How the charity Music for All helped Layfield Primary School enrich its music curriculum
As a one-form entry community school for children aged three to 11, Layfield Primary had a class set of recorders and percussion instruments. Our children really enjoyed the lessons when they all played together, but many said they wanted to progress their musical knowledge on to more instruments such as guitars or keyboards. We were also keen for our pupils to leave primary school with the skills of being able to play an instrument and read basic music. However, we didn’t have the budget for this and the cost of instruments and private lessons was prohibitive for many parents.
Layfield is part of a cluster of primary schools in Yarm, near Stockton-on-Tees, that work very closely with the local secondary, Conyers School. As music coordinator, I’m in regular contact with the head of music at Conyers, and he alerted us to the funding available from the charity Music for All. I very quickly applied for a grant to purchase a class set of keyboards. The online application process was very straightforward, and we were delighted when Music for All approved funding for us.
The keyboards are now in place and are instilling a love of music and a passion for learning to play among our pupils. Keyboard lessons also help develop creativity and confidence – our children are very excited to have them! We are very grateful to Music for All as we’ve been able to improve the quality of our music curriculum and ensure that we can provide every pupil with invaluable musical skills.
- Samantha Norman, music coordinator, Layfield Primary School, part of the 1590 MAT
Although the Music for All grant is no longer available, you can find many similar funding opportunities in the FundEd grants database, which is regularly updated.