Bronze music award for Thurso primary school is a first in Scotland
Mount Pleasant Primary School in Thurso has become the first in Scotland to earn a bronze award as part of a scheme called We Make Music.
Run by the Music Education Partnership Group (MEPG), it aims to recognise and celebrate the rich variety of music-making taking place in the country’s classrooms.
Research has shown that schoolchildren who practise music daily become more effective learners.
Regular music learning supports literacy development but it also results in higher cognitive processing speeds, enhanced problem-solving skills, improved ability to manage difficult emotions and ability to pay attention and switch attention effectively.
For bronze accreditation, every child in Mount Pleasant took part in a minimum of 15 hours of music-making across the year, either in the classroom or as a whole school.
Head teacher Suzanne Urquhart said: “I’m so proud of all the children and the staff members who have earned this award. It’s just the first step of our journey towards gold, but we’re already seeing how the joy of music-making can support the behaviour and learning of our pupils.”
Every class participated in a variety of music-making activities, supported by Fèis Rois, social enterprise caithnessmusic.com, a visiting Kodály singing teacher and the High Life Highland instrumental music instructor team.
Class teacher Jennifer Gordon facilitated some innovative whole-school music-making sessions using a combination of belleplates, table bells, body percussion and singing, which MEPG assessors described as “every ingredient we’d like to see, all there in one session – just beautiful”.
Two staff development sessions were led by Katrina Gordon and Susie Dingle of caithnessmusic.com, MEPG’s partner in the far north.
Katrina explained: “Inspired by the Bigger Better Brains research of Dr Anita Collins, we helped the teachers to understand that music-making is more than just a fun extra.
“Just 10 minutes of quality music-learning every day enhances children’s brain development, improving their general attention skills, listening skills, memory and problem-solving skills.
“The aim, by the time we get to the gold award, is to enable the children to become better learners in every subject area while they continue to have fun making music every day.”
Mrs Urquhart praised the already noticeable improvement in the children’s ability to pay attention and listen carefully at assemblies as a result of the project.
The next step for Mount Pleasant will be for the staff team to develop a whole-school music plan that demonstrates musical progression from nursery to P7 for the silver award.
Plans already in place for 2025 include developing the music curriculum in the Enhanced Provision Unit in collaboration with Morag Currie of the Glasgow-based charity Hear My Music.
She and her colleagues understand music to be a powerful communicative tool that can change lives for those with complex additional needs, including nonverbal pupils, and they will be working both in person and online to support the class teacher and support staff in the Enhanced Provision Unit.
Caithnessmusic.com has secured funding from the Cross Trust which will allow it to work with other primary schools in Caithness during 2025 to help staff teams begin the journey to gain a bronze, silver and eventually gold We Make Music award.
Music facilitator Susie Dingle said: “We really would like to help more classroom teachers to develop confidence and give them the tools they need to deliver just a few minutes of music-learning every day in their classrooms.
“As well as all the researched benefits to academic learning, regular group music-making also develops pro-social skills, increases emotional resilience and develops strong teamwork. It’s such a joyous way to benefit the whole school community.
“We’re interested in talking to any Caithness primary head teachers who would like to know more about the MEPG scheme to help them to consider how they could introduce these positive changes into their own schools.”
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