Musical School
The award-winning, modern-day resource for primary music.
- A complete scheme to teach the national curriculum for music
- A growing library of songs, topics, instrument courses and creative apps
- Support for assessment, SEND and personalised teaching and learning
9 out of 10 teachers say it’s had a hugely positive impact on pupil attainment and their own enjoyment of teaching.
Suitable for specialists and non-specialists.
Reinforces continuous genuine music-making as desired by OFSTED.
Used by more than 1 in 3 primary schools and recommended by over 100 music services and hubs.
Day 2 of Charanga – whole school lovin it! Song practice rocked! My own repertoire blown out the window with Don’t Stop, Mamma Mia, Livin’ on a Prayer. Fantastic resources around each song – recorders y3 loved Mamma Mia – y4 recorders Adele … Rhythm grid excellent. Music has just raised its game!
Free 30-day trial
Discover why Musical School is having such an enormous impact on the teaching and learning of music in over 8,000 primary schools
Musical School costs on average £195 plus VAT but it may be much less – we will inform you of your school’s price.
Start Free TrialThere’s no obligation and we don’t take any payment details.
Scheme
A complete Scheme of Work for your school
The Charanga Musical School Scheme provides teachers with week-by-week lessons for each year group in the school from ages 5-11.
It is ideal for specialist and non-specialist teachers and provides lesson plans, assessment, clear progression, and engaging and exciting whiteboard resources for every lesson.
The Scheme supports all the requirements of the national curriculum and is absolutely in line with published Ofsted guidance.
Musical School Learning
The learning within this Scheme is based on:
- Listening and Appraising
- Musical Activities — creating and exploring
- Singing and Performing.
Everything is clearly and simply explained and the planning support is extensive.
Interactive Teaching Resources
Because the on-screen resources are so visual and supportive and everything is at your fingertips, every lesson is full of music and the children enjoy every moment.
Musical School Assessment
We’ve looked at all the great thinking that has been done on assessment and created an easy-to-use framework that’s useful for both music specialists and non-specialists.
In essence, there are three aspects to the assessment:
- End of Key Stage Expectations with the expected musical learning against which to assess
- One-page lesson plans with the facility for you to formatively (continuously) assess
- A digital evidence storage facility to help you build a musical E profile for classes and individual pupils
Updates to Musical School Scheme this year
We constantly seek to improve what we do and respond to the feedback we get from teachers.
Among other things, you will see an updated Scheme with more progressive Listening & Appraising and Musical Activities devised to give extra variety and to challenge older children.
We have added new units including the classic songs ‘Blackbird’ and ‘Happy’ to keep the teaching and learning fresh for both the teacher and the children and made changes to the autumn half-term units to give more options and flexibility.
The end of year Reflect, Rewind and Replay units have been revised to develop general musicianship with more on the history and language of music yet still provide the opportunity to consolidate and celebrate the learning that has taken place.
I think Charanga is absolutely fantastic. I use the rhythm grids as a starter activity in all my classes and the pupils’ understanding of rhythm, the accuracy with which they perform has really improved.
I use the recorder course with my clubs and they love all the songs. This half term I’m also teaching the hip hop topic with my y6s and it’s going really well. I look forward to some more exciting resources.
Freestyle
A vast library of music resources
While for many teachers the Scheme may be one part of Charanga Musical School they use the most, many teachers also like the more flexible Freestyle approach provided by the Musical School resource library.
From this library you can choose from a range of music resources which you might want to mix in with your own resources. You can also use the library to find resources linked to many other areas of music-making in your school.
Take a look at what’s in the Musical School Freestyle library
Topics
The topics mostly contain collections of songs or related resources linked to popular primary themes, such as Ancient Egypt, Minibeasts and Healthy Living. As they are intended to be used flexibly to support your teaching in a range of contexts, there are no lesson plans.
The topics have been divided into age range based on the content but many can be used across the primary sector.
Units
The stand-alone units within Freestyle can be combined together or with other materials, to form a unique music plan for your school. These units all offer a flexible pathway which contains every resource from the unit in a single lesson, allowing you complete flexibility for your teaching. Many of the units which cover a wide range of musical genres are based around a central song, some well-known and some specially commissioned to be perfect for young voices.
Productions
These full school musical productions can be used to celebrate key points in the school year such as summer or winter time or festivals like Harvest, Diwali and Christmas. Each production provides everything you need including tracks for learning the songs, backing tracks for the performance, scripts, scores and director guides. The songs can be used in schools as often as you like but in most cases it will be necessary to take out a Public Performance Licence for public shows – see the guidance on the production home page for full details.
Creative Apps
Rhythm Grids
The Rhythm Grids are great for introducing simple and compound 2, 3 and 4-beat time signatures. Children love the rotation feature.
Music Explorer
An exciting new app to support lots of different musical activities including pulse games, listening skills, improvising, composing and use of notation.
Percussion Writer
A great way to play along with excerpts from famous works or create your own simple classroom percussion pieces.
Musical Toolkit
Supports the learning and understanding of generic musical ideas and terminology, such as pulse and rhythm, notations and historical context.
NEW In the Freestyle library this year
We’ve launched a great new section which is one of the most requested from our teaching community.
Listening Centre
A colourful collection of music covering a wide range of periods, styles and genres.
There are 4 sections:
- Listen by style genre and era with well over 150 musical works to choose from
- Active Listening – a guided Classical music library with questions and answers, fast facts and historical context
- Listening Calendar – for every month of the year linking musical listening to specific events
- BBC Ten Pieces – exciting BBC-led initiative focusing on Classical music and creativity
Free 30-day trial
Discover why Musical School is having such an enormous impact on the teaching and learning of music in over 8,000 primary schools
Musical School costs on average £195 plus VAT but it may be much less – we will inform you of your school’s price.
Start Free TrialThere’s no obligation and we don’t take any payment details.
Charanga Sing
A fantastic teaching resource that encourages everyone to sing more!
Extensive research has shown the undeniably positive impact singing has on emotional, physical and mental wellbeing. This is the reason why singing features so highly in music curricula and on educational agendas – as well as simply being a great thing to do!
Charanga Sing contains a growing bank of over 500 songs presented in a way that is intuitive to use whether by vocal specialists, confident singers or those just keen to encourage more singing every day.
There are songs for all occasions, all ages and for all groupings from soloists to massed choirs. The repertoire covers a wide range of styles, cultures and purposes, with each one carefully picked to be included in the song bank.
Finding Songs
Finding the right song is easy. Use the categories such as age range or genre to highlight suitable material, or the search engine to look for specific words, perhaps linking to work that you are doing in other areas of the curriculum.
A wealth of information
There is a wealth of information for each song to allow you to decide which will work best. This information is clearly presented with a brief overview of the song appearing in the list view, indicating age suitability, difficulty and genre. Further details are listed under Song Info.
Opening the Song Info reveals teaching ideas, where else in the programme the song is found, musical guidance such as range, key and tempo, and much, much more.
Alongside the Song Info there are also quick links for Listen, Launch and Star.
Quick access to your favourite songs
Whilst you are looking through the song bank you can ‘star’ songs which will be useful for your teaching on a regular basis, or for specific projects. These will be added to ‘My Resources’ allowing easy access whenever they are needed.
Singing courses
Musitrax Sing 1 & 2
A child-centred approach to music-teaching for Early Years and Key Stage 1 based on Kodály principles, using singing and singing games, with fun and learning through play at its heart.
For younger children
A bank of nursery rhymes, action songs (including many old favourites) and specially written songs, which are perfect for little voices.
For older students
A wide range of unison and two or more part songs. Some are specifically composed, some traditional and some very well-known – but all ideal for encouraging every one of your pupils to sing.
Vocal Coach
A vocal health section all about taking care of the voice with fantastic body and vocal warm-ups, exercises and popular tongue twisters.
Song Collections
There are lots of two or more part songs within the Song Collections which are ideal for older children and choirs. Many of these collections contain well-loved materials which will prove popular with everyone.
All Songs A-Z
Units of Work
Well-known Charanga Unit Songs
Charanga Songs
2-Part Wellknown Songs
2-Part Film & Theatre Songs
Songs from Friday Afternoons
3-5 Part Songs of Today – Sing Out
Instruments
Resources for popular classroom instruments
Playing instruments is an important part of music-making. This new section contains courses for popular classroom instruments including both percussion and more traditional instruments such as recorders and guitars. These instrument courses enhance and extend learning, and can be used as part of the music curriculum or as enrichment activities.
Many of the courses have been developed through partnerships and collaborations with leading authors and publishers.
The lovely Heather Ward’s Blown Away Recorder Books 1 and 2 use our latest technology and are suitable for children throughout the primary phase. The colourful graphics and captivating characters will inspire your pupils to want to learn.
Also for recorders is the ever-popular Jane Sebba’s Recorder Course with its extra repertoire, perfect for the younger beginner.
Fiddle Time is the UK’s most popular violin teaching method. Fiddle Time authors Kathy and David Blackwell have selected 30 pieces that are suited to whole-class violin teaching and its need for flexible learning progression.
The Beginner Guitarist has brilliant video tutorials and an added feature allowing you to slow the video without changing the pitch. This course is ideal for small groups and after-school clubs.
The Ukulele Course is aimed at older primary-aged children and contains interactive resources and detailed lesson plans. Teachers who are not familiar with the ukulele may wish to follow the course themselves first.
The Djembe Course is ideal for older pupils but it can be adapted for younger children. Pupils are encouraged to play accurately and to enjoy being creative. There are simple plans for 12 lessons.
The two Glockenspiel Stages introduce the language of music in a practical way. The children have the opportunity to explore and develop their playing skills. You can decide whether to follow the six steps in each stage or to use the Flexible Pathway and work at your own pace.
SEND in Musical School
Supporting inclusive practice
The SEND section in Musical School is dedicated to supporting teachers working with children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities. However, whilst the SEND section is a discrete area many teachers use it alongside the main Musical School programme, allowing them to find the most appropriate resources for each learner.
The SEND section has three areas:
1. SEND Scheme – Anyone Can Play
SEND Scheme of ready-made lessons called ‘Anyone Can Play’, has been devised by the Music Unlimited team with their 30 years of experience in special school settings.
This Scheme is suitable for youngsters at any point on the learning difficulty spectrum and is ideal for use by the non-specialist teacher. Although there are whiteboard resources, the Scheme works equally well without them.
2. SEND Freestyle
The SEND Freestyle library section brings together bespoke versions of the most popular Charanga resources from the Musical School programme. These lighter versions can provide a seamless pathway to the main Freestyle section if this is appropriate.
3. SEND CREATE
SEND CREATE uses iPads to inspire and nurture school-aged composers, improvisers and performers. Like the SEND Scheme, SEND CREATE has been devised by specialists in this field – in this case Transformance Music.
CREATE offers four unique projects which are suitable for all learners:
- Make a Music Video
- Music To Dance To
- Sensory India!
- Improvise and Groove
Free 30-day trial
Discover why Musical School is having such an enormous impact on the teaching and learning of music in over 8,000 primary schools
Musical School costs on average £195 plus VAT but it may be much less – we will inform you of your school’s price.
Start Free TrialThere’s no obligation and we don’t take any payment details.
YUMU for Children
A safe online learning space for children
Within Musical School, YUMU for Children is a safe online space especially for the children to use.
There are ready-made packages such as Music World with its avatars, musical games, quizzes and beginner instrumental courses that you can provide for all the children in your school.
Additionally, you can give your pupils access to any materials you are using in school. This might be preparation for a new topic, further learning of a recorder or ukulele piece or even the chance to learn the songs for the summer production.
It’s very quick and easy to set up whole classes with usernames and passwords (in a similar way to MyMaths and Mathletics).
My Workspace
My Workspace is personal to you and allows you to access resources, create and edit lessons and share them with your pupils. For this reason each teacher is able to have their own login.
My Resources
My Resources is a personal library of resources to use in your teaching, so whenever you see a resource you like you can add it by ‘starring’ the resource. As well as the tens of thousands of musical resources available in this website, you can also easily upload your own to this area.
My Lessons
Each lesson is a collection, or playlist, of resources. There are two ways to build a lesson:
- Start with a ready-made lesson and add or remove resources
- Create a new lesson by using the search facility to find resources and add these along with anything you already have in My Resources
This allows you to create your own lessons which can be used in your teaching or shared with your pupils through YUMU. Lessons can also be downloaded for use offline.
My Pupil Groups
It’s very quick and easy to set up whole classes with usernames and passwords for YUMU to enable pupils to access ready-made packages and any lessons you have shared. You can also track pupils’ usage and progress.
CPD & Training
Equipping teachers to teach music
At Charanga we are totally committed to ensuring teachers feel as equipped and confident as possible to teach music successfully.
To complement the superb resources within Musical School we offer an extensive, and in most cases free, programme of Continuing Professional Development & Training.
This CPD & Training is provided in a number of ways
Resources
The interactive nature of our materials provides a great deal of in-built modelling and support.
Documentation
Everything you need is provided including planning, teaching and assessment documents.
CPD & Training Section
A growing bank of videos, tutorials, webinars and articles is coming soon.
Regional CPD & Training events
Last year we held over 600 free events with most taking place as twilight sessions to make them as accessible as possible.
Breadth of CPD & Training events
Ranging from introductory to more advanced overview sessions, specific themed workshops and SEND focused events.
National and International Conferences
Partnerships with Music Education Hubs as well as national and worldwide organisations.
Additionally, we offer events at a reasonable price for
- In-school CPD & Training events: perfect for your whole school staff
- In-school SEND Anyone Can Play training from Music Unlimited
- In-school SEND CREATE training from Transformance Music
For more details of any of the CPD & Training we offer
Please contact Madeleine Casson, our Education Director: madeleinecasson@charanga.com
Does the Musical School Scheme work?
The positive evidence is overwhelming with two independent masters’ theses showing that schools using the Charanga Musical School programme have experienced a significant improvement in music teaching and musical achievement.
Our close links with schools through Charanga’s partnerships with over 100 music hubs and through the Musical School training sessions we run each year, we get a great insight into how effectively the programme is working for teachers.
In addition, our Musical School teacher survey to which we had almost 1000 responses, showed the following highly encouraging feedback from both specialist and non-specialist music teachers.
A survey of teachers using the Musical School programme
Is Musical School widely used?
YES – more than 1 in 3 UK schools use Musical School with more adopting the programme every day. Teachers did well over one million hours of teaching with Musical School over the past year.
What about Ofsted?
While Musical School is totally in line with Ofsted guidance and it does a massive amount to support your teaching, Ofsted inspection is always about the teaching so we do like to highlight our little sign.
How does the free trial work?
Sign up and we will then send you a login which will be activated for 30 days. We do not take any payment details for the trial. At the end of the trial, you can place an order which will convert your trial licence to a full one and you keep the same login details so you can preserve any lessons you’ve created. However, if it’s not right for you, just let the trial expire and we thank you for your interest.
How much does it cost?
Musical School for primaries won’t cost more than £295 per annum – it’s often less. It differs around the country based on how much it’s supported by your local music hub, authority or MAT and also the size of school. Teachers who use it though, consistently tell us the cost is low and it’s great value. It is an annual fee but upgrades are free. Find out the exact cost for your school.
What does Charanga mean?
It’s a small musical band often linked to Cuban music. We thought it was a good name for a music education company (and we’re all a bit partial to the Latin music vibe).
Free 30-day trial
Discover why Musical School is having such an enormous impact on the teaching and learning of music in over 8,000 primary schools
Musical School costs on average £195 plus VAT but it may be much less – we will inform you of your school’s price.
Start Free TrialThere’s no obligation and we don’t take any payment details.
