Music
This should be read in conjunction with the CRC and Respectful Relationships Policy.
CRC Article 28: All children have the right to a good quality education.
CRC Article 29: All children have the right to have their talents developed.
All policy and practice in Timothy Hackworth Primary School respects children’s dignity.
Our Intent, Implementation and Impact in Music
Intent
We strive to ensure that our pupils enjoy music through active involvement, while sharing experiences and co-operating with others. We endeavour to help children to develop an awareness of musical traditions and developments from a variety of cultures. Our intention is that children gain a firm understanding of what music is, through listening, singing, playing, evaluating, analysing, and composing across a wide variety of historical periods, styles, traditions, and musical genres. Our objective is to develop a curiosity for the subject, as well as an understanding and acceptance of the validity and importance of all types of music, and an unbiased respect for the role that music may play in any person’s life. We are committed to ensuring that children understand the value and importance of music in the wider community, and are able to use their musical skills, knowledge, musical vocabulary and experiences to involve themselves in music and to discuss music, in a variety of different contexts. Children will have the opportunity to demonstrate resilience, resourcefulness, reflectiveness and reciprocity and have the ambition to be successful learners.
Through a high quality, progressive and challenging music teaching sequence, Timothy Hackworth Primary School aims to:
- provide opportunities for children to perform, listen to, review and evaluate music through a range of historical periods, genres, styles, cultures and traditions, including the works of the great composers and musicians;
- develop a child’s appreciation of the richness of our musical heritage;
- give children the opportunity to sing and use their voices to create and compose music on their own and with others;
- give children the opportunity to learn a musical instrument;
- give children the opportunity to use technology;
- provide opportunities for children 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;
- to ensure children are taught formal notation appropriate for their age;
- help children of all abilities to develop positive attitudes and to experience success and satisfaction in Music;
- develop social skills through co-operation with others in the shared experience of music-making;
- encourage the children to explore a wide range of sounds;
- give children the opportunity to compose music and express their ideas and feelings through music;
- provide an array of performance opportunities so that children can feel part of a community;
- encourage high standards in performance;
- encourage children to express ideas and opinions about music;
- develop an appropriate vocabulary to help children understand and discuss their own work and that of others;
- give each child the opportunity to develop their musical talents, and have the opportunity to progress to the next level of musical excellence.
Implementation
The Music curriculum ensures that children learn to sing, listen, compose, perform and evaluate.
In our Music curriculum, the sequencing of units is carefully planned to ensure developmental progression. We build on and extend prior learning. Our Music Overview is designed to foster a love of music, to develop children’s talents as musicians, and to provide an opportunity for children to progress to the next level of musical excellence. These skills are recursive and are embedded year upon year. Throughout the Music curriculum, children are provided with opportunities to develop their understanding of the inter-related dimensions of music.
There are further opportunities to develop music, for example, through hymn practices, assemblies, performances and after-school clubs, e.g., Samba Drumming Club and Choir. The school works in close partnership with Durham Music Service which offers wider opportunities for learning music, for example, learning to play a brass instrument.
· Listening and Appraising;
· Musical Activities (including Creating and Exploring);
· Singing and Performing.
Music in Early Years – ‘Playing to Learn’
In the Early Years, Music falls within the specific area of Expressive Arts and Design. We relate the musical aspects of the children’s learning to the objectives set out in the Early Learning Goals (ELGs).
ELG – Being Imaginative and Expressive:
- invent, adapt and recount narratives and stories with peers and their teacher;
- sing a range of well-known nursery rhymes and songs;
- perform songs, rhymes, poems and stories with others, and – when appropriate – try to move in time with music.
Music is crucial at this age; this includes songs, rhymes and listening to music. Music is part of daily learning and is very cross-curricular, for example, learning the names of the planets through a song, counting in 2s through a song, use of tidy-up music at tidy-up time, and use of a listening song to encourage good listening skills. We teach Music in Nursery and Reception classes as an integral part of the topic work covered during the year. Music contributes to a child’s personal and social development. Counting songs foster a child’s mathematical ability, and songs from different cultures increase a child’s wider understanding of the world.
Nursery and Reception classes also have access to the Charanga Music Scheme from Durham Music Service.
KS1 and KS2
Fundamental skills and knowledge are taught to children through a carefully sequenced and planned programme. All musical learning is based around the Interrelated Dimensions of Music: pulse, rhythm, pitch, tempo, dynamics, timbre, texture, structure and notation. All children gain a simple understanding of a range of musical notation, playing an instrument, composition, performance, listening and analysing music. Durham County Music Service provide peripatetic musical instrument tuition. These lessons are taught to classes of children and opportunities for individual tuition are also available for those who have chosen to learn one of a variety of instruments.
Impact
Impact is measured by the child’s progress against their expected outcomes and their ability to meet the key aims of the National Curriculum for Music.
The impact of learning and pupils’ attainment will be assessed in a variety of ways, for example, class teachers using assessment for learning, and by the Subject Lead through data analysis, learning walks, Black Book scrutiny and pupil interviews.
Through accessing our Music curriculum, pupils will have:
- a curiosity for the subject;
- a wider musical vocabulary;
- a secure understanding of the inter-related dimensions of music;
- an age-appropriate understanding of musical notation;
- an ability to enjoy music as a listener, creator and performer;
- an ability to analyse and evaluate music;
- an enhanced and developing singing ability;
- an appreciation of music from a variety of cultures, styles, genres and historical traditions;
- a growing self-confidence;
- an ability to interact and develop their awareness of others;
- the ability to self-reflect.
