Suitable for anyone wishing to set up a recorder group or starting to teach recorder whole class. This online training session will take place from 4pm - 5pm via Teams. Miriam has written schemes of work for recorder playing in primary for Sing Up and lots of other organisations and will be presenting her latest resource for the hub along with general advice on teaching the recorder!

Use the form below to sign up for this even if you’re not taking part in the larger project.

Please join us online for our termly meeting with EYFS and Primary music teachers and leads. This meeting will allow everyone time to catch up with other music coordinators and teachers, featuring discussion groups set by you and important national updates from the Music Hub from OFSTED, Music Mark, School Music Development Plans, the NPME and reflect on areas of need and how to address them. 

The Spring term meeting will take place on Wednesday 25th February 2026 online via Teams 4pm - 5pm please sign up using the button below

This meeting will include both primary and secondary phase teachers and leaders of music and will focus specifically on the transition of young musicians between primary and secondary school.  The session will also provide an opportunity to network with your colleagues, hear national updates, look at new resources and network with your feeder schools and colleagues.

Please sign up using the form button below or if you have already signed up via clerktoheadteachers@stmaryspri.co.uk we will have you on the list.

Opera Tutti Friday 1st May EYFS, KS1 & SEND in partnership with Turner Sims FREE

Opera Tutti is a multi-sensory concert designed for SEND children, performed by specialist musicians from Welsh National Opera (WNO).  This one-hour experience brings opera and classical music to children in a relaxed and accessible way. Opera Tutti takes you on a musical journey through the seasons, from the gentle awakening of spring to the joy of summer; then the discord and stormy atmosphere of autumn, winding down to a restful winter. Multi-sensory props and costumes help bring the narrative to life. Opera Tutti is performed in an intimate setting, the audience is limited to 50 children, who will sit on stage with the performers, which encourages interaction and opportunities to take part throughout the performance.

This concert is specifically for SEND children (with or without a diagnosis) so we are anticipating schools and settings will only bring a small number of children, rather than the whole class. Please use this form to register your interest for tickets 

Join Southampton Youth Orchestra for a free, fun and interactive concert-going experience suitable for EYFS and Key Stage 1 students!

This concert will be presented and will feature instruments in the orchestra and plenty of movement, singing and musical learning.

Please be aware that as this is a popular event and we may limit the number of pupils from each setting in order to allow as many schools as possible to enjoy the concert.

You can register your interest for spaces via the button below

Musicians from the student led University orchestra will be touring schools during the spring term with a smaller version of the ensemble. Supported by the music hub, the students will be bringing live performances of orchestral music directly to you for you to enjoy!

This will be taking place in the Spring Term 2026 (dates TBC) in partnership with University of Southampton Student Union Symphony Orchestra.

This will be organised by the students directly but please register your interest for us to pass on to them to organise by emailing lynn.beckwith@southampton.gov.uk 

Portsmouth Guildhall at 1:30 pm Thursday 22nd January 2026 KS2

This free concert is designed for KS2 students, and will be presented by award-winning composer, James Redwood. Explore the Orchestra: Four Elements features music that seeks to uncover the mysteries of the four elements of our natural world that have inspired scientific discovery. So, prepare to open your mind as we go on a journey exploring music from the traditional and familiar, to the contemporary and unknown. This concert will feature a participatory song and body percussion piece for everyone to perform. Through these pieces, the audience will learn to sing and perform with the orchestra and be introduced to all the instruments that make up a Symphony Orchestra.

To support teacher's involvement, we’re offering a free Teacher CPD session on Monday 10th November from 4:15 - 5:45 pm at the Portsmouth Guildhall. This session will provide teachers with everything they need to prepare their class for the concert, alongside valuable resources and fun teaching ideas. We ask that at least one member of staff from each participating school attends the CPD session – who will also be involved on the day of the concert.  Link to book the tickets online: https://bsolive.com/events/eto-four-elements-portsmouth/

This year’s regional music education conference will take place at University of Southampton Sir James Matthews Building, Guildhall Square in collaboration with Turner Sims and the University of Southampton Department of Music. 

Join educators, musicians and industry professionals for a day of workshops, talks and networking, celebrating the South Coast’s vibrant music community. 

Full programme and registration details coming soon - don’t miss out!

Join us at Southampton Guildhall to continue the Southampton Schools Music Association of schools Christmas events at the Guildhall this Christmas!

Jo Downs is writing a new Christmas songbook with celebration songs from around the World with 3 original songs for KS1 and three original songs for KS2 spanning a variety of styles and genres. Schools will be offered the opportunity to perform as a solo group outside of the massed singing or participate in the narrative sections but this is very much voluntary. We will also be joined by Southampton Youth Wind Band for the concert. 

Schools will be offered a free workshop from the hub in school and CPD to introduce the songbook and digital resources to support you in advance of the concert. Resources will be ready by the beginning of October with an online introductory meeting on Thursday 9th October.  Timings on the day are still tbc but we will finalise these with your input prior to their publication.

If you are unable to join us for the event then the songbook and the digital resources along with signing & lyrics videos will also be available to all through the songbank on our website as always. 

CURRENTLY FULLY BOOKED

Contact lynn.beckwith@southampton.gov.uk if you want to be on the waiting list for spaces.

Time to catch up with other music coordinators and teachers, featuring discussion groups set by you and important national updates from the Music Hub from OFSTED, Music Mark and about School Music Development Plans and the National Plan for Music Education and reflect on areas of need and how to address them. 

Sessions will take place online via Teams in twilight sessions from 4pm - 5pm Please sign up using the button below and you will be send a meeting link nearer the time.

In partnership with BSO, Turner Sims and University of Southampton, Turner Sims and Southampton & Isle of Wight Music invite your school to a free concert by the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra offering GCSE/BTEC music students the chance to hear live set works and perform with BSO musicians.

The second half of the concert focuses on composition. The BSO musicians will perform a new work by Patrick Bailey which will incorporate ideas from your school. These ideas will be submitted via an activity that you will be sent in advance of the concert to complete at school.

The composer, who is also presenting the concert, will explain their process, approaches and techniques to give your students further insight into composition. Suitable for current KS4 students and those interested in taking music as an option following KS3.

This will take place on Tuesday 4 November 11am - 12.30pm.

Register your interest by Friday, September 12, for this 1.5-hour concert.

Contact tsengagement@soton.ac.uk or 023 8059 5151 for questions.

Welsh National Opera Schools Concert Wednesday 1st October 2025 12noon - 1pm Mayflower Theatre KS2 in partnership with WNO & Mayflower Theatre

Step into the wonderful world of opera and classical music with WNO through this free and inspiring Schools Concert which offers an live orchestra experience designed to support the National Curriculum. 

Aimed to inspire and increase love of music and creativity, students will be encouraged to use their voices to sing in different ranges, dynamics, clap rhythms, stamp along to different time signatures and develop an understanding of the history of music in a relaxed setting. 

Please contact schools@mayflower.org.uk for more information.

Isle of Wight Cultural Education Partnership Tuesday 30th September, 3.30pm - 5.15pm at the Quay Arts Centre, Newport. (Refreshments provided)  'Visual Literature; Creative Tools for Deeper Reading’ with Artist and Author Bethan Christopher.

In this hands-on workshop, participants will explore four inclusive arts-based strategies - Mood Jars, Accordion Books, Conflict Cookies and Stories and Selfies - designed to deepen pupil engagement with literature and emotional response. Rooted in the understanding that reading is not just analytical but sensory, personal and transformative, these tools offer accessible entry points for learners of all ages and abilities. This session will give you creative and easily adaptable methods that translate abstract literacy ideas into vivid, memorable forms. Participants can expect to cut, collage, draw, reflect and leave with ready-to-use ideas that can be immediately applied in a classroom setting, enriching and encouraging positive reading experiences for your students.  

As part of this free event you will also be first to hear of a range of other schools offers.

If you or a colleague would like to book a free place on this course please email claire@creativeisland.org. 

Join the amazing youth players of Southampton Youth Orchestra and the voices of Southampton Philharmonic Choir to create the children’s choir for our end of year performance of Carl Orff’s epic Carmina Burana! 

We are looking for choirs and vocal groups to form a children’s choir who have a specific role within the piece.  The hub will provide free vocal workshops and resources to support learning the material prior to the concert with rehearsal on the day prior to an evening performance.  Suitable for all abilities (with some practise!).

Thursday 5th June 2025  in person CPD session Musical Understanding - Progression & Assessment at Wordsworth Primary 4pm - 5.30pm

Using a practical scheme of work as an example we will look at how to plan a curriculum music unit, incorporating the interrelated activities of performing, composing and listening, referring to progression frameworks for different year groups through practical activities. 

We are delighted to continue partnering with The Stage Door and J Fashole-Luke to host a series of open mic nights to the city for young musicians to participate in!  Each night will feature a house band of local musicians with a wide variety of styles, genres and instruments who will host and support young people to participate. 

Performances will take place upstairs at The Stage Door where the alcoholic bar will be closed and we will provide backline instruments and any tech that might be required for individuals or groups to perform or play back their music. 

Sign ups will be operated via a digital form (button below or QR code). Students and parents can sign up independently or teachers are welcome to sign up school groups to perform. You will then be contacted for more information about your set or technical/support requirements by the music hub team to ensure you are ready to perform on the night! Participants and parents are also very welcome to attend a session in advance and observe only - with no pressure to perform unless you feel ready.

Parents will need to book ‘pay what you can’ tickets to attend with their children via the following link https://thestagedoor.org.uk/product.php/844/the-stage-door-rising-stars

Please note:

• Anyone in school year 11 or below will need to be chaperoned either by a parent/guardian or by a teacher if attending with a school group. 

• Performers are asked to use family friendly lyrics, but we can’t promise this is always followed. If you have any concerns about this, please speak to a member of the team.

SESSIONS: 

1st July 2025

Time to catch up with other music coordinators and teachers, featuring discussion groups set by you and important national updates from the Music Hub from OFSTED, Music Mark and about School Music Development Plans and the National Plan for Music Education and reflect on areas of need and how to address them. 

Sessions will take place online via Teams in twilight sessions from 4pm - 5pm Please sign up using the button below and you will be send a meeting link nearer the time.

We are delighted to continue partnering with The Stage Door and J Fashole-Luke to host a series of open mic nights to the city for young musicians to participate in!  Each night will feature a house band of local musicians with a wide variety of styles, genres and instruments who will host and support young people to participate. 

Performances will take place upstairs at The Stage Door where the alcoholic bar will be closed and we will provide backline instruments and any tech that might be required for individuals or groups to perform or play back their music. 

Sign ups will be operated via a digital form (button below or QR code). Students and parents can sign up independently or teachers are welcome to sign up school groups to perform. You will then be contacted for more information about your set or technical/support requirements by the music hub team to ensure you are ready to perform on the night! Participants and parents are also very welcome to attend a session in advance and observe only - with no pressure to perform unless you feel ready.

Parents will need to book ‘pay what you can’ tickets to attend with their children via the following link https://thestagedoor.org.uk/product.php/844/the-stage-door-rising-stars

Please note:

• Anyone in school year 11 or below will need to be chaperoned either by a parent/guardian or by a teacher if attending with a school group. 

• Performers are asked to use family friendly lyrics, but we can’t promise this is always followed. If you have any concerns about this, please speak to a member of the team.

SESSIONS: 

3rd June 2025

1st July 2025

We are delighted to continue partnering with The Stage Door and J Fashole-Luke to host a series of open mic nights to the city for young musicians to participate in!  Each night will feature a house band of local musicians with a wide variety of styles, genres and instruments who will host and support young people to participate. 

Performances will take place upstairs at The Stage Door where the alcoholic bar will be closed and we will provide backline instruments and any tech that might be required for individuals or groups to perform or play back their music. 

Sign ups will be operated via a digital form (button below or QR code). Students and parents can sign up independently or teachers are welcome to sign up school groups to perform. You will then be contacted for more information about your set or technical/support requirements by the music hub team to ensure you are ready to perform on the night! Participants and parents are also very welcome to attend a session in advance and observe only - with no pressure to perform unless you feel ready.

Parents will need to book ‘pay what you can’ tickets to attend with their children via the following link https://thestagedoor.org.uk/product.php/844/the-stage-door-rising-stars

Please note:

• Anyone in school year 11 or below will need to be chaperoned either by a parent/guardian or by a teacher if attending with a school group. 

• Performers are asked to use family friendly lyrics, but we can’t promise this is always followed. If you have any concerns about this, please speak to a member of the team.

SESSIONS: 

6th May 2025

3rd June 2025

1st July 2025

Tuesday 25th March 2025 in person CPD session  Musical Understanding - Progression & Assessment Venue tbc 4pm - 5.30pm

Using a practical scheme of work as an example we will look at how to plan a curriculum music unit, incorporating the interrelated activities of performing, composing and listening, referring to progression frameworks for different year groups through practical activities. 

Places have already been booked for some schools through the Headteachers forum last term but if you are unsure if you have a place booked, please contact Carla Bradshaw via clerktoheadteachers@stmaryspri.co.uk