Latest: Music in Transition Awards: looking for inspiring Primary--Secondary collaborations

Musical Bridges is an initiative to help primary and secondary schools improve transition for pupils, using musical learning as a focus.

It encourages partnerships between groups of schools so that teachers can embed effective primary-secondary music practice in their area. In many cases, this work is supported by local Music Education Hubs. Musical Bridges also promotes good transition practice generally, ensuring that all pupils have the best possibly experience when they move to secondary school.The Musical Bridges Initiative has been highlighted by OFSTED as facilitating excellent partnership working and contributing to outstanding outcomes for pupils, teachers and music professionals.

On this website you will find details of the Musical Bridges Programme. This has been specially designed to involve teachers, headteachers and Music Education Hubs in co-planning and implementing strategies to encourage pupils’ musical progression.

You will also find a range of free resources to use in primary and secondary schools that will help you to start transforming transition now. Tools include a Transition Tracker that helps schools identify their strengths in managing transition, offers solutions to challenges and ideas to help them improve the transition experience for their pupils.

There are musical resources too, including the Five Tracks suite of specially composed pieces for use in workshops for teachers and classrooms for students.

“Musical Bridges has been catalytic in removing musical and social barriers for students and staff.”
OFSTED (July 2012)

“I’d like to see it really embedded in primary-secondary practice, so that this is the norm.
Jo Fitzgerald, Year 6 teacher

“I’ve seen some incredible music teaching and thought, my goodness that’s the sort of thing I’m doing with my Year 8’s, I can start it a lot earlier.”
James Oecken, secondary music teacher