Intent:
Our aim at Oakley Cross Primary School is to enrich children’s lives through music. We aim to develop their appreciation of a range of music across different time periods and genres. We encourage all children, no matter ability, to participate in a variety of musical experiences.
Teaching will focus on developing children’s ability to understand rhythm and follow a beat, learning about the structure and organisation of music, as well as technical vocabulary. Children will have the opportunity to listen to and appreciate different forms of music as well as the works of great composers and musicians.
Our music curriculum will also give the children at Oakley Cross Primary School opportunity to express themselves through singing and composing music on their own and with others. We will also provide opportunities for children to learn how to play a musical instrument and begin to read and follow simple musical notation.
Aims
The national curriculum for music aims to ensure that all pupils:
- perform, listen to, review and evaluate music across a range of historical periods, genres, styles and traditions, including the works of the great composers and musicians
- 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
- understand and explore how music is created, produced and communicated, including through the inter-related dimensions: pitch, duration, dynamics, tempo, timbre, texture, structure and appropriate musical notations.
Attainment targets
By the end of each key stage, pupils are expected to know, apply and understand the matters, skills and processes specified in the relevant programme of study.
Subject content
Key stage 1
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.
Key stage 2
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.
Implementation:
Music Overview plan
Each class at Oakley Cross Primary school uses a Durham Music service approved program called Charanga to deliver the music curriculum. This allows a broad range of styles, instruments and songs to be covered throughout the school.
We use specialist support and teaching from Durham Music service to deliver some music in our school which includes free instrumental learning. Our younger learners experience the Little Fingers programme which develops fundamental musical skills as well as building confidence in staffs understanding of using music as a learning tool.
At Oakley Cross Primary we are working to develop the implementation of our Music curriculum. We want to ensure all children have access to effective music teaching as well as ensuring they have opportunity to gain the knowledge and skills to become confident musicians. This development will be completed alongside CPD from Durham Music Service to upskill staff and further develop our curriculum.
Impact:
Music assessment is ongoing to inform teachers with their planning, lesson activities and differentiation.The subject leader will ensure music knowledge and skills are being taught rigorously and will develop a portfolio of monitoring. This will include pupil voice through interviews, and lesson observations to ensure our curriculum is having an impact on children’s knowledge and skills.
