VIP lockdown stories: Online engagement, well-being & inclusivity

Back at School

With the academic year well underway, teachers and young people continue to find themselves in a new, unfamiliar situation. Many teachers are using VIP Studio Sessions as they respond to this challenge, and to ensure music-making can continue safely.

In the video below, Cristin Casey, Head of Curriculum Development for the Burnt Mill Academy Trust, talks about her experience of first using VIP to produce a track – something that was not her specialism. After just an hour, her confidence grew. She felt a sense of satisfaction having tried something new and a feeling of excitement, which she then passed onto her students.

Support for Hybrid, Blended or Home Learning

With a wide range of resources, training and support on offer, VIP can also support hybrid, blended or home learning. Having registered your students and given them individual logins, they can access the VIP platform 24/7.

‘There are, of course, other online platforms out there which I have looked at to support my teaching, but VIP is the right one for me. It’s purpose-built for education and I can log in and see a student’s progress without seeing them at school. Similarly, they can contact me as and when needed. It’s great, and I’d encourage you to give it a go.’ – Francis Ajiteru, Hodgson and All Hallows Schools, Lancashire.

Well-being

COVID-19 has changed the educational landscape, leaving young people to cope with isolation, remote schooling and the pressure of having to catch up. Unlocking their creativity through music is but one avenue to support their mental health; to give them something fun to do or a way of expressing their emotions.

Throughout the pandemic, the VIP team has run numerous competitions to inspire students – including an exciting collaboration with Youth Music and Bicep, the critically-acclaimed Electronic music duo.

New popular music genres, and related tutorials and competitions, have also been added onto the platform, such as Lo-Fi Hip Hop and Film music. These provide students with fun, educational online challenges, while enabling them to learn about composition outside the classroom as part of their coursework.

‘We started using VIP for our Y10s so that they could create music for their RSL compositional unit when working at home, and with minimal equipment required,’ Jamie Berry, a music teacher at the Co-op Academy Priesthorpe in Leeds, explains.

‘Some of the pieces they created were amazing. The platform’s tutorials allowed all students to get creative straight away and stopped the infamous “writer’s block”.

‘It’s quite incredible really, when you listen back to what they’ve achieved. They have learnt to produce, arrange, compose and perform music – all in one go.

Accessibility, Inclusivity and Equality

Back at Burnt Mill, Cristin uses VIP as a means to engage female students particularly; young women who are keen on and showing real potential in genres that are often popular with their male peers.

Here she talks more about increasing access to music and engaging students who wouldn’t necessarily have thought that they could get a qualification in music.

We are inviting new schools and community organisations to register for a complimentary, no obligation trial – complete with access for up to 30 students. To ensure you get the most out of your trial, you’ll be able to sign up for one of our free introductory webinars too. Enjoy and simply look out for an invitation once your trial has started.

As always, please get in touch if you have any questions whatsoever. You can reach us at vip@charanga.com.