Music

Intent

At Park Mead Primary School we believe that music plays an integral role in a broad and balanced curriculum.  We believe in the importance of fostering a life-long love of music, exposing children to diverse musical experiences and as a result igniting in children a passion for music.  Our aim is to enable children to develop a curiosity for the subject, by listening and responding to different musical styles, finding their voices as singers and performers and becoming composers of music we aim for them to become confident and reflective musicians.  We are committed to ensuring children understand the value and importance of music in the wider community and aim to provide the opportunities for them use their music skills, knowledge and experiences to involve themselves in music, in a variety of ways.  

At Park Mead Primary School we aim for all children to:

• 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. 

Implementation

Music is a skills based subject and must be engaged with and taught practically. We demonstrate this through a spiral of learning, adding to musical concepts throughout the curriculum but ensuring previous knowledge and skills continue to develop. Thus, children revisit key skills over the course of a key stage, with an expectation of high quality work at all stages. 

Effective musical learning is achieved through a range exposing the children to a range of skills and knowledge that are embedded and demonstrated in different ways and on multiple occasions. 

Early Years Foundation Stage and Year 1

EYFS have daily music sessions including the morning boogie and afternoon nursery rhymes. Year 1 have a weekly dedicated music session.  They use a range of resources, including Jolly Music and Charanga Music School online.  This ensures a balanced curriculum encompassing composition, performing and listening and appraising.

Years 2 to 6

Years 2 to 6 have a weekly music curriculum session of between 45 and 60 minutes, taught by a music specialist in a dedicated music room. Starting at Year 2, the music teaching uses a Kodaly-inspired approach to music; Kodaly emphasised that ‘Only activity can lead someone to a real understanding and appreciation of music.’  So we encourage the children to be active learners - they experience the elements of music, before they are made conscious.  Lesson content incorporates active listening, performing using voice and instruments and composing. A range of resources, including Charanga Music School online, Musical Futures Just Play, the Voices Foundation publications and BBC 10 Pieces are used. These year groups have whole class ensemble teaching:

• Yr 2 – Penny Whistle
• Yr 3 - Tuned Percussion
• Yr 4 - Recorder
• Yr 5 - Ukulele
• Yr 6 - African drumming, mixed ensemble of keyboard/acoustic guitar/ukulele   

KS1 and KS2 have a singing assembly every half term in addition to whole school singing at the weekly Friday Celebration Assembly.

Performance opportunities are many and varied throughout the year, allowing children to show what they have learned and every child is encouraged to perform at some point throughout the school year with their class. There are additional in-school performance opportunities at the Christmas Concert, Christmas Carol Service, Summer Concert, Park Mead’s Got Talent and music assemblies. 

High quality trips and visiting musicians are organised. The intention of these events is to provide the children with opportunities to listen to live music and to give them inspiring experiences that extend their knowledge and enhance their learning.

At Park Mead Primary School we use ‘Musician of the Month’ to introduce new musicians (composers, performers or ensembles) exploring different styles of music; balancing genders, race and culture. One of the aims of this is to inspire, providing musical roles models for the children.  The musician is explored both in lessons and shared in the Friday celebration assembly.  

There are a wide range of musical extra-curricular activities for all children across all year groups as well as trips that involve the children or allow them the opportunity to be exposed to experts in the musical profession. 

Impact

• Music is valued and celebrated across the whole school.  
• Children demonstrate and articulate an enthusiasm for music and can identify their own personal musical preferences.  
• The children enjoy the creative process of making music and can draw on their knowledge of interrelated elements of music to create short phrases of new melodic music.  
• Children understand the ways in which music can be written down (including staff notation) to support performing and composition.  
• Children are confident singers and musicians playing and performing with increased accuracy, fluency, control and expression.  
• Children can demonstrate knowledge of music from a range of music traditions. They can show an appreciation and respect for music from around the world and understand how music is influenced by cultural, social and historical contexts in which it is developed.  
• Children can listen with attention to detail, recalling sounds with increased aural memory.