Music

Intent 

At Ashlands, we intend to deliver a Music curriculum that is a strong and vibrant part of enabling every child to live ‘Life in all its fullness’ (John 10:10), with a ‘Love of life, love of learning and love of one another’. Music is an aspect of learning that we would like every child to feel that they can access and enjoy, believing that it is an important and enriching part of their lives and others. It is a subject in which pupils can experience different cultures in this country and across the World.  

 We would aim for pupils to gain a sense of achievement and of pride in themselves when performing or composing, and to experience a feeling of spirituality when listening to music, encouraging them to ‘look up and out’. In particular, singing can raise spirits and counter sadness, focussed concentration reduces worrying and controlled breathing counteracts anxiety. (Rupert Sheldrake, Science and Spiritual Practices 2010). We believe that effective music teaching can create a love of music for life, with an aspiration that many will develop their musical skills further as they reach secondary school and become adults. We also recognise that music can help children to feel part of a community and so we will encourage our pupils to perform and enjoy music in class and to an audience. With these aims in mind, working with the Somerset music hub we will provide WCET for every Year 3 and every Year 5, attend musical events locally, such as the South Somerset Singing Festival, and provide opportunities to hear music performed by professional musicians in and out of school.  

Our teaching in Music will follow the National Curriculum (2013), ensuring that all pupils perform, listen to and evaluate music across a range of historical periods, genres, styles and traditions and including the works of great composers and musicians. They will learn to sing and use their voices, create and compose music and have the opportunity to learn a musical instrument, as well as using technology to progress their learning. The following inter-related musical dimensions will be understood and explored: pitch, duration, dynamics, tempo, timbre, texture, structure and musical notation.  

There will be a clear progression of skills from the EYFS and Key Stage 1 to Key Stage 2, building upon the children’s previous learning. Singing will be ‘The Golden Thread’ which runs throughout our teaching (Model Music Curriculum 2021). 

All children will have access to our Music Curriculum, with high expectations for every child. Pupils with SEND and Higher Attainers may have work additional to their peers though the Kapow Music Scheme is also designed to be inclusive to everyone. 

 

Implementation 

Music teaching at Ashlands is delivered through the Kapow Music Scheme. This scheme adopts a spiral curriculum model, where knowledge and skills are revisited and built upon at an appropriate level. Lessons are taught in half-termly units covering performing, listening, composing, the history of music and the inter-related dimensions of music. Both Year 3 and Year 5 will have the opportunity to learn a different instrument. Where possible this will lead to a performance opportunity which parents can attend. We will retain the Singup Scheme as this contains a useful song bank with accompaniments for choir and for other musical activities outside of class lessons. 

All children will participate in the Christmas performance for their Key Stage and also take part in Harvest and Easter services as well as weekly singing assemblies. Children will be encouraged to perform as part of a group and as soloists if they feel able. For many of these opportunities, parents will be invited to be part of the audience. We will aim to provide an hour of music teaching for each child each week. 

Alongside our curriculum, pupils will also have the opportunity to participate in additional 1:1 music tuition across a range of instruments (provided by The Somerset Guitar Academy) and in small group tuition in the violin (this will enable more children to access these lessons as the price is spread between the group). There is a weekly choir and Ukelele band which both take place in a lunchtime. 

Teachers will be supported with their Music provision by the Music Co-ordinator and by CPD by our local music hub, Somerset Music. 

Impact  

We will measure the impact of our curriculum through: 

  • Pupil discussions and interviewing the pupils about their learning (Pupil Voice) 
  • Video evidence of the pupils’ practical learning 
  • Monitoring by the subject lead, including a yearly staff questionnaire and learning walks. 
  • Monitoring by the Governing body. 
  • The assessment opportunities provided by the Kapow Curriculum. 
  • We will use the school’s Music Development Plan to assess our current provision and to set goals for future improvements. 

We can evaluate the impact of our Music Curriculum through the developing confidence of the children as performers, composers and listeners, with a knowledge of the meaning of musical vocabulary and notation. We can observe pupils’ ability to express themselves musically at and beyond school, showing an appreciation and respect for a range of styles from the UK around the World. We will assess the children’s enthusiasm for music and their ability to articulate their own musical preferences. Ultimately, we would look to see a love and appreciation of music which will potentially last a lifetime, reflecting our school vision of ‘Love of learning, love of life and love of one another.’