What’s coming up in Music Mark’s Autumn Events Programme?
18th June 2025
Kick off the next academic year with our exciting training and events programme, designed to support your work, whatever your role is in the music education sector. With a range of opportunities covering leadership, schools, inclusion, and the climate crisis, as well as our 2025 annual conference, read on to find out what we’ve got coming up!
Music Mark Annual Conference 2025
17th & 18th November
Learn, collaborate, network, and be inspired as we explore Ambition and Quality in music education at the Music Mark Annual Conference 2025! With inspiring keynotes and performances, a variety of breakout sessions to choose from, an exhibition showcasing our Industry Partners, and the exciting Music Mark Awards, don’t miss your chance to learn and connect with colleagues at the East Midlands Conference Centre, Nottingham. Book your Early Bird ticket today!
Leadership
Training and events for those in leadership or managerial roles
23rd September 2025 – 26th March 2026 | High Impact Senior Leadership
An annual and popular course in our programme, this virtual leadership development programme has been specifically designed for Heads of Service and Senior Leaders within Music Services, Music Hubs and Schools, led by Andy Hind. Participants will be introduced to a range of modern leadership practices whilst also developing essential principles that ensure effective succession planning.
7th October 2025 – 3rd June 2026 | Stepping Up To Leadership
Recognising the need for succession planning and staff development, we have partnered with Enhancing Learning, who have designed this new course to support Middle Leaders and Aspiring Leaders within Music Services, Music Hubs and Schools. Over six virtual modules, participants will be supported through a series of processes for increasing leadership capacity and the ability to lead an area of responsibility that focuses on maximising outcomes. It addresses the key issues of what contributes to success as a leader and the essential tasks and practices that are needed to ensure maximum impact.
14th October | Leading Difficult Professional Conversations
Leadership is complex at the best of times! If leadership is a relationship that increases capacity, at an individual or organisational level, then being able to engage and support others in engaging with challenges directly must be part of the remit. Join Andy Hind for a two-hour workshop on facilitating difficult professional conversations.
Schools and Teachers
Training and events for music teachers, schools, community musicians and educators
15th or 25th September | The Music Mark of Recognition Explained
Our Music Mark Schools programme has seen us engage with thousands of schools each year.
In September 2025, we are launching the Music Mark of Recognition to replace the Music Mark Schools programme. Come along to this session for schools to hear the full details of our redeveloped offer for schools and ask any questions that you may have.
21st October | Ofsted Update on Music in Schools
Join Ofsted’s Christopher Stevens, HMI National Lead for Music as he returns to speak with Music Mark. During this session, Christopher will give a presentation, followed by time for your questions to be answered.
Join Jenetta Hurst for our Secondary Music Teaching Series
Secondary School Music Series
Following the fantastic secondary school series delivered by Jenetta Hurst, the Creative Educator in 24/25, we will be running another three sessions starting from September, which will cover advocacy, partnership working, and diversity, equity and inclusion in secondary school music teaching. More details are coming soon – you can complete this expression of interest form to be the first to hear when bookings open, or
T-Time
Join us for T-Time, a one-hour session each term exclusively for teachers and leaders who focus on music education in the classroom. Each session is linked to a theme and will begin with a provocation, providing an opportunity for you to reflect with colleagues across primary, secondary and SEND settings around the UK, and discuss hot topics affecting music education. The date and topic of our next session are still to be confirmed, so make sure you’re signed up to our Schools & Teachers Newsletter to find out when bookings are open.
Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
Training and events focusing on EDI within the music education sector
29th September | Make your practice more inclusive with the Clarion accessible instrument
Open Up Music demonstrates why the Clarion has been such a game-changer for schools and offers practical examples of how it can transform your inclusive practice. Expect an overview of the instrument, some group discussion and a live demonstration of the Clarion, before getting a chance to ask questions to the team.
7th October | Inclusive Event Facilitation with Celebrating Disability
Music Mark has partnered with Celebrating Disability for this bespoke session focused on creating inclusive and accessible events for your music education organisation. You’ll explore how to design events that are welcoming to all by making materials accessible, adapting activities, and managing access needs in both online and in-person settings. Regardless of the event you’re planning, this session will provide practical tools to enable you to anticipate needs and remove barriers before they arise.
Rolling subscription | I.D.E.A.L Network
Join SLS 360’s fantastic network for problem solving, knowledge sharing, masterclasses and more. The Inclusive, Diverse, Equitable, Accessible Leaders (I.D.E.A.L) network is for leaders & practitioners in EDI roles, aspiring inclusion leads, and those looking to implement inclusive practices within their organisations. Members of the network will have access to a network of peers, providing peer mentoring and valuable EDI consultancy on tap, a monthly insight session, a monthly online network meeting for group discussion as well as in-person sessions up to twice per year, and an online community including a resource library, toolkits, and a social network platform.
Other webinars and courses for music educators
30th September | An Introduction to Social Media and Content Creation
Join members of the Music Mark comms team as we guide you through the fundamentals of social media, including best practices and how to choose the right platforms to get started. From there, we’ll dive into generating content ideas and creating engaging posts, plus tips for producing video reels, even with limited resources.
25th November | FAA Level 1 Award in Awareness of First Aid for Mental Health
Music Mark has teamed up with Soundcastle once again, this time to deliver a Level 1 qualification in Mental Health First Aid. This Level 1 introductory qualification provides learners with the knowledge to recognise a range of mental health warning signs, break down stigma and start a supportive conversation. Learners will understand the role of a First Aider for Mental Health, understand how to provide support for someone presenting with a mental health condition, know how to recognise a range of mental health conditions, and more.
If you’re interested in becoming a Mental Health First Aider, why not gain an FAA Level 2 Award qualification in First Aid for Mental Health this July? Find out more and book your place here – limited spaces are available.
27th November & 4th December | Carbon Literacy Training
This informative and interactive Music Education Carbon Literacy Certified training course will provide you with an awareness of the climate-related costs and impacts of you and your organisation’s activities and the ability and motivation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Our Carbon Literacy trainers work in music education and understand the nuances and challenges of the sector. The course will empower you to take climate action and give you the confidence to initiate change within your organisation.
Our peer groups continue to run for Music Mark Members, allowing colleagues in similar roles across the UK to meet online for peer-to-peer learning and collaborative problem-solving. Explore our full range of peer groups and sign up to receive the joining details. Sign up by 31st August to receive all the 2025/26 dates at the start of the academic year. Music Mark Members can also receive fully-funded mentoring and coaching to support your personal and professional development.
If there are any topics or themes you’d like us to explore, or want to be the first to know about new dates for some of our previously seen training programmes, complete our Expression of Interest form here.
We regularly add new events to our programme in response to need, as well as signposting to other events across the sector. Make sure to visit our Training & Events page to see when new events have been added, or sign up for our monthly Training & Events newsletter to keep up to date with the latest music education events and training opportunities from us and our partners across the sector.
