Music
The school provides a number of opportunities for children to take part in extra-curricular music including participation in the choir with performances in school and other local venues, school productions and solo and ensemble performances to other members of the school. Lessons are available from peripatetic teachers on a variety of instruments.
Children's achievements are celebrated in performance opportunities. All pupils are encouraged to participate in and enjoy music lessons regardless of race, culture, gender, ability or physical limitations. We celebrate the musical abilities of all pupils, including those with a particular musical talent, through regular performances.
Intent
We aim to follow the specifications of the National Curriculum; providing a broad, balanced and differentiated curriculum and ensuring the progressive development of musical concepts, knowledge and skills. We believe that music plays an integral role in helping children to feel part of a community, therefore we provide opportunities for all children to create, play, perform and enjoy music both in class and to an audience. Through assemblies and key stage and year group performances, children display their talent and their understanding of performing with awareness of others. Lessons enable children to develop their skills, appreciate a wide variety of music and begin to appraise a range of musical genres.
The aims of our Music curriculum are to develop pupils who:
- Enjoy and have an appreciation for music.
- Listen to, review and evaluate music across a range of historical periods, genres, cultures, styles and traditions.
- Can sing and use their voices to create different effects.
- Create and compose music, both on their own and with others.
- Use a range of musical language.
- Make judgements and express personal preferences about the quality and style of music.
- Take part in performances with an awareness of audience
Implementation
We follow the Get set 4 music scheme to support music lessons. This is supplemented by cross-curricular units which enables us to develop children’s natural curiosity and link out music teaching to their own interests. Music lessons are broken down into half-termly units and an emphasis is placed on musical vocabulary, allowing children to talk about pieces of music using the correct terminology.
Within the EYFS setting, music is an integral part of children’s learning journey. Rhyme and rhythm are utilised throughout the learning of phonics, handwriting and mathematics. Children learn a wide range of songs and rhymes and develop skills for performing together. Singing and music making opportunities are used frequently to embed learning, develop musical awareness and to demonstrate how music can be used to express feelings.
Children in Year 4 benefit from whole class specialist teaching, delivered by a member of Oxfordshire County Music service during which they receive whole class tuition on a strings instrument. These lessons allow children the opportunity to learn to play an instrument as part of an ensemble and to engender a love of music learning.
Performance is at the heart of musical teaching and learning and children participate in a range of performances during their school days. These include nativities (KS1), sharing assemblies (EYFS-Y6) and a Leavers performance (Year 6). Pupils also take part in singing assemblies. Parents are invited and welcomed to watch all of these performances whether at school or outside of school. These performances develop resilience and build confidence in pupils of all ages and abilities. We also encourage children to critique their own and other children’s performances, developing mutual respect within and across year groups.
Children are encouraged to join the school choir and to participate in the regular concerts both in school and in the local community. Pupils in the school choirs focus on singing in unison, developing complex harmonies, solo performances and having fun!
Impact
Our music Curriculum is planned to demonstrate progression and build on and embed current skills. We focus on progression of knowledge and skills in the different musical components and teaching of vocabulary also forms part of the units of work. If children are achieving the knowledge and skills in lessons, then they are deemed to be making good or better progress.
We measure the impact of our curriculum through the following methods:
- Discussions and interviewing the pupils about their learning (pupil voice).
- Photo and video evidence of the pupils practical learning.
- Use of the assessment tools provided within the Charanga scheme.
- Dedicated music leader time.