“Crowds of children throng the corridors, whooping and cheering – not normally a situation I would tolerate at Weyfield Primary Academy. But this is not a normal day: Matt has come to visit and I happen to be right there in the middle of the crowd, whooping and cheering with the best of them. Matt, you see, is a Rockstar.
Rewind several months to Matt's first appearance at Weyfield during an assembly. At 9am on Monday mornings, assemblies are normally a calm, purposeful start to the week; an opportunity for the school to reflect on our personal goals and get in the right frame of mind for the learning ahead. Occasionally we also invite external speakers and organisations to lead assemblies and, on this particular Monday morning, I introduced Matt from Rocksteady…
I stepped aside and watched as the pupils were transformed into a pulsing, frenzied mass of groupies (all 350 of them…) Matt and his band played song after song and – best of all – got the children up playing drums, guitars and keyboards. I can honestly say the children have never before filled the hall with so much energy and passion, which was as raw and real as any gig I've been to: only this was even more special because, for most of our children, it was their first experience of live rock music.
We have all been immeasurably enriched by Rocksteady's involvement with the school. I say ‘immeasurably’ because how can you really quantify the confidence it has given the children? That Year 3 boy, who was so anxious in Reception he chose to wear noise-cancelling earphones, but who is now part of a rock band and recently put himself forward for the School Council. Or the Year 5 pupil with an ASD diagnosis, who struggles to interact with his peers and is physically awkward – but put a pair of drumsticks in his hand and he is king of cool, totally in control and keeping the whole band together.
If I sound evangelical about the power of Rocksteady, that's because I am. Our mission statement is “to provide every child with an outstanding education, so that they can develop into confident young people with a sense of self-worth – who believe they can make a difference in the world”. From seeing the impact it can have in a short space of time, it's evident that Rocksteady can deliver a sense of self-worth in spades.
And that's just the pupils. Our staff band (aptly named No Direction) has been rehearsing in secret every Tuesday before school for a surprise performance on the last day of term. Fortunately Becca, our Rocksteady tutor, is hugely skilled (and even more patient) and has somehow managed to get 15 of us playing mostly in time and in tune. As the best bands tend to be, it's completely non-hierarchical and has been a fantastic way for a real cross-section of staff to come together; it has done wonders for morale. We may do more talking and laughing than actual playing and our 2-song medley might be a total disaster on the day, but playing music and singing just makes you feel good and we all walk out of that rehearsal room with a spring in our step.
As well as No Direction, we now have 4 pupil rock bands consisting of 22 children in years 1-6. Every pupil in the school has participated in at least 1 Rocksteady workshop and 3 children will have received Rocksteady bursaries by the end of this academic year. We've had Rocksteady staff bands perform at celebratory school and community events and parents are invited to a Rocksteady school concert at the end of each term.
So you'll understand why I don't mind if the school goes a bit nuts when Matt visits.
If anything, I'm just gutted I will never command the kind of adoration and respect that he inspires in our children! If you do one thing, pick up the phone and book a Rocksteady assembly… I promise that at the very least it will be the highlight of the year and, more likely, the start of something rather wonderful and potentially life-changing for your pupils.“
