When I first started thinking about putting a choir in every school, I saw it as a campaign. I wanted to raise awareness, provide support through Music Teachers Association and see more leaders raised up. But after a meeting with a friend on Friday, I see this not just as an initiative or campaign, but more of a movement.
Campaign vs Movement
Stick with me on this because I need you – I can’t do this on my own. What do I mean by a movement, and why not just stick with the campaign?
A campaign is planned, time-limited, and goal-specific. It has clear expectations, a time frame and an organised structure. I guess a political campaign ends at a set point when someone is voted into office. Now in many respects ACIES is still a campaign, with the goal of seeing a choir in every school. But the issue is, I don’t really see this as something that will ever stop. Because it is more than just putting a choir in every school, it is also seeing them grow and develop.
A movement is broader, longer-term, and values-driven. And it is this values-driven approach that I quite like, because at the heart of this are some fundamental musical values. I believe that every child should have access to a choir – yes to singing, but I also think to a choir. In my last blog I laid out my reasons for focusing on choirs, and I stand by that. Singing is great, but a weekly choir is something truly special.
What is a movement?
This campaign is not just about a single win. It is about lasting change, that leads to long term change for young people. I believe that there should be a choir in every school, and I am never going to stop saying that! So we have started a movement – and I couldn’t be more excited about it!
- Rooted in shared beliefs – All teachers would love to see a choir in their school.
- No fixed end date – I don’t think we can put an end to this!
- Grows organically – this is something we have seen already.
- Success is cultural change – a key point, we have to see cultural change for this to be a long-term success.
Movement
If this were a campaign I would be saying – by 2027 we will have a choir in every school. Now that may well be the case, but I am not sure it is possible to put a date on it. So what I am saying is – every child in this country deserves to have access to a choir. Singing together should be a right and not a privilege. Every child deserves to sing, regularly, together, in their own school.
This movement therefore has some non-negotiables:
- Regular, collective singing in a choir (not a one-off concert).
- Open access — no auditions, no cost, open to all.
- Led or supported by confident, trained adults – not necessarily a music specialist.
- Repertoire that reflects joy, challenge, and identity – suitable for the students in front of you.
- Singing as part of school culture, not an add-on – included in school events and talked about by everyone.
Who do we need?
This movement isn’t just about me, and in fact that is why I think I like the word movement. It is about everyone who wants to get involved. Schools, teachers, musicians, and students build this together. We need schools to join the movement, teachers to champion the movement, and young people to get involved. Music is at the heart to all of this, and we believe music is a unique gift for us all. This isn’t something young people just receive as a one off, it is something they belong to.
Are you already involved?
The thing is, lots of you are already involved in this movement – but yet may not have felt part of the campaign. If you are leading a choir, you are involved. Running a weekly singing group – you are involved. Training others, providing resources or writing music, guess what, you are part of this too. I want you to feel part of this, share the values and help us spread the impact far and wide.
I not only want you to belong to this, but I want to give you a voice, a platform and a role. Together we can spread the joy of singing in choirs. We can shape how this will look, support each other and find the confidence to put choirs in schools that don’t already have them.
Singing is one of the few things children can do together, equally, immediately, without equipment, screens, or prior success. It can cross age boundaries, support mental health and bring joy to everyone involved.
Campaign inside the movement
So let’s go back to the heart of what we are doing, because in many ways there is a campaign inside of this movement:
Start – Where there isn’t a choir, we want to start one.
Support – Where choirs start or exist, let’s support them, and the leader in charge. Train, resource and encourage those who are prepared to lead one.
Sustain – Where choirs are established, let’s help them grow and develop. This way we can embed singing long-term.
A Choir in Every School
This movement is built on a simple belief:
Every child deserves the chance to sing regularly with others, in their own school
We believe singing builds belonging, confidence, and joy — and that it should be part of everyday school life, not an exception. A choir is a perfect place to build a lasting relationship with singing and music making. This movement exists to start singing where it doesn’t yet happen, support it where it does, and sustain it for the long term.
Will you join Music Teachers Association as we embark on a movement that is going to change the lives of young people up and down the country? I hope you will join us, and I hope you can make it to one of our webinars that will be looking at next steps. You can sign up for this webinars by visiting this link.
If you would like to get in touch then please use the form below. Music Teachers Association will then be in touch with you about this exciting movement!