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Music

Intent

Music is a universal language that embodies one of the highest forms of creativity. 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. (National Curriculum)

At St Ann’s Well Academy, we strive to create the space for our children to enjoy and appreciate the validity of music in all forms. The arts are an integral part of our society, therefore we believe a high quality music education is very important. Children of all abilities will be given the chance to develop their skills and musical knowledge, challenging them in a fun and engaging way as they progress on their learning journey.

Implementation

Our music curriculum is a spiral curriculum based upon the interrelated dimensions of music. Each dimension is introduced through our EYFS curriculum, and revisited regularly, deepening the understanding of each strand as the children progress through the school. Sing up is a practical, exploratory and child led approach to music learning.

The learning within this scheme is based on:

  • Singing and Playing
  • Listening and Appraising
  • Improvising and Composing.

Children in years 4 & 5 receive professional music tuition through Whole Class Ensemble teaching via the Music Hub. The hub’s teaching aligns well with the interrelated dimensions and the teaching is in line with the progression of key skills across year groups.

There are opportunities for children of all abilities to develop their skills and knowledge in each unit, the progression planned into the scheme of work means that the children are increasingly challenged as they progress. All musical learning is based around the interrelated dimensions of music; pulse, rhythm, pitch, tempo, dynamics, timbre, structure and notation.

Through implementation of our curriculum, teaching and learning will show progression across all key stages within the strands of music.

  • Sing up and whole class ensemble teaching are progressive both in learning and skills and knowledge.
  • Our curriculum focuses on the interrelated dimensions of music (pulse, rhythm, pitch, tempo, dynamics, timbre, texture, structure and notation) which are at the centre of all learning.
  • Children listen and appraise music from a wide range of musical styles, genres and cultures.

Weekly singing sessions take place using Sing-up singing resources which give the children the opportunity to sing a wide range of genres, sometimes singing using notation. We also draw from our own bank of popular songs which are aligned to the schools values.

We have whole school Autumn, Christmas and Spring concerts which are performed for parents. This gives all children the experience of performing to a wider audience. The school is also part of Area Band through the Nottingham Music Hub scheme – giving children who are passionate about playing instruments the chance to enhance and develop their skills, regularly meeting with other schools and as part of an area band ensemble to perform in local venues for larger audiences.

It is important to us that a love of playing an instrument is promoted and encouraged in their ability to do so as a form of expression.

In the Foundation Stage we teach music in Nursery and Reception classes as an integral part of the topic work covered during the year. As part of the Early Years Foundation Stage of the National Curriculum, we relate the musical aspects of the children’s work to the objectives set out in the Early Learning Goals (ELGs). Music contributes to a child’s personal and social development. Counting songs foster a child’s mathematical ability, and songs from different cultures increase a child’s knowledge and understanding of the world. Nursery and reception also take part in our Sing-Up Scheme.

In Key Stage 1 children will:

Pupils should be taught to:

· use their voices expressively and creatively by singing songs and speaking chants and rhymes

· play tuned and untuned instruments musically

· listen with concentration and understanding to a range of high-quality live and recorded music

· experiment with, create, select and combine sounds using the inter-related dimensions of music.

In Key Stage 2 children will:

Pupils should be taught to sing and play musically with increasing confidence and control. They should develop an understanding of musical composition, organising and manipulating ideas within musical structures and reproducing sounds from aural memory.

Pupils should be taught to:

· play and perform in solo and ensemble contexts, using their voices and playing musical instruments with increasing accuracy, fluency, control and expression

· improvise and compose music for a range of purposes using the inter-related dimensions of music

· listen with attention to detail and recall sounds with increasing aural memory

· use and understand staff and other musical notations

· appreciate and understand a wide range of high-quality live and recorded music drawn from different traditions and from great composers and musicians

· develop an understanding of the history of music.

We invest in the ‘In Harmony’ package from Nottingham Music Service.

  • Children in Years 4 & 5 receive weekly whole class string ensemble lessons from professional musicians.
  • Children will access extracurricular musical participation opportunities such as area band, music camps and choir.
  • Participation in Nottinghamshire Music Hubs events such as Great Orchestra experiment, Christmas in the City and Summer in the City.
  • Children have the opportunity to progress to Music Medals and Grade 1 through the ABRSM exam system.
  • Children have access to Area Band, in which they perform as an ensemble and to a larger audience.

Impact

Children will:

  • enjoy and appreciate a wide variety of musical styles;
  • explore how sounds are made, and how music is produced by a variety of instruments;
  • develop imagination and creativity;
  • build a sense of pulse and rhythm;
  • understand a range of musical vocabulary;
  • develop the interrelated skills of composition, improvisation, performance and appreciation;
  • enjoy a wide range of songs and sing in tune;
  • develop positive attitudes and to experience success and satisfaction in music.

Aspirations For the Future

Pupils develop an understanding of how subjects and specific skills are linked to future jobs. 

Here are some of the jobs you could aspire to do in the future as a Musician: