This article examines the difference between the systems of education in Northern Ireland and on the mainland. For student teachers preparing for the Secondary phase, the isolation of Northern Ireland needs to be counterbalanced. Assisting students to adopt a curriculum philosophy very different from that which underpins their own recent school experiences requires both careful preparation and the support of appropriate classroom experiences. In preparing Primary school teachers to use music in their classroom two issues need to be addressed: the development of musical understanding in students with minimal practical musical skill, and the preparation of specialists to adopt the role of Music Co-ordinator in their schools. Account needs to be taken in the training of all teachers of the cross-curricular themes of Education for Mutual Understanding, Cultural Heritage and Information Technology. Finally, the author proposes a strategy for musical support and development of classroom teachers serving in primary schools.