Covid 19 Information & Guidance

In light of the 22nd Feb announcement regarding schools re-opening, please find updated information and links below.

We are committed to supporting schools, staff, students and parents through the stages of the easing of lockdown. Our online resources for Schools / Parents / Carers / Students will remain available throughout.

Please click here to access the latest DfE Guidance for Schools (Feb 2021)

LSMS Covid 19 risk assessment 01.03.21 (PDF, 448 Kb)

We are continually reviewing our Risk Assessments with regard to Covid 19. These will be updated regularly and posted both here and on our Home page.

LSMS Covid 19 Risk Assessment 01.03.21

We have developed a range of FREE fully planned and Covid-aware Schemes of Work for schools, along with FREE Consultation sessions for Primary, Secondary, SEND, Music Technology and Singing.

We have also been working on free Primary School and Secondary School resources to help music education continue where music staff and / or instruments are unavailable.

Visit our Musical Solutions page to find out how we can help with innovative distance learning. We are committed to delivering high quality music education and are working with Schools to ensure that young people's music education can continue.

We recognise that school leaders face numerous challenges in reopening schools and we are keen to give you the support you need to put music at the heart of the recovery curriculum. The benefits of music for tackling mental health problems are well documented, so now more than ever it is crucial that we ensure every child has equal access to high quality music education. With this in mind, please see our free resource 'Music for wellbeing', prepared by Becky Bell. This resource is designed to help children recover from the consequences of Covid-19 and emotional impact of societal changes.

We are keen to be flexible in our offer to schools this term and will work with you to ensure that music service activities take place in a way that best suits your circumstances. This may be through face to face teaching, virtual lessons, class teacher resources or a blended approach that suits your needs.

We are following the latest guidance from the DFE and Arts Council England in returning to schools. We have rigorous risk assessments in place and we also have virtual whole class ensemble tuition, continuation, instrumental lessons, area centres and central ensembles.

Contact / Queries
If you have any queries about our projects, bookings or any way we might be able to help music making in your schools. please contact a member of our team using the details below. If you would like to book projects online, please click here.

Percussion, Strings & Ukulele - Matt Newnham - 07961 098088
Brass & Guitar - Tony Rifugiato - 07944 712233
Woodwind & Singing - Nicki Atkins - 07508 013201
Steel Pans - Gillian Ramshaw – 07535 641847
Music Technology – Brad Smith - 07508 013232
Special Schools - Sarah Share - 07905 502657
Secondary Schools - Sharon Jagdev Powell – 07936 349073
Curriculum Resources & Support - Becky Bell - 07526 928351
Instrument Queries – Richard Siddons - 07889 809841

Please note that as we are working from home there may be times when we may not be able to answer calls. If this is the case – please leave us a message a contact number and we will return your call as soon as we can.

We will be in touch with schools regularly with more information about how we can support you and your students.

Please find the latest official advice below. We will be updating this information as new advice becomes available.

Department for Education - Latest Advice

Schools Coronavirus Operational Guidance - Feb 2021

Guidance on Lockdown Learning - 12th Jan 2021

Guidance on Lockdown announced - 4th Jan 2021

Guidance on Schools re-opening - 30th Dec 2020

Music Mark - Latest Advice

https://www.musicmark.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/England-Supplement-08Jan21.pdf

https://www.musicmark.org.uk/resources/music-unlocked-guidance-for-schools-and-music-providers/

Incorporated Society of Musicians (ISM) - Tier 4 Advice

https://www.ism.org/news/tier-four-move-means-for-musicians

Remote Learning General Advice

This includes some possibly useful tips on how to 'Keep it simple'

Don't overcomplicate resources with too many graphics and illustrations that don't add to content.
Have clear and high expectations and to communicate these to pupils.
Have an awareness of the 'split attention' effect. Pupils can find it harder to concentrate, so the way we integrate words and pictures or graphs is important.
It's harder for pupils to concentrate when being taught remotely, it's often a good idea to divide content into smaller chunks.
Short presentations or modelling of new content can be followed by exercises or retrieval practice.

When adapting the curriculum, focus on the basics

Beware of offering too much new subject matter at once. Make sure key building blocks have been understood fully first. We need to assess pupils' knowledge to determine this.
Consider the most important knowledge or concepts pupils need to know. Focus on those.
Consider what alternatives exist for traditional practical activities. What can be done at home, or using simulations, for example? Worked examples and modelling can work very well in remote digital education.

And there is a section on why live lessons aren't always best.

There are more resources on remote education here:
the Department for Education's guidance, resources and support for teachers
the Education Endowment Foundation's overview of evidence on remote learning

Department for Education - Advice for Peripatetic Music Teachers - 28th August 2020

Peripatetic teachers

Schools can continue to engage peripatetic teachers during this period, including staff from music education hubs.

Peripatetic teachers can move between schools, for instance, but you should consider how to minimise the number of visitors where possible. They will be expected to comply with arrangements for managing and minimising risk, including taking particular care to maintain distance from other staff and pupils. To minimise the numbers of temporary staff entering the premises, and secure best value, you could consider using longer assignments with peripatetic teachers and agree a minimum number of hours across the academic year.

If a teacher is operating on a peripatetic basis, and operating across multiple groups or individuals, it is important that they do not attend a lesson if they are unwell or are having any symptoms associated with coronavirus (COVID-19) such as fever, a new and sustained cough, loss of sense of taste or smell. In addition, they should:

Maintain distancing requirements with each group they teach, where appropriate.
Avoid situations where distancing requirements are broken; for an example demonstrating partnering work in dancing.
Make efforts to reduce the number of groups taught and locations worked in, to reduce the number of contacts made.

Further information on the music education hubs, including contact details for local hubs, can be found at music education hub, published by the Arts Council England.