Music

Intent

We recognise Music learning as an essential subject that promote children’s personal expression and wellbeing. Music stimulates and complements children overall individual and collective development in a spontaneous and organic way. It also gives the children the opportunity to share and to celebrate acquired knowledge and skills through performance.  

Implementation

We teach to a 2- year curriculum cycle which has been designed to ensure that children receive the breadth of learning required by the National Curriculum and that there is progression and development of their knowledge, understanding and skills over time, through each phase.

Music takes place as part of the weekly timetable for KS1 and KS2. 

This includes the opportunity to:

  • Experience music through individual and collective singing from EY to KS2 developing a solid vocal technique;
  • Develop basic skills in several specific instruments: percussion, ukulele, glockenspiel, guitar and violin as part of their curriculum;
  • Develop active listening in order to enjoy, understand, analyse and explain recorded music using adequate specific vocabulary;
  • Compose original music pieces both individually and collectively;
  • Read and write music using traditional notation;
  • Experience improvisation as a fundamental part of music individuality and expression;
  • Celebrate regularly their achievements with the whole school community through individual and collective performances;
  • Take part in extra-curricular activities and groups participating in internal and external performances.

Impact

Assessment of children's learning in Music is made through multi-media recordings of all musical activities. This includes not only specific music lessons but also whole-school assemblies and performances. The systematic archiving of these recordings allows the monitoring of children's understanding, knowledge and skills. The music teacher and the class teacher are able to register and to evaluate effectively the progress in relation to the National Curriculum expectations of attainment. This assessment is used for further children’s music development and challenges and it also provides a way for pupils to self-assess their own progress and to design their own ways for improvement.