Why do we not want you to combine classes in an ABC support day?
We always send out instructions to schools in advance of support days saying "Please don't combine classes". If you have more classes than we can visit in one day, then provide cover and have the second teacher watch the visit in the first class without bringing in the second classes children. So combine teachers but not children.
However consistently schools produce timetables for us ignoring that request - often with explanatory notes like 'P1&2 combined but less than 30'. As if that means it is ok and class size is the main issue.
That is what happened today. Here is why that isn't a good idea - despite the factors like "it means we don't have to find cover and means more children can experience the visit" which are true.
The visit is an important input into to your school to help staff build confidence in working in their classroom with their class using the ABC resource. The whole point is to support the staff to develop their understanding and confidence, and to consolidate the concepts and techniques taught at CPD, so the staff can go on and give their class many hours of positive musical and cross-curricular experiences using the ABC website. So the number of kids who experience 40 minutes of input from us is not the point at all - especially if combining the class impacts negatively of the intended positive outcomes of the visit. It isn't primarily a beneficial music session for the children.
Why does having a combined class impact negatively ?
Well here is what happened today.
The school decided to combine P1&2 for a session so that more kids could take part and they didn't need to find cover. The combined numbers were 29 kids.
As a result the children - as well as needing to deal with a new guy ( me being there) were also in a situation that was not normal for both classes and it threw them significantly. It wasn't just that there was a whole bunch of other children in the room - there were also 2 teachers neither of who was in control of the whole class PLUS a visitor is me.
That is what happened today. Here is why that isn't a good idea - despite the factors like "it means we don't have to find cover and means more children can experience the visit" which are true.
The visit is an important input into to your school to help staff build confidence in working in their classroom with their class using the ABC resource. The whole point is to support the staff to develop their understanding and confidence, and to consolidate the concepts and techniques taught at CPD, so the staff can go on and give their class many hours of positive musical and cross-curricular experiences using the ABC website. So the number of kids who experience 40 minutes of input from us is not the point at all - especially if combining the class impacts negatively of the intended positive outcomes of the visit. It isn't primarily a beneficial music session for the children.
Why does having a combined class impact negatively ?
Well here is what happened today.
The school decided to combine P1&2 for a session so that more kids could take part and they didn't need to find cover. The combined numbers were 29 kids.
As a result the children - as well as needing to deal with a new guy ( me being there) were also in a situation that was not normal for both classes and it threw them significantly. It wasn't just that there was a whole bunch of other children in the room - there were also 2 teachers neither of who was in control of the whole class PLUS a visitor is me.
It also meant that the combination of children hadn't done the same activities in abc, so it wasn't possible to build on the work that had been done and demonstrate to the teachers how to take their class of children forward and deal with the normal dynamic and issues in their class.
So when I was shown by the P1 teacher where they had gotten up to and I started working it became clear that most of the children weren't reacting as they should have done had they done ABC Creative Music up to that point.
It made the whole class highly artificial and I had to spend all of my energy and focus on finding the right material for the combined group, getting them on the same page, getting them to relax in this highly abnormal situation. It wasn't helped when the P2 teacher suddenly announced he had to leave 15 minutes early because he had to get his class back to their classroom to then get ready for an assembly.
It made the lesson very difficult for me to run and made it very hard to demonstrate all the subtleties and issues I could have done had it been one class who had all had the same experience. This massively impacted of the effectiveness of the session for demonstrating the underlying techniques and approaches to the staff - which is the whole point of the visit.
So when I was shown by the P1 teacher where they had gotten up to and I started working it became clear that most of the children weren't reacting as they should have done had they done ABC Creative Music up to that point.
It made the whole class highly artificial and I had to spend all of my energy and focus on finding the right material for the combined group, getting them on the same page, getting them to relax in this highly abnormal situation. It wasn't helped when the P2 teacher suddenly announced he had to leave 15 minutes early because he had to get his class back to their classroom to then get ready for an assembly.
It made the lesson very difficult for me to run and made it very hard to demonstrate all the subtleties and issues I could have done had it been one class who had all had the same experience. This massively impacted of the effectiveness of the session for demonstrating the underlying techniques and approaches to the staff - which is the whole point of the visit.
Frustrating!
So please don't do it! Resist the temptation.
Trust us - it is not the best thing for your staff, children, or school.
So please don't do it! Resist the temptation.
Trust us - it is not the best thing for your staff, children, or school.