Becky Stroud
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I am a Primary Music Teacher and Freelance Music Education Practitioner, with over 20 years experience working in KS1 and KS2. I'm recognised as a 'Cultural Leader in Education' by Arts Council Bridge Organisation for Yorkshire and Humberside, IVE.
I collaborate with teachers, in their own school setting, to create and deliver bespoke practical music-making workshop style sessions, often to complement a theme or topic in school. These sessions, which are fun, practical, inclusive and engaging, can culminate in a recordable performance to share with parents live and/or over school media.
"Becky delivered a very engaging and hands on music workshop with lots of physical movement for all the children which they loved. The pace was perfect as it never allowed children to become off task, there was always something for them to be focusing on. I was very impressed with how quickly the children learned."
(Royd Infant School, half-day music workshop for Y1 and Y2)
Working in primary schools, across KS1 and KS2 age range, I can offer:
1) Practical Music Making Sessions in schools: Workshop sessions can involve a wide range of music-making activities, for example: body percussion, singing and movement, junk band percussion, drumming and boomwhackers. No prior experience is needed as progression from novice is built in to the workshops.
2) Artsmark and Arts Award support: Music workshop sessions in school will contribute to your school's Artsmark journey. I can work with schools over a period of week to tailor sessions to enable children to undertake and complete Arts Award Discover
3) Whole Staff Music CPD: Whether your school is preparing for an upcoming Ofsted, or wanting to explore how to broaden practical music-making in their curriculum, I can devise and deliver bespoke staff music CPD for your school and signpost staff to resources. This can be delivered flexibly, for example alongside individual staff in a classroom setting, an after school twilight session or half-day INSET day. This may particularly appeal to schools who are trying to accommodate the new Model Music Curriculum that came out in Spring 2021.
Whichever format appeals, coming in to lead music sessions in your school is often a great way to up-skill staff and I will leave them with loads of ideas how to develop music making:
"I thought your session on boomwhackers was excellent. The evaluations are really good - it was a firm favourite for people. I particularly liked the link to music notation taught in such an accessible way."
(CPD session delivered for Sheffield Music Hub)
Collaborative practical music making provokes powerful and positive responses in children. There's a magical alchemy that happens - students are wholly engaged in the moment, connecting with each other through a mutual practical activity. Through this, they develop a sense of community and feel good about themselves. Music making sessions are a fantastic vehicle for connection, engagement, laughter, sharing a moment and learning new skills... something we all need as we recover from the global pandemic.
