Introduction

1. Introducing our Teaching diplomas

We have three levels in our suite of Teaching diplomas

Use the table of contents on the right hand side to find out more about each diploma. On the next page we'll introduce the ARSM. 

2. ARSM

About the ARSM Performance diploma

• It's a Level 4 qualification.
• It's available as a digital exam.
• It is recommended that candidates are aged 16 or over, and have a minimum of six months' experience in the field of music teaching. This could encompass a range of activities including observing, being part of a team delivering teaching, coaching, leading rehearsals, contributing activities to group sessions, supervising practice, attending training etc. 

What does the candidate need to prepare?

• Unit 1A: A Video of 30 minutes ( ±10%) and Supporting Commentary of 1500 words ( ±10%) or 8 minutes spoken ( ±10%). 
• Unit 1B: Written Submission of 2000 words ( ±10%) or 10 minutes spoken ( ±10%).
• Unit 2: 30-minute structured conversation with an examiner. 

How do we mark the ARSM?

• One examiner will mark Unit 1A and Unit 1B before Unit 2 takes place. They will then mark Unit 2. 
• The examiner first marks Unit 1A out of 15 using the marking criteria on page 31 of the Qualification Specification. 
• The examiner then marks Unit 1B out of 15 using the marking criteria on page 32 of the Qualification Specification. 
• Once the Professional Discussion has taken place for Unit 2 the examiner marks it out of 20 using the marking criteria on page 33 of the Qualification Specification. 
• The marks are added together for a final mark out of 60. 

3. LRSM

About the LRSM Teaching diploma

• The LRSM is a Level 6 qualification.
• It's available as a digital exam. 
• Candidates must pass ABRSM Grade 8 in the instrument being taught, or the ARSM in Music Teaching before they can take an LRSM. We also accept Grade 8 in instruments that are closely related or appropriate professional experience. 
• We recommend a minimum age of 21. 

What does the candidate need to prepare?

This qualification has three components: Unit 1A: Music Teaching in Practice, Unit 1B: Music Teaching in Context and Unit 2: Reflective Practice and Professional Values

• Unit 1A: A Video of 45 minutes ( ±10%) and Supporting Commentary of 3000 words ( ±10%) or 16 minutes spoken ( ±10%).  The work captured in this video must be sustained over a period of at least 10 weeks, with the same learners and be delivered to a concrete plan against which you can evaluate your effectiveness. The Supporting Commentary takes the form of a series of short items using additional documentation from ABRSM.
  
• Unit 1B: Written Submission of 2000 words ( ±10%) or 10 minutes spoken ( ±10%). This written submission takes the form of shorter written items chosen from a list. You can find the list of options on page 21 of the Qualifications Specification and the additional documentation mentioned above. The submission must include two tasks chosen from Group A and two tasks chosen from Group B. 
  
• Unit 2: 40-minute structured conversation with an examiner. 
  

Find out more about the FRSM on the next page. 

4. FRSM

About the FRSM Teaching diploma

• The FRSM is a Level 7 qualification. 
• It's available as a digital exam. 
• Candidates must LRSM in Music Teaching before they can take an FRSM. We also accept appropriate professional experience. 
• We recommend a minimum age of 24. 

What does the candidate need to prepare?

This qualification has two components: Unit 1: Music Education in Practice and Unit 2: Reflective Practice and Professional Values. 

• Unit 1: One written submission is required, approximately 10,000 words in length (±10%). Submit a detailed description of the work you intend to undertake for ABRSM to provide feedback on. Do not embark on the work until you have received feedback on this initial submission. 
• Unit 2: Professional Discussion lasting 50 minutes. 

On the next few pages we'll provide more detail on Unit 1 and Unit 2. 

5. ARSM and LRSM Unit 1A

• Delivering an individual instrumental/vocal lesson
• Leading a creative session
• Leading a music session in an early years setting
• Providing coaching input to an individual or ensemble
• An orchestral/choral/band rehearsal
• Delivering a school-based music lesson
• Delivering a session designed to help a group
• Preparing for a task/area of study/upcoming assessment
• Taking a sectional or small group rehearsal
• Leading a professional development session for colleagues

Making the recording

Filming guidance is available on the ABRSM website. If you have filmed Performance Grades before, then the same guidance applies to the room layout, the view of the instrument etc. For the ARSM, the lesson must be recorded in one continuous take and must not be paused at any time, whereas for the LRSM the film must be edited by the candidate to cover the beginning, middle and end of the learning process. 

Writing the Supporting Commentary

The Candidate resource provides lots of additional information that will help you to prepare your supporting commentary. 

• ARSM Candidate Resource
• LRSM Candidate Resource

6. ARSM and LRSM Unit 1B

What do I need to prepare?

For Unit 1B, the candidate resource is invaluable in supporting your preparation. Please download the relevant file below. You can also find it on ABRSM's website too. 

• ARSM Candidate Resource
• LRSM Candidate Resource

This resource provides you with a template designed to guide you in responding to the tasks included in this Unit. It's important that you submit evidence for a total of four tasks. The notional word count for each task is 500 words, and the total word count for the Unit is 2000 words (± 10%) i.e. between 1800 and 2200 words.

Whichever tasks you choose to complete, you should conclude with a brief self-evaluation of how completing your submission has contributed to your overall development as a music teacher. This is not included in the suggested wordcount of 2000 (± 10%)

7. FRSM Unit 1

What should I prepare?

This unit allows you to demonstrate your wide knowledge of music education to create a significant original piece of work. This should draw upon a combination of your deep experience in the music education field, extensive personal research, profound skills of self-reflection and self-evaluation, wide knowledge of current trends and significant developments in the sector, multifaceted knowledge of your specialist subject, and astute evaluative insight into the field of music education. 

Some examples of the types of original work that would be suitable for submission for this unit are: 

• A significant piece of academic research in the field of music education 
• A substantial set of musical resources, designed to meet specific unmet needs in a given context 
• A substantial programme of training for music teachers, with supporting resources 
• An original curriculum document or scheme of work covering an entire school phase designed to meet the specific needs of the context, with supporting resources 
• An assessment regime designed to meet specific unmet needs in a given context 
• A detailed evaluation of a musical institution, programme of study or community/outreach programme or a comparative study of more than one

For this unit, you are asked to create a piece of work equivalent to approximately 10,000 words (± 10%). 

First, you will need to submit a detailed description of the work you intend to undertake, for ABRSM to provide feedback on. This initial submission will contain the following information: 

• Context for the work and rationale for undertaking it 
• A short summary of your experience and why you have chosen to focus on this topic 
• For academic research: 
  • the research question you are posing 
  • how you intend to structure your work 
• For resources, training, and curriculum or assessment design: 
  • the types of learners you are seeking to support 
  • the unmet needs you are seeking to address 
  • the working method you intend to adopt 
• For detailed evaluation: 
  • the subject/s you intend to study 
  • the methodology you intend to use 

For submissions which are in a format other than the written word – such as visual art, music, film - how you intend meeting the 10,000 word equivalent (e.g. extent of resources, number of web pages etc.) You should not embark on the work until you have had feedback on this initial submission from ABRSM.

8. Unit 2: Reflective Practice and Professional Values

What is Unit 2?

Unit 2 is a professional discussion with one of our examiners which takes place after the submission of Unit 1A and Unit 1B (ARSM and LRSM) or Unit 1 (FRSM). Unit 2 is designed to allow you to demonstrate your understanding and insight into Music Teaching and music Education more broadly. The discussion will take place using video conferencing software and you are encouraged to have to hand anything you feel would enhance your responses. This could include your instrument for demonstration purposes, sample resources etc. 

For each level of the diploma, the professional discussion lengthens:

• ARSM: 30 minutes
• LRSM: 45 minutes
• FRSM: 50 minutes

What should be prepared?

The professional discussion will be structured as written in the Qualification Specification and there will always be questions based on the Unit 1 submissions. 

How do we mark Unit 2?

Examiners mark using our criteria which you can find in the Qualification Specification on pages 23 and 27. 

9. Further information

Mark allocations

We allocate marks for each component of the assessment as shown in the table below. 

Booking a diploma

• You can book at any time. Once you've booked you have 28 days to upload all evidence for your Teaching Diploma through your online account. It’s not possible to submit any evidence after the submission deadline (date/time). If we do not receive all your submissions you will be marked as absent.
• For FRSM, please do not book until you have received feedback on your initial submission. 
• All evidence must include specific information, like candidate ID, word count and instrument etc. More information is available in the Qualification Specification. 
• There is an online declaration to complete when submitting evidence to confirm that this is the candidates' own work. If any work has been translated, there is a an additional form to complete for this. 

Submitted work

• You must show a form of photo identification to the camera at the start of all video recordings.
• Photo ID is not needed for anyone else appearing in your video recording.
• You can find more information about accepted forms of ID in our Candidate Identification Policy.
• Recording guidance can be found here.
• You must obtain permission from the parent/carer before recording and uploading any videos of students who are under 18.
• If a video was recorded at a school, college or other education establishment, you may also need to check that you have met their safeguarding policies and procedures.
• If you are recording in a private environment, you must check that everyone involved is happy to be recorded.
• Please refer to the additional guidance on how to prepare your written or spoken evidence here.
• All evidence must be submitted via your online account. 

Results and certificates

All candidates receive a digital mark form, showing your marks and the examiner's comments. We send you an email when the mark form is ready to download in your account.  

We release results as soon as they're available. This will be at least 14 days after you submitted your evidence. However, depending on the diploma level, results can take up to nine weeks. 

We release results to the person who booked the exam first. Candidates with an account, entered by someone else, can access their results seven days later. 

Candidates who pass their diploma also receive a certificate. If your country now has digital certificates - you can access the certificate through your account as soon as we release your result. We'll also send you a paper certificate automatically. There's no extra charge for this.  

If we haven’t introduced digital certificates for your country - we send a paper certificate when we release your results.  

Depending where you live, it can take between three weeks and three months for paper certificates to arrive. 

We are committed to providing fair access to our assessments for candidates with specific needs by putting in place access arrangements and reasonable adjustments. ABRSM’s Fair Access Guidelines and Specific Needs Policy are available at www.abrsm.org/about-our-exams/specific-needs

Where the guidelines don't cover a candidate’s needs, we consider each case individually.

Supporting teachers

Over the coming year, we'll be adding example materials to the Teacher Hub. We hope this helps in your preparation.