Music is a unique art form with human interaction at its centre; it brings everyone together, inspires communication when words can fail and wherever in the world you are, it can be understood. Children will be introduced to the delights and disciplines of music’ from a young age to give them an opportunity for performance and personal expression as well as playing a vital part in their personal and emotional development.
In Music, the children’s work encompasses the following areas: listening and appreciating, composing and performing with both voices and instruments with musicianship embedded throughout. Technology is used to support the children’s development and understanding of composing music. Units of work are clearly planned to support and encourage children to remember more.
Aims of Music:
- To regularly perform, listen to, review and evaluate music across a range of historical periods, genres, styles and traditions, including the works of the great composers and musicians;
- To learn to sing and to use their voices, to create and compose music on their own and with others, have the opportunity to learn at least one tuned musical instrument;
- To use technology appropriately and have the opportunity to progress to the next level of musical excellence;
- To understand and explore how music is created, produced and communicated, including through the inter-related dimensions: pitch, duration, dynamics, tempo, timbre, texture, structure and appropriate musical notations.
The School follows the Kodàly method from EYFS to Year 6. We wholly agree with a central principle that music should be taught from a young age. Following this approach allows the children to learn in a logical and sequential manner, they are able to build on knowledge each year as detailed on our progression maps.
Early Years
In Early Years children will use 2Explore software as part of their musical composition work.
Further details to be added
Key Stage 1
In Key Stage 1 the children will learn to use their voices expressively and creatively through singing appropriate and challenging songs, chants and rhymes. They will have the opportunity to play a variety of musical instrument including glockenspiel, percussion and Boom Whackers as well as untuned instruments. Children will experiment with, create, select and combine sounds to make their own musical compositions and record this using appropriate musical notation. Children will use the 2Beat software on Purple Mash as part of their musical composition work.
Children will learn about and listen to a range of music from a variety of styles, genres and cultures, both recorded and live, and will be able to talk with confidence about what they have heard.
Key Stage 2
Children will build upon the Key Stage 1 and will show increasing confidence and control in singing and performance.
Children will improvise and compose music for a range of purposes using voice, tuned and untuned instruments as well as using technology to create more complex and layered compositions. This will be recorded accurately using the staff and musical notation. Children will use the 2Sequence software on Purple Mash in Year 3 and Year 4 as part of their musical composition work while in Year 5 and Year 6 children will build on this and also use Busy Beats software. Children will play and perform both in solo and ensemble contexts with confidence, fluency, control and expression. All children in Year 3 will learn a tuned musical instrument – currently this is the ukulele.
Children will listen with attention and detail to recall sounds with increasing aural memory.
Children will develop their understanding of the history and breadth of music building on their work in Key Stage 1. They will learn about, listen to and be able to talk about music from different genres, cultures and periods and they will be able to talk about the great composers and development of music through the western musical tradition.
The Offer Curriculum
As well as the core curriculum as set out above the School also has the following ‘offer’ curriculum which children can access if they wish to:
- Ukulele Year 4 progression group weekly lessons (30 minutes per week);
- KS1 Glockenspiel club Autumn and Spring term – this works out at 3 weeks for Year 1 and 3 weeks for Year 2 each half term;
- Musical Ambassadors for Summer term which is open for Years 3 to 6.
- Musical Buddies to learn songs and chants who take this onto the yard at breaktimes to sing and celebrate Music with the younger children;
- Weekly guitar lessons through Music Partnership North (Chargeable);
- Weekly keyboard lessons through Music Partnership North (Chargeable).
Supporting Special Educational Needs and Disabilities
All children with SEND will have equal access and opportunities within the curriculum. The School will support these children to ‘catch up’, ‘keep up’ and experience success in the following ways (where appropriate):
- High quality teaching each day through Ordinarily Available Provision (formerly Quality First Teaching);
- Opportunities for pre-learning (particularly new vocabulary) before lessons;
- Appropriately scaffolded or differentiated work or materials;
- Classrooms and materials set up to reduce cognitive load and follow dyslexia friendly strategies;
- Children with SEND have a Pupil Passport which identifies approaches and strategies to be used which will help them to succeed;
- For children with Education, Health and Care Plans there may be 1:1 adult support in lessons.
The School recognises that while a child may have additional needs in one area of the curriculum they may well have skills and talents which allow them to shine and be successful in another and this is to be celebrated.
To view the Music Development Plan Summary please Click Here
To view the Music Appreciation and Listening Grid please Click Here