SCHOOL
WORKSHOP
FAQs
Primary Workshop FAQs
Can I use my Sports Premium Money to book a 'Rock The Sport' or 'School Values Rock' Day?
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Yes you can! Our workshops tick all the right boxes meaning that you can use your funding money. In fact, they were used as an example in the DFE ‘evidencing the impact of Primary and Sports Premium’ Document!
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How much does it cost?
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A standard workshop day costs £900.
Book a second day with a discount of 10%!
If you are more than an hours drive away from our base (Frome, Somerset) there will be an extra charge for transport as detailed below.
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Which parts of the country will you travel to?
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We are based in Frome, Somerset but are happy to travel. Here are our travel costs*:
- Up to 1 hour away: No extra charge
- Between 1 and 2 hours away: £70 (transport)
- Between 2 and 3 hours away: £140 (transport and accommodation)
- 3 - 4 hours away: £190 (transport and accommodation)
- 4+ hours away: We are are on occasion open to travelling this far although there are a few conditions which we will need to discuss with you before committing. Get in touch for more information.
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*All costs above are based on a one day visit. 2 day visits over 1 hour away have an extra £65 added for accommodation.
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How many classes can you work with in a day?
We have to limit numbers to a maximum of 70 per workshop (280 children per day). This is the only way we can fit all of the children into the ‘green screen filming frame’ so that they can all star in the video. Many schools opt for a discounted 2 day package in order to give every child this experience. There is also the option of removing the video element from the workshops in order to give more children the experience. In this scenareo, we can work with as many children as will safely fit in your school hall for each session. Remember that children will be very physically active during the workshops.
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How many school values can you cover in a day?
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We prefer to write one school value per song. This gives adequete time to explore the value in depth and allows a good balance of thinking and discussing time, and active movement time. On some occasions however, schools have grouped their values and asked us to write about more than one in a song. The resulting songs have been equally brilliant and meaningful to the children, if a little less focused and 'in depth' on specific values.
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What happens with the music videos?
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Your videos can be found on a private password protected page on the Rocktopus website. Only people with the url for this page and a password can have access to these and the password can easily be changed at the schools request. The videos are actually hosted on Vimeo where they are classified as private and are not in any way available to the general public. More details can be found in our privacy statement.
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Do we get a CD of the songs?
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We no longer produce a CD of the songs created. Instead we create music videos which allow children to watch back their songs, sing along and copy the actions.
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Do you still do whole school assemblies?
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Since Covid we have stopped doing whole school assemblies. If you would like to exchange one of your workshops for an assembly however this can be arranged.
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What areas of the curriculum do you cover?
We've used our experience as primary teachers to ensure that we pack in as many PE, literacy and music curriculum skills as possible. Click here to see the full list.
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Do our songs have to be about sport or school values?
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We can use the same model as 'Rock The Sport' or 'School Values Rock', to help your children to write songs abut absolutely ANYTHING! From bullying to friendship, history to science - the sky is the limit.
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How do I book?
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- Send us an email at: info@rocktopus.co.uk telling us what date you'd like to book your session.
- We will send you a booking confirmation form and a blank timetable to complete with times and session titles for the day.
- That's it! We take care of everything else.
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What adaptations have you made since Covid?
Click here to see how we have adapted our workshops to make them Covid safe.
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Workshops also listed at: www.findschoolworkshops.co.uk
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Special School FAQs
Can I use my Sports Premium Money to book a 'Rock The Sport' or 'School Values Rock' Day?
​
Yes you can! Our workshops tick all the right boxes meaning that you can use your funding money. In fact, they were used as an example in the DFE ‘evidencing the impact of Primary and Sports Premium’ Document!
​
How much does it cost?
​
A standard workshop day costs £900.
Book a second day with a discount of 10%!
If you are more than an hours drive away from our base (Frome, Somerset) there will be an extra charge for transport as detailed below.
​
​
Which parts of the country will you travel to?
​
We are based in Frome, Somerset but are happy to travel. Here are our travel costs*:
- Up to 1 hour away: No extra charge
- Between 1 and 2 hours away: £70 (transport)
- Between 2 and 3 hours away: £140 (transport and accommodation)
- 3 - 4 hours away: £190 (transport and accommodation)
- 4+ hours away: We are are on occasion open to travelling this far although there are a few conditions which we will need to discuss with you before committing. Get in touch for more information.
​
*All costs above are based on a one day visit. 2 day visits over 1 hour away have an extra £65 added for accommodation.
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Q. How many sessions can we do in a day?
A. In mainstream schools we run 4 hour long sessions throughout the day. In special schools we can do up to 7 workshops. This is becuase we've found from experience that some classes in special schools prefer shorter half hour long workshops in smaller groups
Q. How many children do you work with per session?
A. In a music making session we work with a maximum of 30 children. In all other sessions we can work with between 10 and 70 children.
Q. Which activities should we choose for our children?
A. You can choose from the following: songwriting, music making, musical/sensory, or other. Here’s a little more info to help you decide.
Songwriting:
Simple level
For children who are perhaps less verbal or non verbal, we can create our ‘name song’. In this activity, we get all the children’s names and find out something which they like and something which they don’t like. This can come from the child or their carer. We then turn all of this information into lyrics for our song which we sing and perform to the children. The children love hearing their names in the song as they wave to us (perhaps with help), and enjoy having us look at them and show that we know something about them as we sing. This song can be recorded and given to you to use as a daily activity in class.
Advanced Level
In this session children will choose the chords from our chord cards, and come up with ideas for lyrics for whatever song theme you'd like them to work with. We can give as much or little input as is needed to make this possible. We then help the children to create dance/movement routines for each part of the song which they can perform as we play. These can be as simple or complex as needed. There is then the opportunity to make a music video of the session at the end with children moving to the music.
Music making
Children work with simple percussive and tuned instruments to engage with the band. We will lead some inclusive drum circle type activities at whatever level of need is appropriate.
Musical/sensory
This is more of a performance or sensory experience for children. We can introduce our instruments and start at very quiet levels gently showing different rhythms and sounds. Over the session we can increase the volume and intensity in line with the children’s sensory needs. It’s a way of bringing a live music experience to children for whom it might usually be too intense. We are able to respond to the children and teachers and make it as energetic as is appropriate for the group.
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Q. Can we make music videos?
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A. The process of making music videos involves the children appearing in front of the band, responding to the music in some way (dance or movement) and being filmed by the camera which sits on a tripod in front of them. If any of your more able groups are likely to be able to access this experience and you'd like us to make a music video at the end of their session, please add this info to the timetable. This is best in the longer sessions rather than the short sessions.
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Q. What happens with the music videos?
​
Your videos can be found on a private password protected page on the Rocktopus website. Only people with the url for this page and a password can have access to these and the password can easily be changed at the schools request. The videos are actually hosted on Vimeo where they are classified as private and are not in any way available to the general public. More details can be found in our privacy statement.
​
​
Q. Do we get a CD of the songs?
​
A. We no longer produce a CD of the songs created. Instead we create music videos which allow children to watch back their songs, sing along and copy the actions.
​
Q. Do you still do whole school assemblies?
​
A. Since Covid we have stopped doing whole school assemblies. If you would like to exchange one of your workshops for an assembly however this can be arranged.
​
How do I book?
​
- Send us an email at: info@rocktopus.co.uk telling us what date you'd like to book your session.
- We will send you a booking confirmation form and a blank timetable to complete with times and session titles for the day.
- That's it! We take care of everything else.
​
​
Workshops also listed at: www.findschoolworkshops.co.uk
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