Music
Subject Coordinator: Miss S Scott
At Woodhouse Primary Academy, we are committed to providing an inclusive, creative and exciting curriculum based around high quality teaching and learning.
Intent
At Woodhouse Primary Academy, we aim to provide all children with a music curriculum that promotes a life-long love for music and develops musical skills and knowledge. Children will have the opportunity to listen and appraise a wide range of music, spanning different cultures, historical periods and genres. Children will learn and develop musical skills and knowledge through playing musical games, singing, playing instruments, improvising, composing and performing.
Music is an inclusive, important aspect of many cultures and can help improve wellbeing, communication and self-expression. Learning music helps to embed our school values of confidence, resilience, respect, kindness, communication, ambition and determination as children learn and have opportunities to compose and showcase their creations.
Implementation
At Woodhouse Primary Academy, we ensure the Music requirements set out by the Curriculum are delivered by a bespoke Charanga Model Music Curriculum scheme of work. It ensures that every year and across a range of musical genres and styles, children have the opportunity to practise the musical skills of: playing musical games, singing, playing instruments, improvising, composing and performing. Each unit of work is taught alongside our school’s ‘sticky knowledge’ which sets out specific knowledge or skills to be learnt in each session. This may include specific genres, song lyrics, subject-specific vocabulary or a task linked to the musical skills listed above. Lessons are carefully sequenced for progression as well as to reflect and utilise specific interests and strengths of staff.
As children progress, skills will be built upon, adding to musical concepts as they progress through the curriculum, ensuring previous skills and knowledge are developed through a range of practical activities in their lessons and wider musical experiences. This skills-based approach allows for children to review, recall, deepen and apply their musical understanding.
Music is taught in one-hour weekly lessons. Throughout their time at Woodhouse Primary Academy, children will learn how to play glockenspiels (and other percussion instruments), recorders and ukeleles. Children will also practise composing or performing using body percussion and vocal sounds, which develops the understanding of musical elements without the added complexity of an instrument.
Music in the Early Years is embedded throughout the curriculum, using rhyme and rhythm throughout the learning of phonics, handwriting and mathematics. Children learn a wide range of songs and rhymes and develop skills for performing together. Music is often used to
embed learning, develop musical awareness and to demonstrate how music can be used to express feelings.
In Key Stage One, children will begin to play untuned instruments, develop and deepen their knowledge of genres, musical elements and use subject-specific vocabulary to appraise music they listen to.
In Key Stage 2, children learn to play recorders in year 3. In year 4, children will benefit from whole class specialist ukelele teaching, delivered by a member of Durham Music Service. As children progress into Year 5, some children will be taught how to play guitar by a specialist member of Durham Music Service. As children continue through their primary school career, the skills and knowledge outlined above are deepened whilst a life-long love for music is fostered. Opportunities for careers in music are also explored.
Co-curricular opportunities for music in school include weekly singing assemblies delivered by the music lead; class assemblies which showcase what children have learnt in music; a KS1 Nativity performance; the Year 6 End of KS2 performance; and an after-school singing club (which have opportunities to perform in the wider community, for example a local care home to perform Christmas Carols). Parents are often invited to come into school and watch these performances.
Impact
Over their time at Woodhouse Primary Academy, children will develop a love for music and how it can help them in their lives. Their musical knowledge and skills will be built on and deepened throughout the sequence of lessons. These elements are assessed using continued teacher assessment in their observation of children and their ability to: appraise, sing, play instruments, improvise, compose, perform, answer questions and use subject-specific terminology. We also assess the impact of our Music curriculum using pupil voice to understand the children’s attitudes and experiences of Music in school as well as regular meetings between the Music Lead and the Subject Link Governor for Music.
Our curriculum is planned to give children the confidence in music to continue learning and enjoying it throughout their lives, including as a hobby or career.
