Musical Futures lessons are likely to be co-constructed (content and curriculum created by music teachers and students) and will evidence:

• Student engagement: high levels of motivation, excitement, and usually of noise
  
  
• Independent learning: students working in small groups, on instruments of their choice, setting their own objectives and deciding their learning pathways
  
  
• Meta-cognition and Learning to Learn: students discovering their preferred learning styles and developing their own identity as musical learners
  
  
• Practical learning: workshop-style sessions with all students playing instruments; lessons take on the pattern of 'real-world' rehearsals
  
  
• Extended and accelerated learning: students often continue with work in their own time - practising, downloading material for the next lessons, discussing their work, listening to their recordings for the next lesson
  
  
• Peer learning: students leading others in learning activities
  
  
• Three-part lessons can still be present - with a starter, main activity and plenary

Learning Futures is a new Paul Hamlyn Special Initiative which has developed out of the success of Musical Futures.

The key aim of Learning Futures is to ensure that more young people engage actively and positively with their learning through school (and achieve better learning outcomes as a result) and also retain a commitment to learning beyond their school years.

Find out more information about Learning Futures