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Awards Champion handbook

Take your school on a singing journey

Sing Up, the Music Manifesto National Singing Programme, produced by Youth Music with AMV-BBDO, Faber Music and The Sage Gateshead, supported by Government

Sing Up, the Music Manifesto National Singing Programme, produced by Youth Music with AMV-BBDO, Faber Music and The Sage Gateshead, supported by Government 1

The Sing Up Awards aim to recognise and celebrate schools that place singing at the heart of school life and support

those which strive to achieve this.Welcome to the Sing Up Awards handbook! Congratulations for taking the first step towards recognising and celebrating your school’s singing. This handbook is for teachers and Awards Champions who would like to learn more about the Sing Up Awards and how to get their school started on a singing journey towards achieving an Award. The key elements of the Sing Up Awards are:

• Journey – the Sing Up Awards support and guide your school on its singing journey• Recognition - a tool for your school to achieve recognition for success• Flexible – your school can tailor its journey objectives to suit your needs and circumstances• Accessible – ALL schools for primary-aged children can work towards and achieve an Award• Support – taking part can connect your school to a supportive singing community

For more information about Silver, Gold and Platinum Awards go to www.singup.org/awards

The Sing Up Awards and your schoolThe Sing Up Awards can motivate the whole school community to work together towards a common goal while taking part in an activity that everyone can enjoy. All staff are encouraged to be aware of the benefits of singing and how it can be used in the classroom and embedded throughout school life. The Sing Up Awards support your school to document and plan for the creative arts. Planning activities for your Sing Up Award can be integrated with other aims, objectives, initiatives and activities throughout your school. Here are some ideas:

Every Child Matters

The Sing Up Awards journey can help develop self-esteem in children, encourage them to attend and enjoy school, enable them to make a positive contribution and empower them to be more articulate and creative.

ECM Outcome How singing can help

Being healthy

• Improves and strengthens breathing and cardiovascular activity• Good for voice and vocal folds• Enzymes in singers’ saliva increases defence against colds• Improves self-esteem and sense of wellbeing• Immunoglobulin A is increased which strengthens the immune system

Staying safe

• Helps children feel good about themselves• Inclusive, non-confrontational activity, increases confidence • Improves group cohesion, promotes tolerance • Creates confident, positive motivated children who feel good

Enjoying and achieving

• People feel great when they sing• Singing aids memory• Proven positive effect on behaviour and attendance • Children love singing and take part as a group activity• Increase enjoyment and participation in other subjects

Making a positive contribution

• Encourage children to make positive contribution to their communities• Harness natural enthusiasm children have for singing• Develop Young Leaders in a safe and positive environment• Community can see children’s positive contribution to society

Achieving economic wellbeing

• Children have faith in their ability to be articulate and creative• Performing helps to build confidence to encourage team work• Singing develops transferable skills that can be applied to all aspects of life

http://www.singup.org/awards


Other awards schemes and initiatives

Here are some examples of how the Sing Up Awards can both support, and be supported by, other awards schemes and initiatives:

Healthy Schools

Plan for your Sing Up Award and your Healthy Schools status together. Singing is a physical activity which can improve emotional health, wellbeing, self-confidence and social awareness. Evidence you collect for your Sing Up Awards journey can easily demonstrate how you are achieving outcomes for your Healthy Schools enhancement.

ArtsMark

Many Sing Up Awards schools have also achieved Artsmark Awards for their arts provision and activity. Key elements of both awards schemes are 1) looking to link arts and music activity to the curriculum and 2) offering children and young people more arts opportunities. Both awards schemes can bring arts and music to the centre of the school community, raising awareness amongst all school staff.

Extended schools

Singing can be a fun way to ‘extend’ your school and can help work towards your Sing Up Award. Sing in your breakfast club or after school club, and help build closer links with parents and the wider community.

Wider Opportunities

The government’s Wider Entitlement pledge states that ‘all pupils in primary schools who wish to, will have the opportunity to learn a musical instrument’. Most instrumental lessons will involve singing as the voice is an instrument in its own right. Why not use evidence of whole class singing within instrumental tuition for your Sing Up Award.

Creative Partnerships (generated by CCE)

Both Creative Partnerships and the Sing Up Awards aim to develop the skills of children and young people and raise their aspirations through fostering partnerships between schools and creative professionals. If you are involved in a ‘creative partnership’ use this activity as evidence for your Sing Up Award.

These are just some of the ways that you can integrate singing into wider school activity. You can fit your Sing Up Awards planning and collection of evidence around a variety of other awards schemes available to schools, such as Aviva School Sport Awards, DCSF International Award, Inclusion Chartermark, Eco-Schools etc.

North Lakes School achieve their Gold Award in Cumbria

Spaldwick perform as a Platinum School in front of their county

Many SEN schools and Short Stay Schools are working towards Sing Up Awards as a way of recognising and celebrating their singing activity. If you work in an SEN or Short Stay School, remember that the plan allows you to tailor the criteria and outline how your school is going to achieve your Sing Up Award, as appopriate for your setting. Click on the planning help notes in the Awards Tool for ideas.

SEN Schools and Short Stay Schools


National Curriculum

Music

The Sing Up Awards support the National Curriculum for music. Expanding repertoire, encouraging children to reflect on their singing and to improve it, supporting group singing and singing in different styles are key requirements in both the Sing Up Awards and the National Curriculum for music. The Sing Up Awards aim to create opportunities for singing to develop within a school environment.

English

Developing singing activity can help pupils to achieve in the following areas of the National Curriculum for English:• Speak with clear diction and appropriate intonation• Take into account the needs of their listeners• Identify and respond to sound patterns in language

Science

Developing singing activity can help pupils gain a fuller understanding of principles in the National Curriculum for science, here are a few examples:• There are many kinds of sound and sources of sound• Sounds get fainter as they travel away from sources and are heard when they enter the ear

ICT

Why not involve pupils in the collection and uploading of evidence for your Sing Up Award. This could help children to learn more about entering and storing information in a variety of ways and to share ideas by presenting them in a variety of formats, which are key National Curriculum requirements for ICT.

And remember…

Singing is good for you!• Improves breathing and heart function, reduces stress and increases

alertness• Engages and facilitates interaction between different parts of the

brain

Singing supports children’s learning!• Supports children to retain new information and facts• Can help children improve their skills in literacy and numeracy

Singing helps develop confidence!• Children who are better at singing feel better about themselves and

more socially included1 • Our voice is part of our identity; a confident healthy voice links to

positive self-concept

Singing builds communities!• Group singing maximises our potential to communicate with others using our voices• Singing can bring a school community together like no other group activity• Singing is an inclusive activity that everyone can enjoy

“The children at our school are very aware of our Sing Up goal

– to achieve Gold. They seek me out to sing a solo or show me their duet that they have practised in the playground. It would be impossible to film

everything that I see!” Louise Adams, Moorlands

Primary

St Michael’s First School celebrate their Platinum Award

1. Welch, Graham and Himonides, Evangelos (2009), Researching the Second Year of the National Singing Programme in England. An ongoing impact evaluation of children’s singing behaviour and identity.

Progress to the Gold Award

Tell other schools about the Sing Up Awards!


meet our family...

Missy MOnty

RamoneEdith

Otis

Lil’ S

First, log in to the Sing Up website and click on the Awards tab. Click on the link ‘Go to Awards Tool’!

Endorsement

Final Report

Starting Out

Planning

Activity and Evidence

Become the Awards Champion for your school and pledge to the Awards!

Your school’s Awards journey

Be nominated for Platinum AwardStart sharing your

singing

1. Complete your Final Report, outlining how you achieved the aims and objectives you laid out in your plan. There are 4 pages of the Final Report Form: Headteacher, Pupils, Staff and Whole School Community

2. Add the evidence you have collected to demonstrate what you have written

3. When complete, click ‘I’m Done’

1. SING!2. Collect and gather evidence of your school’s singing

activity3. Upload the evidence to the Awards Tool. All teachers

registered under your school can upload evidence

1. Create a singing plan for your school, showing how you aim to achieve your Award

2. When complete, click the ‘I’m done’ button

1. Fill in the information about your school2. Answer the short questionnaire about the singing in your school3. Print off your Award Pledge Certificate4. Contact your Area Leader – they can offer guidance and support

throughout your journey

1. Select your area and then choose from the list who you would like to endorse your Award

2. Wait for your Area Leader or Music Service Award Advocate to endorse your Award

3. Print off your Award Certificate!


Your School’s Awards journey – Q & A

Starting Out – pledging to the Awards

How do I get started on my Sing Up Awards journey?The first step is to pledge your school’s commitment to the Awards. This is a straightforward process which is completed online. Log in to the Sing Up website, go to the Awards tab and click on the link taking you to the Awards Tool. You will need some information about your school in order to complete the pledge such as the number of staff and pupils in your school and the school’s DCSF number if you have one. You need to be registered as a primary school teacher on the Sing Up website to access the Awards Tool and become the Awards Champion for your school.

Which Award should I start on, Silver or Gold?When pledging to the Awards, the answers you provide regarding the singing activity happening at your school determine whether you begin your journey working towards the Silver or the Gold Award.

How long will it take me to complete my Award?Every Awards journey is unique and set by the school – there are currently no limits on the amount of time a school can take to achieve an Award. So far, schools have taken an average of six months to achieve an Award from the time they pledge, however yours may be shorter or longer than this.

Can independent or special schools apply for the Sing Up Awards?Yes. Sing Up is available to all schools in England with primary school-aged children. The criteria are flexible for all kinds of schools.

Planning for your Award – your journey

How can my school sing everyday?Corrine Wellby of Upper Beeding School has encouraged her school to sing everyday through establishing whole school assemblies, music lessons and singing during class time led by singing monitors. Upper Beeding School also encourages singing during break times, and has a ‘singing stop’ in the playground. This is led by the Music

Council which is made up of Year 6 children.

How do I encourage the whole school to work towards the Award?Laura Stevens, Awards Champion for Kingswood Primary, encouraged the whole school to work toward their Sing Up Award by sending all staff a questionnaire to see what was already happening in classrooms. She then collected song material that could be used alongside other areas of the curriculum. She ensured all teachers knew how to access the Sing Up Song Bank, especially the areas with songs linked to the curriculum. She also started a ‘singing playground’ where children who are song leaders encourage other children in the playground to join in dancing, skipping, ball bouncing and clapping songs in the playground.

Children from Spaldwick Primary School sing after achieving their Platinum Award

Eccleston St Mary’s celebrate their Platinum Award


Are there any tips for how to make singing happen daily in the classroom?Caroline Hurst of Solent Infant School created a CD that she passed around to teachers at her school with the “Say Hello” song on it creating a lovely way to start a class. Songs and teaching resources found on the Sing Up website can be incorporated into all sorts of classroom lessons and activities. Check out www.singup.org.

Where can I find more hints and tips like this to get my school started on the journey?There are help notes in the Planning section of the Sing Up Awards Tool which have been written by Sue Hollingworth and Jessica Curry. These notes give ideas for your school, whether you’re working towards the Silver or the Gold Award.

Your evidence

What type of evidence can be used for my Sing Up Award?Evidence needs to be in the form of an uploadable file on your computer. A huge variety of evidence can be used for your Sing Up Award. Photographs, audio files, video files, documents, and links to websites are all ways that you can chart your singing progress. You may already have some of this evidence collected - programmes from concerts, photographs from singing assemblies, songwriting worksheets, an endorsement letter from your Headteacher. If you woud like to backdate your uploaded evidence it needs to have been collected within the last two academic years.

What evidence can I use to show governors are on board with Sing Up?Judith Davies of St Philips CE Primary School uploaded the

minutes of the governors meeting in which it was agreed that they would support the school’s application for the Sing Up Award.

How can I show that the staff at my school have been on singing training courses?If staff have attended a Sing Up paid for training course they would have received a certificate of attendance which you could scan in and upload to the Awards Tool. You could also ask the teacher that attended the course to write a short description about the training such as who hosted it, where it was and what they did.

How can I prove that singing happens as often as it does?You could take photos of children and teachers singing and also record the children singing. When you upload them, state when they were taken or recorded. You can also upload lesson plans that show when singing is happening in the classroom.

Final Report - reporting on your singing activity

I have finished my Final Report but there is no ‘I’m Done” buttonIf there is no “I’m Done” button in the report form, it’s most likely that not enough evidence has been added to the Final Report form as some require a minimum number of files. The minimum number of files needed for each criterion varies and is stated above the ‘add evidence’ link. You must make sure you adhere to the number required in order to complete your Final Report.

How many times can I attach the same piece of evidence to the Final Report Form?You can attach one piece of evidence a maximum of two times to your Final Report. If you have completed your Silver Award and have not used some pieces of evidence you can use these for your Gold Award.

John Scurr Primary School celebrate their Platinum Award

“Taking part in the Sing Up Awards has helped us to maintain a high singing status as well as push us even further” Louise Adams, Moorlands Primary School

http://www.singup.org


Endorsement

Who do I send my Final Report Form to when it is complete?Once you have completed your Final Report Form by clicking the ‘I’m Done’ button on the four different sections (headteacher, pupils, staff and whole school), you will be taken through to a section where you can choose who you would like from your area to endorse your Award. This will either be your Sing Up Area Leader or an Awards Advocate from your local Music Service.

How long will it take for my Award to be endorsed?We aim for all endorsers to contact Awards Champions within two weeks of receiving the endorsement request to say whether they have been successful or if they need to do a little more work. If you have not heard from your endorser within two weeks, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us at [email protected] and we can update you on the progress of your endorsement.

If you have any questions about the Sing Up Awards, please don’t hesitate to contact us by emailing [email protected].

Derby High School celebrate their Platinum Award

St Martins’ First School in Grimsby celebrate their Silver Award

“Teaching staff have embraced Sing Up by using the Song bank,

attending CPD and composing transition songs, while dining supervisors

are singing skipping games with children in the playground” Catrin Jones to Shelthorpe Primary School

Read more Awards school success stories on the Sing Up website at www.singup.org/success-stories!

http://www.singup.org/success-stories/story/?tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=195




Collecting and Uploading Evidence

In order to achieve your award you will need to provide evidence to back up what you have written in your Final Report Form. This is so your Sing Up endorser can see exactly what you have been doing at your school and how you have achieved your goals set in your initial plan. Therefore your evidence should relate to what you have written in your Plan and should link to the four topics: Headteacher, Pupils, Staff and Whole school community

You can provide evidence in a variety of ways for example:

• Photographs of a singing assembly to show the whole school singing together• A short film of pupils leading their class singing• A word document of minutes taken at a Governors meeting to demonstrate that the Headteacher and

Governors endorse the decision to apply for the Awards• An audio clip of a teacher leading a song during a maths lesson• You can write text directly onto the website in a text box provided to

demonstrate pupils writing about a concert they have attended• You can provide a URL address to your school’s website to provide

information about the school’s summer concert

Please note: You can use one piece of evidence up to two times in your Final Report. If you haven’t used a piece twice, when completing your Silver Award, you can always use it again if you go on to do a Gold Award.

The website can upload a number of different document formats and media file types, for more information go to page 4 and 5 of Uploading Evidence Files to the Sing Up Awards Tool: http://www.singupawards.org/Evidence-Help.pdf

Please note: Any staff member registered with Sing Up under your school can upload evidence to the Awards Tool. You, as the Awards Champion are then able to choose which pieces of evidence are best to use in the Final Report Form.

Data ProtectionBefore uploading any evidence you must have appropriate permissions from the parents/guardians of the featured children. By uploading files, you are agreeing that the appropriate permissions have been gathered.

The Sing Up Awards Tool is a protected area of the Sing Up website and can only be accessed by you, the Awards Champion, a teacher registered under the school, the endorser that the school selects to endorse their Awards programme, the school’s Sing Up Area Leader and the Sing Up Awards Officer who monitors the Awards programme.

If Sing Up should want to use any piece of evidence for another purpose the Awards Champion will always be asked first. Please see: http://www.singupawards.org/dp.pdf for more information about data protection and privacy.

“I particularly enjoyed the Singing Stop at lunchtime and it was

nice to see some young leaders developing!” Daniela Smith to Lantern Lane Primary School

http://www.singupawards.org/Evidence-Help.pdf

http://www.singupawards.org/Evidence-Help.pdf

http://www.singupawards.org/dp.pdf

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