Music for ALL

The founder and creator of Teach to the Beat is Mrs Deborah Armstrong who has been a local Primary School teacher for over 15 years. As Music Co-ordinator as well as a busy class teacher and Mum of four, Deborah is well-experienced at juggling the pressures of school life. After working tirelessly for many years to encourage fellow teachers to teach Music for themselves, she eventually found a way which worked. Teach to the Beat was the answer. Keen to support as many schools as possible, Deborah now aims to make Music teaching accessible for ALL primary school teachers whether they have a musical background or not. For too long, Music in NI Primary schools has been seen as the responsibility of ‘someone else more musical.’ With the help of TTTB, it is time that EVERY teacher sees themselves as capable of delivering this essential subject area. When EVERY teacher is involved, it means EVERY child will be too.

More than ‘just' Music

The starting point is always the World Around Us Class Topic- for example, the Seasons, Nursery Rhymes, Food, Weather, Disasters, Vikings, Victorians- to name but a few! The Music teaching is expertly woven within these; all whilst consolidating other important learning objectives, not to mention the NI Curriculum’s Cross-Curricular Skills and its Thinking Skills and Personal Capabilities. With the relevant NI learning objectives specifically outlined in each unit, you can be confident that ‘Teach to the Beat’ is committed to leading cross-curricular learning at its very best. Highly sought after for the top-quality resources she brings to the classroom; Deborah has worked as a Professional Associate for CCEA and is now part of the Taskforce for Curriculum Reform in Northern Ireland. Now partnering with the renowned ‘Out of the Ark Music’, Deborah’s passion for what Music can achieve is contagious. Read more about this in the ‘Our Partners’ tab!

Music for Mental Health

Increasingly, schools are recognising the need to cater for pupil and staff mental health and well-being. Indeed, even in the New ETI Inspection Frame, ‘Health, Well-being and Keeping Safe’ is highlighted as one of the nine contributory areas. When we consider that 1 in 6 children in our society are likely to have a mental health problem (The Children’s Society), the unique power of Music to reach areas which no other subject can becomes especially noteworthy. Making lessons straight-forward and enjoyable for teachers is also a driving factor and with TTTB’s ‘click of the button’, workload-reducing resources, schools need not look any further. No stress, no running around, no extra personnel required- just Music delivered by everyday teachers and integrated into the lessons of everyday classrooms.

A Genuine Passion

Deborah is the most passionate and empathetic educator! When she visited our class, she already knew the children by name from our previous discussions about their progress, which truly impressed me. She immediately got involved in the lessons, and the children absolutely loved her energy and enthusiasm. Deborah's passion for music shines through in everything she does. She understands how powerful music can be in supporting children's development across the curriculum, and her resources reflect that perfectly. She's also been a fantastic person to collaborate with - always approachable, quick to respond, and full of inspiring ideas. Thank you, Deborah, for your hard work and dedication in developing these wonderful schemes for teachers. You are a passionate educator who genuinely makes a difference! Cathy Allen - Macosquin Primary School