Music at Holywell Green
Intent
A high-quality music education should engage and inspire pupils to develop a love of music and their talent as musicians, and so increase their self-confidence, creativity and sense of achievement. As pupils progress, they should develop a critical engagement with music, allowing them to compose, and to listen with discrimination to the best in the musical canon.
The National Curriculum for Music aims to ensure that all pupils:
• 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.
• Learn to sing and to use their voices, to create and compose music on their own and with others, have the opportunity to learn a musical instrument, use technology appropriately and have the opportunity to progress to the next level of musical excellence.
• 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.
At Holywell Green we make Music an enjoyable learning experience. We encourage children to participate in a variety of musical experiences through which we aim to build the confidence of all children. Our teaching focuses on developing the children’s ability to sing in tune and with other people during our weekly singing assemblies, learn to play a variety of musical instruments and read and compose music. We teach them to listen and to appreciate different forms of music. As children get older, we expect them to maintain their concentration for longer and to listen to more extended pieces of music.
Composition is a large part of the curriculum lessons. These seven elements are taught from Reception through to Year 6, and form the basis of all instrumental lessons:
Implementation
Our school uses the National Curriculum in England 2014 Framework for Music as the basis for its curriculum planning. We have recently up-dated our Music curriculum with the support of Charanga, a commericial scheme, and Oak Academy to support staff confidence, ensure full coverage of the curriculum and progression across the year groups. You can find out more information below.
While there are opportunities for children of all abilities to develop their skills and knowledge in each teaching unit, the planned progression built into the music curriculum means that the children are increasingly challenged as they move through the school. Links are made to termly themes and other curriculum subjects where appropriate and these are identified on the individual Medium Term Plans. Music is taught by class teachers who are supported by a music specialist who works closely with school to ensure relevant and inspiring units of work.
Impact
At Holywell Green the music curriculum aims to foster a love of music by building confidence, creativity, and self-expression through performance, listening, and composition. Children develop technical skills (pitch, dynamics, rhythm) and critical engagement, appreciating diverse genres and cultures while achieving curriculum milestones.