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I don't know where you are, but out of curiosity I did a search. Seems there are quite a variety of such workshops. One used hockey sticks, basketballs and brooms to create music (based on the work of "Stomp"). That one sounded quite good I thought Here's a link to it.
http://www.thegrid.org.uk/learning/music/k...leetville.shtml

Here's another.
http://www.teachingexpertise.com/articles/...-enrichment-389

Is there anyway you can get more info? If it's like the ones I've linked she might as well leave her violin at home, but if it isn't then she might miss out if she does. The school should be able to present more info - if not how do they know the workshop is suitable and of (educational) value?

There are some run locally on world music and percussion that don't require instruments but they are for slightly older children.

There is so much more to music than just operating an instrument! Find out more if you can, and especially if it's soething like Kodaly and/or Dalcroze based it could be a wonderful experience.

Son was sent on one when he was in year 6 and told he could bring his flute if he would like. They used a lot of percussion and did a performance to the parents at the end of the second day.

They were put in two groups and they had to make a music composition up using the percussion. Son used his flute, but not for blowing, more hitting the keys without sound. My son enjoyed it immensley, although he loves to play his flute as normal. In fact all the children appeared to be having a great time, even those that couldn't play a musical instrument.

My son is a bit older now and in Year 9 and he is on a music composing workshop tomorrow and Friday. Again he has been advised he can take his flute if he likes. I think this course will be a bit more structured as it is supposed to give them a tasting for what it will be like for GCSE.

I think that you should let your daughter go, I am sure that she will get something out of it.

Yes, tell her to go!
Both mine were on the G&T for music, plus quite a few pupils, and none of them have ever been offered anything for it, either in or out of school.
Tell her she's on the G&T list because she's special, and this is the special treat that goes with it

DC's did the RCM Sparks two years ago and were thoroughly bored. No instruments required but they made noise and sounds with rubbish, radio waves (?), electronic devises. I thought it was quite clever but they just wanted to blow their instruments and show off, and so did the other kids!

But, sadly, I have a sort of heavy feeling in my heart that it will be more of the 'making sounds and noises with rubbish' sort of thing..

(Reminds me of Bagpuss' very short foray into teacher training...being told to 'see if you can make a QUIET sound and a LOUD sound with this' (being handed a metal waste paper bin) was the last straw for her and she came home...)

I did I did

I was approached not long ago by a parent to give his child recorder lessons as the youngster had been singled out as Gifted and Talented at his school. I'm afaid I saw no evidence of either in the consultation lesson I was able to squeeze in. I came away feeling rather depressed to be honest

Bx

This doesn't surprise me really. G&T is often decided on year 6 SATs results. It doesn't take into consideration if the child has suffered from short term medical issues that may have caused them to miss school. Some Primary schools spent a lot of time just working through tests where others were less focused.


I think there is a defined percentage that are recognised as gifted and talented. If you are in a strong school year it may be more difficult to get on that list than in a weaker school year. Under the previous head, staff at the high school let students participate who would benefit from the experience rather than sticking to a cohort. I think this worked better than the current system which is either not running or being highly selective.

At the Junior school where both mine were put on the G&T list for music, the only thing they (and subsequent pupils) have had is a slip of paper with an extra target for them to go and do for themselves. Useless! I have a pupil at the same school who is on the list for Maths, and he gets some extra tuition from the Head - for what it's worth, but at least it's something.
If the school are offering a workshop, at least they are trying to fulfil their end of the bargain, it's not actually their fault if the workshop is rubbish, but by letting them know, perhaps they can use the money on the pupils more wisely?

It is their fault if they haven't asked what the workshop consists of and assessed whether it's likely to be any good - eg find out what other schools have participated and how they found it. "Workshop" doesn't generally equal cheap, so if it were me - I'd want to know what I was getting for the money. I'd rather pay a good peri to come in than have external course I couldn't feel honest in vouching for.

I had a piano pupil for this reason.
After 4 weeks of a child who only wanted to bang on the piano I advised that she appeared not to be ready yet for formal music lessons.

I agree with this. As far as I'm aware the school get money for each G&T child so I'd like to know it was being spent on them properly...or at all...

G&T seems to be the latest fad from education. My children were on the G&T scheme at primary school and it made no difference. Eldest is on it for Maths and Music at senior school. Maths she was sent on a course for 6 saturdays at a local college, but that was once in five years, surely it should be an ongoing process? And music they have a workshop once a year, where they miss all their other lessons for the day and play in a big orchestra / windband.

It reminds me of the primary school asking the parents to raise money for an interactive whiteboard. The parents asked if there shouldn't be one in every classroom and it became apparent that they only realy wanted it so they could tell prospective parents that they had one, not actually to use it as the staff didn't know how! It looks good on paper and they get money for having children on the G&T register, but it's too much effort to actually do anything constructive for the children's education.

It is all down to the ability of the teacher/session-leader. When I was training as a music teacher I attended a few events f this sort of. Some were disasters, but some were quite brilliant. Where the leader had sufficient skill, energy, charisma ... they could get the most unpromising looking children to create some genuinely musical sounds, and coaxed enjoyable performances out of many small mixed-ability groups of children. This did wonders for the confidence and self-esteem of both complete novices and those that already played a traditional instrument.

I'm about to go completely :off Topic:
So apologies in advance.
But what Andante said touched a sore spot.



At the beginning of the 2nd semester I turned up to teach a class to find the door locked. Classroom doors in the university are never locked and teaching staff don't have keys. It took me 25 minutes (of a 60 minute lesson) for me to find someone with a key to come and unlock the door.

It turned out that the reason the door was locked was because they had installed an interactive whiteboard. I hadn't been told (in fact none of the staff had been told). I didn't know how to use it and even if I had, wouldn't have been able to because you have to bring your own computer and I didn't have one with me. Not only that, but they had removed the old blackboard so there was nothing for me to write on, which rather ruined my lesson plan (and my lesson plans for the afternoon when I had another three hours in the same room which all involved writing on the blackboard).

By the next week, I had downloaded the appropriate programme and went armed with my computer and more or less managed to use it but the room is constantly occupied so there is not chance of getting your mind round it without trying to teach at the same time.

Last week (four weeks on) they finally decided to re-install an ordinary whiteboard...
And left all the packaging (and there seemed to be an awful lot of it) in front of the two boards so I had to waste five minutes of my lesson putting it all out in the corridor so I could get to a board...

Meanwhile for another class in another room, I asked to borrow a video-projector. No need, I was told, one has been installed in the classroom. This turned out to be true, except that it was screwed to the ceiling and projecting on to a black blackboard A white board will be installed at a later date when they have some more money.

I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised - this is the university which has a fire escape door on the 3rd floor but will only be building stairs connecting it to the ground sometime in the future

I just wish they would get on with teaching in the old fashioned way and stop messing around with technology and initiatives like G&T when the real problems are far more basic.

Regarding this G&T thing... I suspect it was starting to come in when I was at secondary school; but there was a big scheme to not identify pupils too formally. I expect someone observed that I (and certain others in my year!) were big headed enough already.

I did however get invited to take part in various events. When in Year 9 I attended a series of Royal Institution Mathematics Masterclasses at one of the local colleges on a Saturday. Now, I don't know how much maths I really learnt from it, certainly nothing especially useful for passing GCSEs and whatnot, but it was a really educational experience. It opened my eyes much more to the possibility of the subject at university, and the potential it had beyond the trite arithmatic taught at school. All the classes were given by lecturers from various universities.

Later on I did a series of science-based workshops after school at another college. These basically gave up the chance to do much more practical science in better equipped labs, doing things like DNA extraction from cells, and analysis, physics experiments with magnets, and analytical teachniques on transition metal salts, among others I can't remember. They were a lot of fun, and involved far more lab time than we were able to fit in at school.

Another activity I took part in was a residential with around 20 other students where we had to organise many things ourselves. We were given a budget for example, and had to plan our catering arrangments, organise a trip to the supermarket to buy it all, figure out room arrangements and organise a cleaning rota. Total chaos ensued, but it was a lot of fun.

The school also organised various drama, art and music workshops over the years. Sometimes they were a bit lousy, sometimes they were very good.

What I'm trying to get at, is that opting out of these things, or dismissing them as a trite waste of time, undervalues them. Even if you don't learn very much academic 'stuff' from them, they are enrinching, a bit different, and widen pupil's perspectives. In my view that is of far more value educationally.

They have these music G and T days where I live. They generally invite children who are having instrumental lessons at school, they will not necessarily be 'Gifted and Talented'.

When it's not at all the LEA has the power to take the money back and let the child spend it on something worthwhile. Not sure this happens very often though

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Oh no! It's a good job she wasn't that keen on going, that would have been quite upsetting for a child who had really wanted to go on the workshop.

My solution would have probably been - we've got x pounds y people so that's x/y pounds each, who's up for taking x/y pounds and going home early?

I have to say that I am so pleased that these Gifted and talented things exist. My son is very able and becomes very bored at times. His school offers numerous different workshops which he always enjoys and gets a great deal out of them. Usually the idea is that the child goes, learns new things and then goes back and does a presentation at school.

My son was on a composing workshop last Thursday and Friday (he is in year 9 now) it was in house and he enjoyed it immensly. The first day they used their instruments but the second day was spent on the computers using I thing (is it Garageband? or something like that)

Anyway my son got a great deal out of it. They also covered the type of thing that they are likely to do for the GCSE.