SJB CO-FOUNDS CISC’S CREATIVE MUSIC HUB

In conjunction with the Catholic Independent Schools Conference (CISC), St John’s Beaumont Independent Preparatory School leads the way as the founder of a new, UK-wide Music Hub for music educators in Catholic schools.

It is with great excitement that, as Head of Choral Music, I share the news that St John’s Beaumont and the #SJBChoralExperience will be in the vanguard of a new enterprise in collaboration with the Catholic Independent Schools Network. In partnership with Julie Shaw, Head of Prep and Instrumental Music at Notre Dame School in Cobham, this week, we led the launch of the CISC Creative Music Hub – CISC’s brand new, flagship music platform for music educators, leaders, and practitioners in Catholic schools around the UK.

The agenda for the opening session was to launch our Mission Statement and to invite colleagues to get stuck into the headline topic:

Exploring Inclusive Music Education in Catholic Settings.

Three core values sit at the heart of our Creative Music Hub project:

  1. A commitment to helping all children access music
  2. A commitment to Inclusivity and Diversity
  3. A commitment to support colleagues in fostering high-quality musical methodology and practice through shared learning

The session was a great success, with Heads of Music, music leaders, Chaplains, educators, and peripatetic staff from Catholic Schools around the UK joining to share ideas, thoughts, approaches, experiences and much more. The feedback from the session showed how much music educators enjoyed having an opportunity to meet with other colleagues from all over the country to chat through some of the most pressing issues facing music education and, in particular, the niche requirements of music in a Catholic-school environment.

The next meeting of the CISC Creative Music Hub will happen in the Autumn, on Tuesday 5th October. Following that, we are already looking at the launch of the CISC Music Educators Zoom Café – a virtual space for colleagues to meet, chat, and share ideas that will help to foster a creative and supportive network. In January next year, founders Adam Hope and Julie Shaw will present to Headteachers at the annual CISC conference for 2022. The workshop for Heads will highlight the holistic educational merits of music education, the needs and requirements for successful inclusivity and diversity in music education, and ways to support music educators and practitioners in Catholic settings.

Adam Hope
Head of Choral Music at St John’s Beaumont