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Why teach children to sing?

Everyone has a voice. Singing is integral to musical learning and is a powerful way for children and young people to become proficient musicians.

Singing on the curriculum

The National Curriculum for Music in England requires that all pupils at Key Stage 1 and 2 ‘learn to sing and to use their voices’. England’s National Plan for Music Education states that, during primary years, singing should be the ‘golden thread’ to ensuring high quality classroom music provision. Singing is also a focus of the Model Music Curriculum, the National Plan for Music Education in Wales, the Curriculum for Excellence in Scotland and the Arts Area of Learning in the Northern Ireland Curriculum.

The benefits of singing

Research has shown that engaging with music may enhance cognitive functions that are key to children's learning.

Singing has been shown to alleviate stress and improve children's alertness, behaviour and self-esteem. It helps them bond – whatever the song or language. Through singing, children can share emotions and express themselves non-verbally.

Finding your voice

To effectively teach young people to sing, you first need to find your voice as a music teacher. If you are nervous, remember you are not alone! There are tools to help you.

The Primary Singing Toolkit will enable you to build your confidence in teaching singing, so that you can sing regularly with your students, and normalise singing in your school.

Content and key learnings

Take your students on a journey from curriculum to group performance with the Primary Singing Toolkit.

The resource is made up of 14 videos (almost two hours of video content), plus accompanying downloadable lesson plans, which encompass seven full music lessons. It will help you explore:

• Call and response
• Pitch and composition
• Notation
• Healthy singing practices
• Leading a choir
• Part singing and leading a round
• Refining a song

Primary Singing Toolkit webinar

The ISM Trust and Voices Foundation held a webinar explaining how to effectively use the resource, which you can watch back for free.

Who has created this resource?

The resource is brought to you by the ISM Trust, in partnership with the Voices Foundation and supported by the Schools Music Association (SMA).

The singing strategies are led by Voices Foundation Choral Director Charles MacDougall and Musicianship Director Jenny Trattles, and the videos were filmed with teachers and students from Winterton Junior School, a state primary school in North Lincolnshire.

The Primary Singing Toolkit is designed to complement the ISM Trust’s award-winning, free resource, the Primary Music Toolkit.

If you have any questions, please contact [email protected].