One of the important facts all policy makers should recognise is that, once a policy gets into the hands of the professionals who are turning the policy into a reality for young people, those professionals will discover new and exciting ways forward.
I am delighted that Rupert found the working definition of continuation helpful. I hope the following comments will also be helpful. Please share them and keep the debate going.
The findings from Professor Bamford’s impact assessment report shows just how effective good Wider Opportunities programmes are. So the first challenge is for everyone to look at the first free introductory period to check that those positive outcomes are being achieved for all young people. If not, then refinements need to be made to that first introductory experience.
Of course, the nature and duration of that experience will be influenced by the quality of the statutory national curriculum the children will have already experienced. (And of course, it is the responsibility of the school to provide and pay for this aspect of the tuition and for any CPD that their teachers need).
The length of the first free period is also something that we are learning more about. Ofsted’s Making More of Music report stated (paragraph 193) that in one school, two years were needed, whilst I have visited successful one term and half year versions. This is why it is so important that the Local Authority has the ability to have a strategic input and that programmes are developed with the schools.
From my personal perspective, the bit of joined up musical thinking that I do not always see relates to ensemble and musical experiences.
So three key comments from me:
1. I have always seen the first free period as an introductory period, phase 1 if you wish, of a Wider Opportunities programme that runs for life! What happens after the first free introductory period, that the pilots found normally needed to be one year, is as much part of the programme as the introductory phase. There is no ‘after Wider Opps’ – it is all part of a bigger vision.
2. Whatever instruments are being taught, the experience in that first free period also needs to be a musical one. Enjoyable, absolutely! Challenging, yes, but with the appropriate support so that the children can make good progress. It is knowing that they are doing well and helping them to think of themselves as musicians that really makes the children want to continue. Again this will vary between teachers and schools and is another reason why the Local Authority must be able to take the strategic decisions to ensure quality and value for money. This is why that phrase was used in the Standards Fund grant requirements.
3. And thirdly, making music together meaningfully requires musical ensembles. We have to have a view about what we are preparing the children to go on to do musically. This is why question 4 on the October data returns asks about planned ensemble provision and why we changed the charging legislation to make learning affordable. It is also why the Standards Fund grant was combined into one single grant in which Local Authorities were asked to prioritise Key Stage 2. (I.e. not just the Wider Opps introductory phase, but also the continuation). What about KS3 I hear you ask? Well of course, in 2008 most Wider Opps were offered to Year 3 and Year 4 pupils. By 2011, the end of the particular funding period, they would all therefore still be at primary school!
We have moved from teaching instruments individually and in small groups to teaching instruments in large groups. Can we now move to teaching in musical ensembles? A different way of working then becomes possible:
1. Some children will only ever learn in the ensemble, with older and more advanced students helping the younger ones. Some will have occasional lessons of no particular duration – a quick 10 minutes to help with a particular problem; some individual help to catch up after a period of unavoidable absence; a workshop where a new technique is introduced for those who want to learn how to do something better.
2. Some children will be more committed and will want smaller group and individual tuition with graded examinations to mark their progress. But instead of seeing this as the automatic route for all who continue, can we be smarter about who will benefit from this? And of course, they should still continue to make music with others in ensembles.
I actually believe children and young people should be able to move between these two versions of supported music making.
And the good news? Not only is this more affordable, but it enables our teaching resources to be deployed more effectively and means that those equally important colleagues, for whom large group and ensemble tuition is not appropriate, have an equally important role to play.

Dick Hallam

Now is the time for trying to prepare for next year's opportunities for pupils who have been involved in Wider Opportunities sessions to continue learning at an affordable rate.

In Somerset we're asking all schools offering WCIV tutition to canvas their pupils to see how many want to have continued lessons on either their project instrument or another. It will be interesting to see, as schools set their budgets for next year, whether this is a sufficiently high priority for action to be taken.

It would be really useful to know what is going on in the rest of the country. What is your experience?

Hi Mark,

The initial WO experience itself at y3 may not be enough to reverse this trend. I doubt the level of learning they'll achieve in that year will come close to what you suggest, however if continuation is properly supported and successful in achieving at least 50%, then substantial cohorts of pupils may be started on the road to sustained musical tuition which will hopefully address these issues more fully. Of course this may mean that the spread of ability will be far greater when arriving at GCSE and A level, but it should, especially where pupils have chosen the orchestral instruments, go some way to improving musical literacy.

Secondary schools could do a lot to encourage this by running ensembles an orchestras that involve pupils from feeder schools and keeping the experience real for them. It is experience such as this that will build and develop the musical understanding you talk of. We do have some very effective primary school musicians, but this is not guaranteed in all schools, so the specialist input from secondary schools, serving the whole group of schools in this way would be brilliant. I expect you're doing it already.

Hi

I teach at a 6th Form College so the WO initiative isn't within my experience, but I hope you folks can build on it as pupils move through KS3 & then GCSE. Does it teach 'real' musical understanding, or is it just about playing?

What does it all lead to? I ask because I see an ever increasing trend towards good (i.e. A*/A/B) GCSE grades for students who progress to my college, but if I ask them to tell the me notes in a A major chord or D minor it's almost like it's a totally new language to them. Bass clef is well and truly off-limits for nearly all students as they start their L6! They can play drums, guitar/bass, keyboard and can sing (and there are still a minority who play orchestral instruments) and this seems to get them their good GCSE results, but very little preparation for what will be involved at A level.

Hi,

It would be really interesting to see what other music services do. I know Hampshire are doing some work in this area. Continuation really is the key now after the WO projects as aside from the Aspirations document I know as music educators we would all encourage our pupils to continue their music learning as a wealth of skills are developed by doing so.
Not only is it continuation after WO but also into Secondary School as we would want their musical experience to be ongoing throughout their entire education.

One issue that we are finding in many schools is that WO is continuing after the first year, especially where classes are mixed aged, as in small rural schools.

Is this happening in most places? Aren't there advantages and disadvantages to this?

I find that most of my second year violin WO pupils are really enthused still, but I feel for individuals for whom it is just not clicking!

Would be glad to hear other's experience on this and other issues connected to continuation.

Large group tuition in Somerset can be anything from 5 in a group up to the maximum that can be educationally justified. (Following the relaxation of Charging Regulations) Thus for some instruments the maximum may not be more than about ten or so, but for others, with adjustments made for time, considerably larger groups are possible. These obviously become much more affordable for members of the group. We have nominally created the limit of 15 pupils if the lesson lasts 30 minutes, with larger groups requiring 45 minutes.

The attitude of the school to dealing with charges, overcoming timetabling and other organisational issues has been pivotal in places where we are experiencing success. In many cases schools are financing the projects for pupils after their initial WO year. In some cases this Large Group Teaching is in effect a second or third WO year, although we still tend to classify this as WO.

Some schools do allow LGT to be operated within curriculum time, and others have said that lunchtimes and extended school are more appropriate for this.

I believe LGT is 'an' answer to many things, but it is not of itself 'the' answer, and so I am trying to find out if other models are being developed and with what succes.

Dear Rupert,
We're just trying to tackle this issue in Southwark. Please could I ask what you mean by 'Large Group Tuition' - how large and can you give an idea of what each child might need to pay to be part of such a group?
All the best,
Denise Barber

Hi Rupert

I'll be very interested to see what response you get to this, but I suspect that maybe Somerset is trailblazing here. I'm not aware of any organisations that have taken this much needed next step but I sincerely hope that where you lead, others will follow. Perhaps you could share some reflections on this site as your initiative develops?

The big challenge of course is carrying this over into KS3. (Have a look at Julie Evans' guest blog on the music-ite.org.uk site). Any thoughts on that?

It maybe that there is a useful connection to be made here with some of the materials in the new Musical Futures Teachers Pack.