MUSIC
Our music curriculum aims to provide all pupils with a high quality music education which engages and inspires children to develop a life-long love of music, increase their self-confidence, creativity and sense of achievement.
Children are provided with learning experiences appropriate to various stages of development in order to continue to develop their musical skills throughout their school life. Children participate in a wide range of activities to develop skills in all aspects of music including rhythm work, instrumental skills, composition, singing and critical appreciation.
Performance opportunities are a part of the school year. In the Autumn Term, Foundation perform a Nativity play. Lower Key Stage Two will perform a musical play in the Spring Term and Upper Key Stage Two a musical play in the Summer Term. In addition, we aim to participate in various other musical performances with other schools in the local community.
AIMS and PURPOSE
We aim to give all our pupils the opportunity to undertake a broad and balanced programme of music activities developing their understanding of the 6 inter-related dimensions of music (pitch, duration, dynamics, timbre, texture, structure). Through these activities children develop the following skills:
- Creativity and original thinking
- Problem solving
- Perseverance
- Tolerance
- Ability to listen carefully
- Ability to practise and perform for an audience
- Ability to compose music
- Appreciation of music from a wide variety of times, styles and cultures
- Evaluation of their own and others’ music
HOW WE IMPLEMENT MUSIC
Children are given regular opportunities to develop musical skills and knowledge by being actively engaged in making and responding to music through the following five main areas of learning:
- Performing
- Composing
- Appraising
- Listening
- Singing
Teachers have access to a music scheme on Kapow as well as Sing Up. These units ensure a broad range of music as well as showing progression in skills.
When opportunities arise musicians are invited into the school to perform or teach the children. Pupils are also taken to other venues to participate in, watch and listen to musical performances.
Additional Music Teaching
The Music for Schools Foundation also offers group and individual instrumental lessons during school time. Fees for these lessons are payable directly to the Music for Schools Foundation.
In addition, the school subscribes to the Oxfordshire County Music Service Online Music Resource as well as Sing Up. In KS 2 we have a peripatetic music teacher who comes in each week to teach whole class ukulele lessons . Opportunities for cross-curricular links are encouraged – for example by singing songs to support topic work. Additionally Foundation Stage, Year 4 and Year 6 classes spend time working on performances at least once during the school year.
Assessment
Assessing achievement in music is through continuous teacher observation. These observations provide a basis for recording and reporting children’s achievements. This is an on-going process brought about by:
- Observation of children working
- Discussion with children before, during and after working
- Looking at/marking children’s work - older pupils are encouraged to make judgements about how they can improve their own work.
- Music is mainly a practical subject but where written work is produced it is retained in a folder of work-samples.