Intent: Why does our Music curriculum look like this?
Music is an integral part of life at Barley Fields Primary, taught with enthusiasm, passion and creativity. It is our intention that children gain a firm understanding of what music is through listening, singing, playing, evaluating, analysing, and composing across a wide variety of periods, styles, traditions, and musical genres. Our music teaching is designed to be hands-on, practical, fun and inspiring. We ensure all children have opportunities to take part in a variety of musical experiences both in school and further afield. We offer every child a period of sustained study to learn an instrument and facilitate additional music tuition delivered by Tees Valley Music Service.
Implementation: How will we achieve this?
Our children follow a carefully structured Music curriculum which has been designed to ensure our children know more, remember more and do more as they progress through our school. The curriculum is supported by the Charanga Music Scheme and Tees Valley Music Service. Our curriculum is taught using three concept led strands.
In each unit they will learn to:
- Listen and Appraise – a range of music styles, songs and compositions
- Engage in Musical Activities – develop music specific skills and knowledge through playing games, Playing alongside, Improvising and Composing music.
- Singing
- Performing and Sharing – engage in a range of performance events in the classroom, school and to wider audiences.
Each strand is embedded and applied through thematic units of learning focused on a song and which link and reinforce the interrelated dimensions of music in a progressive manner.
Our approach allows children to apply and enhance their music skills in a practical way. Children have regular opportunities to explore many rich and diverse types of music, actively listen to, reflect and appraise, compose and perform (using a mix of tuned and untuned instruments), during their musical journey through school.
Music is further enriched beyond the classroom through our vibrant assemblies and our children enjoy sharing their love of singing through various celebration assemblies, concerts and productions throughout the year. Music is further enriched with the support of Tees Valley Music Service and all children have two sustained opportunities to learn a musical instrument whilst in KS2.
Our children are taught to understand the core skills needed to work as a musician with the use of the school curriculum character – Manisha the Musician. This character is regularly used to encourage children to reflect on the key skills and attitudes needed when working within the Music Curriculum.
Full details of our whole school Music curriculum scheme of learning and our curriculum pathway are detailed below.
Impact: How will we know that our children are achieving?
By the end of each key stage, children are expected to know, apply and understand the skills and techniques specified in the music curriculum plan.
Children are assessed using our SONAR tracking system which identifies clear and progressive end points. This ensures progress is maintained and end of key stage expectations are met by all children.
Children are assessed termly and a final summative assessment made at the end of the academic year.
In addition, we measure the impact of our curriculum through the following methods:
- A reflection on standards achieved against the planned outcomes;
- A celebration of learning for each term which demonstrates progression across the school (Curriculum Floor book);
- Pupil discussions about their learning (Pupil Voice);
- The annual tracking of standards across the curriculum.