by Cherie Collings
The Pines School is a large school on the outskirts of Adelaide, catering to a diverse population of 750 students from Preschool through to Year 6 representing over 50 cultures. A third of the students come from families living in disadvantage. Prior to the NMTMP, the school had a guitar teacher coming once a week for instrumental tuition and a choir run by a staff member for students from Year 3–6. However, very little music was happening in the classrooms.
After the first year of music mentoring in 2018, the principal, Cherie Collings, committed to long-term engagement with the program through a multi-year approach. Since the program’s inception at the school, 14 different teachers have taken part in the program, each receiving several consecutive years of music mentoring. As the first two teachers moved on to the second year of mentoring, the next two teachers started their first year.
Cherie reports that through the mentoring program the teachers learned many new skills and built their confidence to teach music in the classroom. In the second and third year of music mentoring they expanded their professional knowledge, in particular in relation to teaching the Australian curriculum, and adapted their music teaching strategies to new cohorts of students. Teachers have worked in small collaborative groups to plan lessons and run training sessions in staff meetings which has motivated other teachers to get involved in the program, including pre-school teachers. The staff who participated in the NMTMP now feel confident to teach music to their classes.
Cherie has observed children being excited about participating in the music program and their developing music skills and knowledge. The school employs an explicit teaching approach in most areas. As one example, music activities such as singing and performing actions whilst repeating the alphabet underpin the phonics learning, contributing to improvement in phonics results every year. Music has helped children with trauma to manage their behaviour. Small changes like using a musical school bell or using rhythm to attract students’ attention have helped enrich the atmosphere at the school, Cherie reports.
The school has created a new space for students where they can come together before school, at recess and at lunch to play instruments and talk about music. Cherie comments that this student-regulated space focuses students, helps them concentrate on schoolwork during the school day, and supports positive behaviour outcomes. After participating in the music mentoring program, 112 students have become motivated to learn a range of instruments in Years 3–6, including piccolo, flute, clarinet, guitar, violin, double bass and drums. Now the school is developing a school orchestra and a band.
Cherie has spoken to other principals about the numerous benefits of the NMTMP, highlighting the need to budget for teacher release time, new resources and opportunity to observe the mentor teaching in their own school. It is also important to timetable mentoring sessions to provide certainty to teachers and mentors. She feels that the program provides great value for money, with high-quality mentors building up teachers’ skills, knowledge, and confidence through collaborative work, whilst building the students’ skills in arts practice.
Multi-year music mentoring at the Pines School has benefited the well-being of children with trauma and spread enthusiasm for music across the whole school. As Cherie states, “Our involvement in the NMTMP began our journey, with teachers been mentored and trained to offer the Music Curriculum from the Australian curriculum. Teachers grew in confidence and skills and this motivated other teachers”.