Learning an instrument in a classroom environment is, for many children, the first step on their musical journey. Playing alongside their friends brings a range of musical and social benefits and can have a positive impact on their learning across the curriculum.
Whole Class Ensemble Teaching (WCET) is a scheme detailed in the National Plan for Music Education (GOV.UK) and its key objective is to provide all primary school children with the opportunity to learn an instrument at no additional cost to them.
Surrey Arts delivers WCET through two different programmes, First Access and Tuning Up, enabling you to choose the right model for your school, as we know that every child is unique, and every school is unique. We want to support you to create a package that best suits your children, so if you like the idea of WCET, but not sure how it would work for your school, please contact our Schools Co-ordinator jo.ninian@surreycc.gov.uk.
First Access
First Access is a Surrey Arts WCET scheme, which supports your school to lead its own music classes by utilising the Surrey Arts Interactive Charanga resources, with access to an array of ten week-by-week lessons to teach a class to play and engage with music.
Choice of instruments
- Classroom percussion
- Recorder
- Ukulele
Surrey Arts provides
- Subsidised Charanga licence fees
- Access to reduced-cost instrument purchase
- CPD for teachers
A Surrey Arts Interactive Charanga Licence also offers a complete scheme of work for the primary music curriculum, including but not limited to additional resources for assessment, teaching, SEND and topic work.
For information on how to get started, cost and training on the software, please contact: jo.ninian@surreycc.gov.uk
Tuning Up
Surrey Arts led WCET
Tuning Up provides your school with an experienced Surrey Arts music teacher to teach your students 10 weekly music lessons each term. A one-year programme, with the option to spread across different instruments and classes, Tuning Up is charged at an hourly rate and includes free instrument hire.
The three-term project of instrumental tuition sessions can be structured as
One class learning up to three instruments
or
Up to three classes learning one instrument
Instruments
Through Tuning Up Surrey Arts offers free instrument hire, by subsidising the cost of instrument loan to schools. You can choose from the following instruments:
Key stage 1 instrument choice:
- African percussion
- Classroom percussion
- Recorder
- Ukulele
- Voice
At Key stage 2 same as the above plus:
- Brass
- Clarinet
- Guitar
- Violin
At Surrey Arts, we recognise all schools are unique in their requirements and we want to support you to create a musical tuition package that best suits your children. If you would like to explore the opportunities of whole class instrumental learning and discuss how it could work for your school, please contact Surrey Arts by email at: surreyartsschools@surreycc.gov.uk
