BREAKING BARRIERS CONFERENCE WORKSHOPS
Workshop - From Theory to Practice Your Toolkit for Breaking Barriers
Delivered by - Darren Abrahams
Ready to put these ideas into practice? Through hands-on musical activities and real classroom scenarios, you'll learn simple nervous system techniques to shift students from dysregulation to calm, recognise when a student has moved from safety to threat, and use your voice, instruments and presence to co-regulate challenging moments. Experience how small changes to your sessions can break down barriers to learning across your school. Leave with practical activities you can use immediately - not to add more to your workload, but to transform how you use the musical skills you already have to create genuinely inclusive spaces where all learners can flourish.
Workshop - Assessment in the music classroom key stage 2 and 3
Delivered by - Professor Martin Fautley
In this session the main focus will be on assessment across key stage 2 and KS3. Professor Fautley will ask teachers to reflect on what they teach, why they teach it, and how they then go about assessing what they and the pupils do as a result of this. He will also be asking teachers to think about their own assessment practices, and how these mesh (or maybe don’t!) with whole-school or wider systems within which they have to fit.
Workshop - Unlocking creativity in the primary classroom
Delivered by - Max Wheeler, Charanga
Discover how to transform your primary music lessons with innovative digital tools and resources that make music education fun and accessible to every pupil. In this hands-on session, you'll explore practical techniques for composing using Charanga's YuStudio DAW. You’ll learn how to use and record instruments, build melodies and layers, all while building your confidence to deliver an exciting, inclusive music curriculum.
Whether you’re an experienced teacher looking for fresh ideas and materials, a novice, or somewhere in between, you'll leave with tried-and-tested methods you can use immediately. Get ready to unlock your percussion trolley's potential and have your class composing music to film in no time!
Workshop - Creating music that connects at
key stage 3 and 4
Delivered by - Max Wheeler, Charanga
Join recording artist and music producer Max Wheeler as he explores inclusive approaches to delivering composition and music technology at KS3 and 4. Max will introduce teachers to YuStudio, a full-featured DAW designed for education that makes music production accessible to everyone, regardless of prior experience. Through practical demonstrations, you'll learn how to compose music for film and create tracks in popular genres including Grime, Pop, and House. You'll also discover how to securely share resources with students between lessons, ensuring continuity and independent learning. This workshop is perfect for teachers who want to increase student engagement and inspire more learners to take music at GCSE.
Workshop - Understanding the new Ofsted approach to Music inspections
Delivered by - Susan Hickerton, Senior Education Improvement Adviser, SMBC and Claire Potts , Senior Education Improvement Adviser, SMBC
The Worksop will enable session, participants to understand the key changes in Ofsted’s 2025 framework and grading system. Know what inspectors look for in music curriculum intent, implementation, and impact. Be able to prepare evidence and strategies for music curriculum evaluation. Identify ways to break barriers for inclusion and progression in music education.
Workshop - Sing It Out!
Delivered by - Sarah Stretton. Kimberley Dipple, Kira Hewitt, Hub Lead Schools
Approaches to develop and enhance singing in your school. A practical real time workshop with children from Music Hub schools.
Workshop - Oodles of Noodles, Buckets and Beats
Delivered by - Madaleine Turner Scott Wilson, Wendy Russell, Music Hub Lead Schools
Break down walls and build up rhythm! This high-energy workshop blends noodle and bucket drumming with the power of reading and writing rhythmic notation—making music accessible, inclusive, and empowering. Come explore how unified beats can break barriers and bring a school community together, one rhythm at a time."
Workshop - GCSE Composition
Delivered by - Andy Johnson and Kevin Ronson, Music Hub Lead Schools
The Blank Canvas – practical approaches and strategies that remove barriers in the effective and creative delivery of GCSE composition work.#
Workshop - Samba For All
Delivered by - Sharon Vincent, Diana Tarry and Josh Boxall, Music Hub Lead Schools
Developing Whole Class Ensemble Work in your school at K.S 3 Through Samba Beats. A hands-on practical music making session with ideas and materials to take back an implement in your classroom right away.
Workshop - Makaton Makes Music
Delivered by - Suzane Whiston, Sarah Twiddy, Danielle Land, Music Hub Lead Schools.
Imagine a place where everyone's voice can be heard - whether spoken, sung or signed. A place where music isn't just heard, it is seen and felt. Come and explore the world of a Makaton choir. A Makaton choir combines the joy of singing with the beauty of Makaton signing - a unique communication system that incorporates both signs and symbols to support speech and song. A Makaton choir is inclusive, expressive and full of heart.