Completely in agreement with you there Hammo72 - I had to make the change from GCSE to BTEC due to the students being unsucessful on the listening paper (due to poor literacy skills). I would love to teach both though! I feek that it is important to match the student to the right course - lets face it - if a student wants to go onto to study for AS Level Music we would encourage them to study GCSE Music and if the more vocational route suites them then BTEC.

I have taught both for many years, and value both for different reasons. I love the creativity of BTEC, and it is more accesible for students with SEN. I love being totally in control of what is being taught, from the BTEC introductory, right through to the BTEC Nationals. However, BTEC is open to abuse and teachers can "feed" information to pupils which allows them to pass, and devalues the qualification. If it is taught correctly, it is fab. One thing in particular for SEN - students who struggle with written communication difficulty can record themselves talking about their work. They can even create a simple video. This flexibility was so useful! Music GCSE is structured, and especially the new syllabus (I do Edexcel) is rewarding to teach. However, lower ability students struggle with the listening element, and even if they are talented musicians, often do not achieve a C grade or above.

Hope this helps!

I am starting to investigate the possibility of running different accredited courses alongside each other at KS4. I've been looking at what goes on at Monk's Walk school (there's an article on here somewhere about it, either on the Musical Futures page or Abigail's own one), where they have a highly personalised approach at KS4 with different students being entered for the course that is most suitable for them. The article is well worth a read and may inspire a few ideas.

I have made the change from GCSE to BTEC in the last two years. This has supported the growth of the Music Depatment from 4 GCSE students to nearly 80 BTEC First Certificate students. At the school I am teaching at, KS4 begins at Yr9 - so the grand plan is that students in Year 9 will complete the BTEC First Certificate, Year 10 BTEC Diploma and if they continue to opt for Music in Year 11 then GCSE Music - this will provide the students with upto 5 GCSEs in Music.

Having taught both courses I can see the frustration where GCSE Music counts for 1 GCSE grade A* - G and the BTEC First Certificate counting for 2 GCSE grades AA, BB or CC and the Diploma = AAAA, BBBB or CCCC. Having spoke to other teachers that run the BTEC course I can also see the frustration when the BTEC has been viewed as much 'easier' to attain the qualifications e.g. no formal examination at the end of the course.

Have you taken a look at the Arts Awards run by Trinity Guildhall? Some of these couses have been designed for students with SEN/disabilities and make music and the arts very accessible.

If you have anymore questions then please do not hesitate to ask.

Perez

Hi Jonathan

There are several members on this site who are involved with BTEC and have posted resources and had some discussion. I hope you get some good responses here, but you could also try a Google search on this site for BTEC contributions (box at the top of this screen). Then try messaging the contributors directly for their views....

hope this helps - and good luck!