Link Governor: Mrs D Peacock

Intent

At Leyland St. James we recognise that music is a universal language that enables children to explore creativity.  We aim to promote a love of music as well as ensuring a firm understanding of what music is and how it is created through listening and appraising, singing, playing tuned and untuned instruments.  Children will evaluate, analyse and compose music across a wide variety of historical periods, styles and musical genres. We encourage children to understand, value and respect the importance of music across communities. We ensure children are given opportunities to involve themselves in music in a variety of contexts.

Implementation

Our scheme of work meets the requirements of the National Curriculum and provides progression and a breadth of knowledge across all year groups.  The music curriculum ensures children sing, listen, play, perform and evaluate. This is embedded in the classroom activities, which includes learning an instrument, as well as during worship and various other performance opportunities.  We also ensure extra-curricular opportunities are offered to children who wish to further their love for music.  We deliver music lessons following the Charanga programme, designed specifically for the teaching of music in primary schools.  Our lessons are planned in sequences to provide children with the opportunities to review, remember, deepen and apply their understanding. The elements of music are taught in classroom lessons so that children are able to use some of the language of music.  In the classroom, children learn how to play the recorder, the ukulele and a variety of percussion instruments. Playing various instruments enables children to use a range of methods to create notes, as well as how to read basic music notation. They also learn how to compose, focusing 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.

Impact

Throughout their time at Leyland St. James’, children’s musical skills and understanding are built upon each year, from singing nursery rhymes and action songs from memory and performing simple rhythm patterns on tuned and untuned percussion instruments in Early Years, progressing their skills and understanding in KS1 where they also experience whole class instrumental tuition on the recorder, to further developing their skills and knowledge of the subject in lower KS2,  where the children access music confidently, experience whole class ukulele tuition and have the ability to read and follow a simple musical score. Throughout all of this the child’s enjoyment of music is a key element, where children are inspired to become musicians, singers, composers and performers.