The Big 'O' and Music

Helen Byard, Music Lead at Edenbridge Primary School shares her experience of a recent Ofsted 'Deep Dive'. @HelenByard

Last month, we got the call. Ofsted were coming in for a 2-day inspection and music was put being forward as a deep dive subject. As I am a music specialist teacher, this was to be expected really. It made perfect sense for a school who were employing a specialist subject teacher to present this advantage and to show how music was valued at our school.

Firstly, I must say I found this a positive experience. The three inspectors who visited our school were friendly, approachable, and happy to listen. In the morning, I was observed teaching a Year 1 class. It was week five of the first term and our focus was on pulse. I had the children sitting in a circle, in our dedicated music room, singing action songs concentrating on the element of pulse. The inspector took notes but generally watched and listened. Her eyes wandered around the music room, identifying what instruments we had available, children’s work on display, key vocabulary, posters and questions displayed.

Later that afternoon, the inspector came to observe a Year 6 music lesson. During this time, she saw our ukulele tutor teaching a whole class instrumental lesson This has been a successful collaboration with our local hub established for the past two years The class were fully engaged and able to demonstrate what they were learning as the inspector chatted to the pupils

I was then called for the subject interview. This lasted about 30 minutes. I took in with me; music planning and progression overview, subject leader folder and a power point summery I had prepared earlier in the year for our governors. As well as our class Music Memory books and a digital files of music clips. I was first asked ‘How does music work here?’ and ‘How do I plan music in each year group?’. The music overview was scrutinised, and I was asked to explain how I showed progression. The inspector understood my methodology as to why I had planned the musical elements into a termly focus and listened as I explained how these elements grew in ‘small incremental steps’ (something I had learnt from listening to many webinars and talks from Ofsted Music Leads) I explained that every class received an hour a week for music therefore I was able to be consistant in my approach to teaching the curriculum. I also added that I was fully supported my Head and leadership team. I told her I was allowed to sign up to music projects and collaborations with other schools and encouraged to take part in events such as ‘Young Voices’. I explained there were no barriers for children going out of class lessons to go to their piano or guitar lesson.

I explained that I was in contact with the Creative Lead governor and apparently, she had also said to the inspector that she was well informed about our music curriculum as I'd presented a power point to them previously about music provision

Next, the inspector asked, ‘How do you ensure that all children access music at your school?’ I explained how I had been awarded a large amount of Pupil Premium funding to enable disadvantaged pupils to receive 1:1 violin lessons and group rock band tuition for half price. I also talked about our local hub whole class instrument provision and bursaries available to parents I told her that I applied for grants, and had been successful, providing additional instruments for our school She asked how I met SEND needs in music. I explained how we had ear defenders, visual clues, variation, and other provisions on hand, but we had a good chat agreeing that SEND in music was different to in other subjects. She was knowledgeable about the music curriculum and we had a good conversation about the importance of music in schools Turned out she was a flautist.

The Music Memory books seemed to go down very well as they clearly showed that music was consistently taught and she liked that I put the books out for parents evening to connect music to the wider community Also, the children were allowed to flick through the books when they had their pupil voice interviews, which I expect helped jog their memory of everything they had been taught in previous years.

As we were looking through the books, I explained that even though it was a nice reminder of the pupils compositions and performances that I actually used digital music clips for assessment. I was able to show her several video clips of Year 1, 3 and 5 all doing a similar activity with a rhythm focus but that clearly showed how each year group progressed and added a slightly more complex element as they went through the school I am glad I had organised these clips into musical element folders (pitch / rhythm / voice etc ) as I could quickly pick out relevant clips to make my point

One question I found interesting was ‘Do children listen to classical music?’ I explained that I used the Model Music Curriculum repertoire as a reference for listening but the children were exposed to a wide range of music genres from different cultures and traditions. I was then asked if the children were exposed to live music and what opportunities they had to take part in musical events. The day before, the choir had taken part in the Sevenoaks Singing Festival We had also got ‘Bach to the Future’ booked in to visit the following week, through Kent Music and Year 4 had just had a fantastic ‘Kidenza’ workshop. In September, I had booked all the workshops, concerts and visits for the whole school year. I had a clear overview of what each year group was learning and how the workshops would co-ordinate into their music timetable

Overall, I felt confident talking about our music provision and as a music specialist I could easily relay my passion for the subject. And as this is currently my only subject, I am lucky that I can dedicate all my time to music I think this was a huge benefit to a subject deep dive

Ofsted's conclusion? We are a ‘Good’ school.

“Subject leaders have strong subject expertise. They are passionate about the subjects they lead. School and trust leaders have supported them to plan the curriculum. The content in each subject is logically sequenced, starting in the early years. In most subjects, the changes they have made are now embedded. In these subjects, children and pupils learn well. Teachers explain important concepts clearly. They question pupils well to deepen their understanding. Teachers plan activities for pupils to practise what they have learned and to revisit content in different ways. Pupils build on their prior learning well. They remember the most important knowledge.”