Music Curriculum
Music Curriculum Intention
“Music can name the unnameable and communicate the unknowable.”
All children at South View Community Primary are entitled to a high-quality music education, which engages and inspires pupils to develop a love of music and their talent as musicians, and so increase their self-confidence, creativity and sense of achievement.
We aim for the children to 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.
Music Curriculum Implementation
Implementation: Our pedagogy in Music (Y1-6)
At South View, we aim to make music an enjoyable learning experience. We believe that each learning experience should engage and inspire children to be enthusiastic, lifelong musicians. Therefore, we aim to teach music musically – through completing a range of musical activities which pupils thoroughly engage in. We are very fortunate at South View to have a designated music room for lessons as well as a wide range of instruments, both tuned and untuned, which the children play regularly in their Music learning and extra-curricular activities.
South View uses Kapow as a scheme of work, which offers a topic-based approach to support children’s learning in music. A steady progression plan has been built into Kapow, both within each year and from one year to the next, ensuring consistent musical development. By using Kapow as the basis of a scheme of work, we can ensure that children are fulfilling the aims for musical learning stated in the National Curriculum: Kapow includes many examples of music styles and genres from different times and places. These are explored through the language of music via active listening, performing and composing activities, which enable understanding of the context and genre.
Kapow provides a classroom-based, participatory and inclusive approach to music learning. Throughout the scheme, children are actively involved in using and developing their singing voices, using body percussion and whole-body actions, and learning to handle and play classroom instruments effectively to create and express their own and others’ music. Through a range of whole class, group and individual activities, children have opportunities to explore sounds, listen actively, compose and perform.
During music lessons, children are given opportunities to learn music-specific vocabulary in a meaningful context. The children are given opportunities to apply their skills and given a chance for collaboration through composition.
Music with school offers whole class instrument tuition (through our membership with the Lincolnshire Music Service), school choir, Young Voices and peripatetic teaching is provided.
As a practical subject, assessment is done by focusing on a small group at a time on certain skills, observing the children, discussing their work or self/group/teacher evaluation against criteria from the National Curriculum programmes of study and the end of year expectations.
The progression ladders, provided by the subject leader, ensure children are accessing work at age-related expectations, with regular opportunities to be challenged through higher-level objectives.
Children are assessed according to age related expectations in line with the curriculum requirements. The information is recorded and monitored by the subject leader at the end of each term.
Timetabling
Music must be taught discretely each week by the class teacher in line with the timings of the year group weekly timetable (1 hour per week).
Music content being covered through a cross-curricular approach must include a learning objective taken from the year group’s music curriculum.
Resources
Teachers may develop their own resources or source elsewhere, as long as the content and quality are not less than outstanding. The subject leader can be consulted at any time to assist with planning, resourcing or support with subject knowledge.
- https://www.lincsmusicservice.org/ for individual/small group/ whole class music tuition
- https://www.youngvoices.co.uk/ for concert practice and information
- https://www.kapowprimary.com/subjects/music/ for whole class music lessons/lesson plans/singing/links to topics
- https://www.singup.org/login for singing assemblies/topic-based songs
- https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/ten-pieces quick and easy activities to share with pupils
Music Curriculum Impact
During their time at South View, all children will have had the opportunity to fully explore and develop their individual musical talents. This has not only been achieved through planned, progressive teaching and learning opportunities but also through being part of a musical community.
By the end of EYFS, children will be able to sing songs, make music and dance, experimenting with a variety of changes. They will be able to represent their own ideas, thoughts and feelings through music. Children in EYFS will sing with the rest of the school for half an hour every week, take part in a Christmas Performance, present and sing in a class assembly and experience a 'Musician in Residence' Day.
By the end of KS1, children will be able to play tuned and un-tuned percussion instruments and use their voices with the awareness of others. Children in KS1 will sing with the rest of the school for half an hour every week, take part in a Christmas Performance, present and sing in a class assembly and experience a 'Musician in Residence' Day. Children in Year 2 will have the opportunity to learn an instrument either individually or in a group. Children are given the opportunity to perform at our end of year Music Performance Evening.
By the end of 'LKS2' (Yr4) children will learn to play a musical instrument alongside their classmates, take the lead in instrumental and singing performances and provide suggestions to others for improvement. They will develop strategies to cope with performance pressure, improve their presentation skills such as including eye contact with the audience. They will be able to improve and plan the logistics of performance and confidently introduce pieces and songs. Children in KS2 will sing with the rest of the school for half an hour every week, take part in a Christmas Performance, work with the Local Music Hub to attend musical concerns and work with live bands, choirs and orchestras and present and sing in a class assembly. Children are given the opportunity to perform at our end of year Music Performance Evening and to also join the school choir.
By the end of 'UKS2' (Yr 6), in addition to everything experienced in LKS2 and before, the children will take part in an end of year large performance to parents and members of the community. They will also have learned, rehearsed singing repertoire and performed live at the 02 Arena in London alongside another 8000 UK pupils and in front of an audience of approx 12,000 people. Children are given the opportunity to perform at our end of year Music Performance Evening and to also join the school choir.
We currently have the following numbers taking up individual or small group tuition:
Singing - 2 pupils
Drums - 6 pupils
Guitar/Ukulele - 4 guitar, 4 ukulele (continuation group)
Ukulele Club - 16
Violin - 6
Keyboard/Piano - 4
Therapeutic Drumming (SEND group) - 18 pupils
Choir - 42