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Alexandra Lamont, Alison Daubney and Gary Spruce
and links with the local girls’ high school and collective singing with other schools in the
local education authority. Singing is valued by pupils, teachers and parents, and although
very inclusive in nature, high levels of achievement in singing from individuals are publicly
rewarded. Pupils also show good levels of understanding of music literacy and technical
terms in relation to singing, showing how it supports the music curriculum.
Blue Primary School
This inner city school with a high proportion of English as an Additional Language and
special needs pupils had no music 2 years ago. The head teacher introduced a series
of new initiatives in conjunction with a local arts festival project, and appointed a music
coordinator in 2006 who has developed a successful pupil choir (the arts project is currently
centred on the choir). These initiatives have generated enthusiasm from pupils, as well as
improving motivation, behaviour and self-esteem.
Indigo Church of England Primary School
This small rural school has a very strong singing school culture. The head teacher, Mr Plum,
is instrumental in supporting singing and music across the school, supported by a music
specialist. Singing has a central role in all the school’s daily routines and activities, and is
used in the music curriculum (delivered by class teachers), in other curriculum areas and
to support project work. Links with external organisations have helped promote particular
singing-related activities (e.g. former link with local cathedral, ongoing projects with an
opera house, and support from the local secondary school which is a music specialist
college). The school has a reputation in the local community for encouraging high-quality
singing and enthusiasm and motivation in singing is seen from pupils and staff. In a recent
Ofsted inspection the school was awarded a Grade 1 for its creative curriculum.
Violet Roman Catholic Primary School
This large Roman Catholic school has, for the last 3 years, employed a full-time music
specialist to teach music and support singing across the school. There are close links with
musical activities at the linked Catholic high school, including a joint choir for year 6 and 7.
Singing plays an important role in the faith elements of the school (hymn practice, religious
services) as well as other kinds of school activities, such as a popular school choir which
is involved in festivals and competitions. There are also links with external organisations
(e.g. opera house creativity project for training staff). Innovative ways of rewarding quality
in singing are seen, as well as high levels of motivation for singing amongst pupils.
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