The opportunity to observe and to work alongside peripatetic staff in schools is an important element of your experience. The four work placement modules are delivered in partnership with West Sussex Music Support Service, and with 36 primary and secondary schools in the Local Education Authority, and this partnership has also informed the development of the degree. This relationship reflects the QAA Code of Practice for Collaborative Provision in demonstrating a close match between the learning objectives of both the Support Service and the Programme. A relationship where educational objectives are well matched can enable both the partner organisation and the awarding institution to achieve developments and benefits that neither could gain alone (QAA). Ongoing liaison is seen as a vital tool in ensuring the continued externality of the provision.

You will work with the support of experienced teaching staff employed by the Music Service while on placement, and the nature of each placement will be framed by these staff in liaison with your module tutor, particularly in working with children while under their supervision. The skills gap which this degree addresses is centred around the training of teachers to work with individuals and small groups, and collaboration with the West Sussex Music Support Service over the development of the overall structure and individual modules within the programme has been crucial to ensuring its success as an effective vocational training.

The foundation degree is a two year undergraduate programme of study open to students who hold threshold academic qualification for entry and who possess already developed skills in performance, and is available in full or part-time mode. It offers a vocational training in one-to-one and small group teaching of young instrumentalists and singers, additional skills relevant to self-employment, practical experience in the classroom, and the development of historical, analytical and personal performance work.

Distinctive Features

The degree addresses a notable skills gap in providing a unique two year training in individual and small group instrumental or vocal teaching, preparing graduates for employment as peripatetic music teachers within schools or in private practice. Key to this training is the experience of the workplace, achieved through our partnership with West Sussex Music Support Service, and a rich diet of practical work-based learning on campus, combining tutor led workshops and lectures with the contributions of a variety of visiting professionals and specialists.

The degree places emphasis on practice, creativity and exploration both in its balance of curriculum and in its modes of delivery. Pedagogy, placement experience, performance, and analysis and research are placed in discrete strands, to ensure breadth of learning and to provide an experiential basis for the curriculum.

In each semester of the programme you will undertake a workplace experience module, during which you will receive support from a module tutor at University of Chichester, attending weekly seminar discussions in addition to more formal lecture sessions, and will work with an identified member of West Sussex peripatetic teaching staff, who will liaise with the module tutor.

In Placement experience 1 Music Teaching in Action you will be assigned to a partner school or other venue used by the West Sussex Music Support Service for several consecutive weeks of teaching observation, spending observing both the Saturday morning Music Centre and Instrumental lessons.

In Placement experience 2, Conducting, leading, and rehearsing a group, you will be assigned to a particular music teacher who is leading a group or large ensemble. Not all of the students will be observing the same type of group, as different groups are possible with different instruments and voices. In the final week of the placement, University of Chichester students will have more direct involvement, presenting a purpose written piece for that group/ensemble. It will be at the discretion of the teacher as to whether the University of Chichester student is allowed to present and rehearse his or her own work or if the work is given to the teacher, who then presents it to the group/ensemble.

In Placement experience 3: Preparing Young Musicians for Assessment, you will be individually attached to a peripatetic music tutor, and will have the opportunity to observe pupils in school and at other venues used by the Music Service over a number of weeks. Students will be able to observe the preparation for Graded Exams as well as the preparation for the Common Approach Assessment. Students will have a chance to speak with the instrumental teachers before observations begin, and the module will be assessed through observation of the student’s own development.

In Placement experience 4: Preparing for a Performance, you will be assigned to observe both a student and a group/ensemble preparing for a performance. You will meet and discuss the plans for preparation with the teachers before the observation process begins and it is possible that you will also be asked to take part in the preparation of the group, acting as a participant.

Complementing your work placement experience are three modules focusing on pedagogy, communication skills, problem solving and self criticism, and a fourth which develops broader professional skills in relation to self-employment and marketing, application of number and effective use of IT. Lectures and workshops take place on campus each week and are delivered by module tutors, supported by visiting lecturers and practitioners – bringing the workplace into the academic environment. These modules are also taken by students registered on the vocational Instrumental or Vocal Teaching BA Hons minor degree route, and by many single honours music students with a special interest in Instrumental or Vocal teaching.

In MUL141 Technique for the Young Performer, sound approaches to technique will be explored as the essential foundation for expressive musical performance and the imaginative communication of ideas and the appropriateness of different teaching methods in instrumental or vocal technique to relevant age groups will be examined in relation to technical performance skill and children's physical development.

In MUL142 Repertoire for the Young Performer, you will examine some current examples of commercial and popular music, and the relationship between music and social identity will be studied and analysed. You will explore the potential of a range of repertoires in relation to your own instrument or voice as well as developing your knowledge of available published materials.

In MUL241 Grades and Development in Playing or Singing you will make connections between the measured progress of the young player or singer and the general musical development of the child. Sessions are focused on graded development at early stages, with particular attention being paid to the acquisition of aural training and sight reading skills.

In MUL242 Self-employment, marketing and promotion you will explore the local and national marketplace in peripatetic and private music teaching and be introduced to a number of different models of successful positioning within it. A successful career as a music professional needs to be informed, alongside musical and communication skills, by an understanding of the nature of self employment. Through this you will learn about tax and national insurance, effective strategies in marketing and promotion, and legal issues which are relevant in working with children and young people.