Intent
The National Curriculum for music aims to ensure that all pupils:
- Perform, listen to, review and evaluate music
- Be taught to sing, create and compose music
- Understand and explore how music is created, produced and communicated
- Evaluate music, using a wide range of musical vocabulary to accurately describe and appraise.
At Shillington Lower , we believe that music is a unique form of communication and its study contributes to the development of well-rounded and creative individuals. It is our intention, through musical experiences that children will be inspired and motivated to develop concentration, creativity and self-confidence; skills they can transfer to other areas of their lives. Children will be given high quality opportunities to listen to, sing, play, compose, perform and evaluate music so they gain a firm understanding of what music is. We aim to give children an opportunity for personal expression, while facilitating reflection on different cultures and society and therefore helping children through music, involve themselves in the wider community.
Implementation
Children are taught to sing, listen, play, perform and evaluate music. The skills taught are applied across the curriculum and are used to enhance children’s retention and enjoyment of learning generally. Through a range of contexts, including lessons, assemblies, concerts, school choirs and performances children are exposed to different genres of music, and renowned composers and musicians across history. The school utilises the Charanga scheme of work to deliver the curriculum, as it allows for the development and progression in learning. In class lessons children are taught to identify and play a range of instruments, thereby developing their understanding of how notes are created as well as how to read basic music notation. Children learn composition skills using their voices, body percussion, real instruments and technology; thereby embedding their knowledge of the different dimensions of music and feeding their understanding when listening to, playing or evaluating. All children are offered the opportunity to be taught an instrument by a peripatetic teacher.
Impact
At Shillington Lower, we aim to encourage children of all abilities to express themselves through singing and instrumental playing, allowing them to identify and embrace areas of strength as well as opportunities to develop. The varied music programme encourages positive learning habits such as practice, as well as building confidence, collaborative skills and self-reflection. Children will broaden the range of music that they appreciate and deepen their understanding of culture and history across the world. They will be able to dissect music into its parts, including pulse, pitch, rhythm, dynamics, tempo, tembre, texture and structure and explain how this is communicated using musical notation. They can express themselves using their voice, demonstrating some musicality. They will recognise that music can be valued and accessed in a variety of ways, and that a pathway to develop their skills and interest further is open to them.