Road to Recovery

How can music help our pupils move on from the pandemic?

Dr Liz Stafford is editor of Primary Music Magazine and director of Music Education Solutions.

There has been a lot of noise this academic year about ‘lost learning.’ Early studies of the pandemic’s impact in England have shown that the average child was about 2 months ‘behind’ where they should be by Christmas 2020. The latest school closures in England, currently due to end on 8th March, will almost certainly have added to this, and there is likely to be renewed pressure to focus on the ‘core’ subjects when schools return. However, before we take a knee-jerk reaction into cramming our timetables with extra English and Maths, perhaps we need to take a step back and consider a few things.

Firstly, and rather philosophically, if all our children are ‘behind’ en masse, then surely that means none of them are on target, or ahead? Which means that no-one is ‘behind’ anyone? What learners are ‘behind’ is the curriculum, in that they have not covered the content they would ordinarily have done by this point in time. And the curriculum can be re-written to compensate for this. So what if this year’s curriculum looks different from last years? A curriculum should be a fluid, living document, that changes frequently to reflect new developments.

Secondly, is it really the core skills of English and Maths that need attention? Presumably these subjects are the ones that schools have been focusing most on due to their status as ‘core’ content. Surely it is the ‘noncore’ subjects, and particularly the practical subjects like music, which have suffered most from the switch to remote learning? Shouldn’t we be doing more of these when we return, not less?

Thirdly, is lost learning our biggest concern for this generation of children? As the mother of an only child, my main worry for my daughter during the pandemic has been her isolation from other children when school is closed. I have seen how it has affected her confidence, her social skills, and her mental wellbeing. This has been brought into sharp focus during the current lockdown, because my status has changed, and she has been able to go to school two days a week while I am teaching. On the days she has been in school she is positively fizzing with energy, and like a completely different child.

Clearly on our return to school we cannot just let children play with each other all day to make up for lost socialisation time! But we can create opportunities within the curriculum to rebuild relationships, rediscover communication skills, and catch up on the creative, practical activities that we have been missing.

Innumerable studies have shown that music is a powerful tool for social interaction, helping young and old alike forge relationships with like-minded friends. But beyond simply listening to music and share an affinity for a particular band or genre, practical music-making has an incredible array of benefits for rebuilding our children’s social skills. Group work in music can remind children how to collaborate, share, and work as a team, and offer them the opportunity to create a product that they are proud of.

There is also a strong proven link between music and emotional development. Taking part in musical activities such as songwriting and composition will help pupils to recognise emotions, and explore their feelings, which in turn will help them become more comfortable discussing difficult feelings - such as those thrown up by the pandemic - and ultimately gain control over these.

Finally, for those of us who are still worried about the ‘academic’ learning loss, a fortunate fact. Taking part in music activities has been proven to support brain development, academic achievement, and thinking and reasoning skills. Engaging in musical activities can therefore help support pupils to re-engage with learning, and rebuild their confidence as learners. This might, dare I say it, prove a more motivating ‘catch-up’ strategy than extra maths lessons…?!

Dr Liz Stafford is editor of Primary Music Magazine, and director of Music Education Solutions.