Dance Video's available soon

Video recordings of reference dances for dance workshops have been recorded, cut down and soon to feature on the back-end of the Education Group Website.

Ideas are a-foot for a corporate video also. Education Group goes techno!

Jeff Chung's Case Study on Working in the UK

News:
CASE STUDY: JEFF CHUNG
CLASS MUSIC TEACHER

Jeff Chung:Coming over from the other side of the world, my trip to the UK has been a very prosperous move, in building my knowledge in European ways, self confidence, self awareness and my abilities as a teacher, as well as financial advancements.

Having just completed my University degree at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, it has been a huge learning curve that has been greatly guided by the people at Education Group.

When I first arrived in the UK, I had set myself up for many interviews with different agencies, leaving plenty of options and opportunities for work. However, being a music teacher, Education Group was of great assistance, not only providing interviews with schools immediately upon arrival, but also catering for my individual needs and following through with the different schools that I have worked with thus far. Education Group, although primarily an company providing teaching positions for key stages 1, 2 and 3, were able to successfully find a position for me within a secondary school (key stages 4 and up). Although this did not work out for me, the team at Education Group had successfully organised a position at a junior school (upper primary school), which has ended in great success.

They organised everything that was required for the position including the
needed CRB and interviews with the schools.

Education Group was happy to organise according to my individual needs whether that be day-to-day supply teaching or full time teaching. They were incredibly friendly and very much genuine people, who not only proceeded to find teaching positions for myself, but also in following through by making sure that I was satisified with the position(s).



The team also guided me in my decisions financially including the different payment options available to me and
the legal issues that came with my specific visa arrangements.

Coming from a some what well-off area of Sydney, I have come to realise what a multicultural nation the UK is and
how different the materials are within UK schools. Not only that, but how different the nature of teaching is within the
classrooms of British schools. In regards to the development of your own teaching methods and in the growth of
yourself, you find that coming over to a different cultural environment allows you to learn a whole lot from not only
your colleagues within the school but also from your students as they challenge you in a different way to those you
are used to within the comforts of your own cultural background.

Of course within the initial stages of my moving to the UK, I found it difficult to translate pounds and what exactly was cheap and what was expensive, moving from Marks and Spencers and Waitrose to Sainsbury's and finally settling on Somerfield (something that was initially missed in the many discussions I've had with Education Group!!)...then you
ask yourself about the alcoholic beverages (it is a working/holiday visa after all) and you begin to pay 5 pounds for
two drinks finding yourself falling into the trap of thinking "$5 AUD..wow that's cheap...wait a minute!!" (something
that was not missed within the discussions!)

I found the people of Education Group very sincere and genuine in making you feel as comfortable as possible in
having arrived in a new country - a very difficult job considering I was located in the heart of a busy city like London.
In my experience, Education Group also provide a firm support system towards their staff and it is obvious that they
work towards a happy and healthy relationship between themselves, the many a schools they have available, and the music teachers (experienced or new-bies alike).

Although I originally intended on teaching secondary here in the UK, I myself am quite happy in my position as a
primary school music specialist, the school offering many opportunities to expand my knowledge as a music teacher
and/or classroom teacher alike, all of which would have been a difficult process without the support system that was offered by the people of Education Group.

New links formed

We are proud to announce that reciprocal links have been formed with drum for schools and with Prozone music .

Both offer great selection in music instruments, particularly in the percussion genre.

Education Group

The Education Group website is going through some changes. The company that offer primary school music and/or dance workshops, along with african and samba drumming have launched a new site. Making it easier for teachers to correspond after the workshop day, and for employees to keep in touch, making it dynamically 'greener'.

Soon promotional videos will be available, along with franchise opportunities for dancers.

: Stacey Cadman to appear in Sky One's Cirque de Celebrite

Good luck to Stacey Cadman who is taking part in Sky One's Cirque De Celebrite TV show.

As well as appearing in many popular TV shows, Stacey has also worked with Education Group in schools across southern England inspiring thousands of children through dance.

Education Group to train Trinity College brass students

From May this year, Education Group and Trinity College of Music will be working together to train various students in workshop techniques. The aim is to give students an insight into working with primary school age children and transferring skills learnt as performers into those needed as music educators.

The training will be led by Education Group facilitators, Matt Smith and Mark Templeton, who is also the Principal Trombone with the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

"As a performer and teacher, I know every student will gain benefits from the techniques used in this type of workshop training. It is really important to make sure there is an element of quality music on offer at grass-roots level to ensure that music plays an important role in the education of our children."

"College is the ideal opportunity for students to understand the importance of being able to improvise and think on their feet; skills that are essential to working as a professional musician and are invaluable in all areas of performance" said Mark.

Matt says, "The skills we teach will always come in useful in the life of a performer. We train people across the board as music educators, not individual instrumentalists, so that students have the knowledge and confidence to teach all aspects from small group work to whole class African drumming sessions."

Education Group at the Westminster Music and Arts Celebration Evening

The Westminster Music and Arts Celebration Evening took place on the 18th June 2008.

The event, presented by Michael Berkeley, was a huge success bringing together a vast range of professional music and arts leaders to work with pupils from schools in the Westminster area.

There were many different types of performances from the children, ranging from steel pans to choirs and rock bands to flute ensembles.

Education Group facilitator Mathis Richet led a very successful performance by the children of Hallfield Junior School following his work with the pupils over a number of previous weeks.

Many thanks to all who took part and we look forward to seeing everyone again next year!

African Drumming Workshops

Drumming is the “heartbeat of the world”, well, according to Education Group instructor Mathis Richet. The African drumming workshops offer primary school pupils the chance to learn basic African drumming techniques along with a brief contextual analysis to why it was important to create drum circles. Not only are the workshops important to give the children an insight to different cultures, but also gives them the opportunity to experience drumbeat and rhythm in unity. Furthermore, the drum beat is “good for the body and soul” according to Shonna Beckwith of Florence.

She believes that the drumming “is evocative, evoking the spirit and energy, and it nurtures self-esteem, listening and cooperation skills, eye-hand coordination and math skills.”

Within a normal African drumming session, certain outcomes are definite and connect to Shonna Beckworth’s statement. Firstly, the drumming will boost energy and receptivity of the pupils, as it will be a different experience within the same environment. Secondly, it sharpens listening and concentration skills and develops personal presence in a group. It is important for the children to work in a group as it teaches them how to share in responsibility and coexist. When you work as a team you show respect to others by accepting their input. The workshops require to children to for a sense of camaraderie as it is an important attribute to work in unison, to create their own uplifting composition, to meet the overall objective or creating something within a team.

In the workshops, the instructor provides each child with an instrument relevant to the chosen theme. In an African drumming workshop, the Djembe drum is the instrument of choice. The Djembe has a great cultural heritage in Africa. Although similar to other drums used within different tribes on the African continent, it has minute but significant differences.

The Djembe is the drum of the Mandinka people, and its origins dates back to the great Mali Empire of the 12th century. Of all the African drums, the djembe has become extremely sought after in the Western world and is regarded as the most popular.

It is also reported that drumming offers therapeutic benefits according to www.livingrhythms.com. Drumming has been made known to reduce stress and depression. Furthermore, drumming exercises the upper body, develops creativity, and elevates a person self esteem.

As African drumming raises morale, requires exercise and forms comradeship among peers, it is a great activity for a primary school, as it is within the early years where social skills can be adopted.