Music

Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind,

flight to the imagination and life to everything. -Plato

INTENT

The National Curriculum for music aims to ensure that all pupils:

Perform, listen to, review and evaluate music
Be taught to sing, create and compose music
nderstand and explore how music is created, produced and communicated.

At Trottiscliffe C of E Primary School, the intention is that children gain a firm understanding of what music is through listening, singing, playing, evaluating, analysing, and composing across a wide variety of historical periods, styles, traditions, and musical genres. Our objective is to develop a curiosity for the subject, as well as an understanding and acceptance of the validity and importance of all types of music, and an unbiased respect for the role that music may wish to be expressed in any person’s life. We are committed to ensuring children understand the value and importance of music in the wider community, and are able to use their musical skills, knowledge, and experiences to involve themselves in music, in a variety of different contexts.

IMPLEMENTATION

Our music curriculum ensures students sing, listen, play, perform and evaluate. This is embedded in the classroom activities as well as the weekly singing worship, various concerts and performances, the learning of instruments, and the joining in of various musical experiences such as the Music at Malling project.

Curriculum music follows the Charanga Model Music Curriculum. The elements of music are taught in the classroom lessons so that children are able to use some of the language of music to dissect it, and understand how it is made, played, appreciated and analysed. In the classroom students experience how to play a range of instruments, and currently in Lower Key Stage Two, the children are taught the ukulele whilst in Upper Key Stage Two, the children learn the recorder. In doing so understand the different principle of each method of creating notes, as well as how to read basic music notation. They also learn how to compose focussing on different dimensions of music, which in turn feeds their understanding when listening, playing, or analysing music. Composing or performing using body percussion and vocal sounds is also part of the curriculum, which develops the understanding of musical elements without the added complexity of an instrument.

The Charanga scheme of work is used from Year 1 - 6 to ensure a wide exposure to different genres of music, with lots of practical opportunities to explore and develop as musicians and singers.

We also encourage children to learn an instrument whilst at our school and we have woodwind and brass instrument tuition for individuals and small groups provided by the Music for Schools Foundation and piano lessons delivered by Mr Jaggard from Integra Music.

We have also had a successful choir who performed at the O2 in 2020 as part of the Young Voices concert programme. This was an amazing experience for all and we look forward to returning after the pandemic.

IMPACT

Whilst in school, children have access to a varied programme, which allows students to discover areas of strength, as well as areas they might like to improve upon. The integral nature of music and the learner creates an enormously rich palette from which a student may access fundamental abilities such as: achievement, self-confidence, interaction with and awareness of others, and self-reflection. Music will also develop an understanding of culture and history, both in relation to students individually, as well as ethnicities from across the world. Children are able to enjoy music, in as many ways as they choose- either as listener, creator or performer. They can dissect music and comprehend its parts. They can sing and feel a pulse. They have an understanding of how to further develop skills less known to them, should they ever develop an interest in their lives.

We use a range of strategies to assess what skills and knowledge the children have attained each term including the following: