Conference Report
 
As I take over from Richard Crozier, my personal thanks go to him for all his work in making our annual conference this year a success. Broad cross-sections of our membership including a good number of new teacher members were there and the conversations, argument and agreement were once again extremely stimulating. Richard has also presided over an increasingly visible organisation which has been at the heart of all the national debates and developments and I am very grateful to him on behalf of all of our membership. ...... Anice Paterson, Chair
 
The Conference included the following strands:
 
Keynote speakers: Tony Knight, Principal Officer for Music, the Arts and Culture spoke on the English national curriculum review and assessment. Janet Mills, HMI spoke on the recent inspection of music technology in selected schools and the forthcoming publication on the project. Workshops were given in the following areas:

• Music for non-specialist primary teachers by Leonora Davies
• Assessment in the secondary school by Rita Burt
• Vocal health with Mary Heyler
• Brain Gym with Ilaina Evans
• Instrumental development with Ian Mitchell of Gemini

Recital by Julian Bliss Julian is an 8 year old prodigy on the clarinet. He gave a short recital to members after lunch on the Saturday of conference. His performance provided the impetus for some very heated discussion about the identification, support and teaching of exceptionally musical children and made the title of the conference ‘Maximising Musical Potential’ come alive.

Focus groups and regional meetings: A welcome addition to this year’s conference was the inclusion of focus group discussion for each member to follow up their particular job related concerns. Focus groups were held for those interested in instrumental teaching, for primary and for secondary teachers, advisers and inspectors and higher and further education. The opportunity for members to meet in their regional groups was also provided.
 
Response to the English National Curriculum: Finally the last morning of the conference, after the usual AGM, was devoted to developing NAME’s response. Detailed notes were taken throughout the discussions and the final response can be found elsewhere on the Website. Members clearly welcomed the chance to discuss the detail of the curriculum and the principles behind it. At next year’s conference more time will therefore be included for such intensive discussion.
 
Priorities for NAME: Members highlighted, as a result of the conference, a range of issues for the executive to take on. Developing improved relationships with other associations over the next year will be a key priority. Other priorities for consideration this year determined by members include:-

• speeding up the sharing of information between members, particularly in relation to new initiatives and responses
• highlighting the problems of funding in-service support for primary schools
• ensuring that a music voice is heard in other areas of the new curriculum arrangements, particularly citizenship
• reviewing the constitution particularly in relation to the workings of the executive and the regions
• working towards improvements in arrangements for the initial training of teachers
• relevant coverage for members in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland
• inspector training for light touch inspections
• support for those involved in inspections related to their standards fund allocations

Conference 2000: Planning for next year’s conference is already under way so book the dates in your diary now because it is two weeks later than usual: July 7th - 9th 2000 at the Conference Centre and the new Michael Tippett Centre at Bath Spa University College. The move to a higher education institution with a strong music education department is for several reasons: to enable us to have far more music facilities to use for practical work; to be able to provide a range of grades of accommodation and therefore prices; and to give some emphasis to research into music education with the implications for those who work in schools.