Schools Newsletter – February 2026
Dear Colleagues,
It’s hard to believe that we’re already halfway through the academic year. We are starting to think ahead to our offers for September 2026 – copies of our SLAs with details of universal offers will be coming soon.
In the meantime, we have some really exciting opportunities for both pupils and teachers – as always, we appreciate your support in sharing the information with your teams and families.
Updates…
West Sussex Primary & SEND Music Education Conference 2026
Save the date – Thursday 9 July 2026, West Sussex Primary & SEND Music Conference 2026 @ Haywards Heath College. We look forward to welcoming you for two energising days of professional learning and musical creativity. Booking will open at the start of the Summer Term
Singing
Big Sing events for KS2 will take place in June and focus on a theme of The Natural World.
Further information coming very soon.
Resources
Through a new partnership between West Sussex Music and Out of the Ark, primary schools in West Sussex are able to access a 30% discount on a subscription to Sparkyard.
Sparkyard is a subscription service from Out of the Ark, which gives primary school teachers over 1000 songs, and countless resources to allow those songs to be used in every part of a school’s life: in curriculum lessons to support learning, in assemblies to develop community, in classrooms and playgrounds to enhance wellbeing, and much more. If you want to find out more, please contact jane.swindells@westsussexmusic.co.uk
Opportunities for pupils…
Please share the following opportunities with your families:
Holiday Activities – Monday 30 March to Wednesday 1 April
Covering Bognor Regis, Crawley, Horsham and Worthing, we have a wide selection of exciting workshops lined up for young people aged 8-16 year olds including Rap & Lyric Writing, Play In A Band, Music Production & DJ-ing, and The Enchanted Cinema Interactive Soundtrack.
FREE places area available for those in receipt of free school meals and everyone gets a free meal at lunchtime. Find out more here.
LPO Overture Day for orchestral musicians – Thursday 2 April
We’re delighted that, Hub partner, London Philharmonic Orchestra will be running their annual Overture Day on Thursday 2 April at Worthing High School, South Farm Road, Worthing, BN14 7AR.
The LPO Overture Day is a free orchestral skills day for young people aged 10-15 who are playing orchestral instruments at a Grade 3-8 standard. Participants play alongside LPO musicians, get tips on musicianship and find out what happens behind the scenes of a professional orchestra.
For more details and to apply, go here.
Opportunities for you…
Singing CPD with the Royal Ballet and Opera (free) – Thu 5 March 09:00 – 15:00
Location: Felpham Community College, Felpham Way, Bognor Regis, P022 8EL
To find out more and to reserve your space follow this link Royal Ballet & Opera Sing CPD – Bognor Regis
Alison Sutton
Assistant Head: Head of Learning
West Sussex Music