Music

Aims and objectives

Music is a universal language that embodies one of the highest forms of creativity. We provide opportunities for all children to create, play, perform and enjoy music, to develop the skills to appreciate a wide variety of musical forms, and to begin to make judgements about the quality of music.

The aims of music teaching are to enable 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 use their voices

• have the opportunity to learn to play a musical instrument

• to use technology appropriately

• to create and compose music on their own and with others

• understand and explore how music is created

Teaching and learning styles

We aim to make music an enjoyable learning experience and encourage children to participate in a variety of musical activities. We provide opportunities for all children to sing and to listen to and appreciate different styles and genres of music. We teach them the skills of recognising and commenting on pulse, pitch, rhythm, timbre, dynamics and texture in music. We provide opportunities for children to work with others to make music and show how individuals compose and organise music. We also begin to teach them some of the features of musical notation and to develop an understanding of the history of music.

Music curriculum planning

At Holy Cross, we use the Charanga music resource scheme which is used from Early Years to Year 6. In addition to this, Music is often taught and used within other areas of the curriculum, and to support and enhance the work done within the topics planned. A wide range of resources is available to support music teaching. We give pupils the opportunity to appreciate a wide range of high-quality live and recorded music.

Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS)

We teach music in Nursery and Reception classes as an integral part of the topic work covered during the year. In the Early Years Foundation Stage, music contributes to a child’s development in the area of expressive arts and design.

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 interrelated 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 interrelated 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

Teaching music to children with special educational needs (SEN)

At our school we teach music to all children, whatever their ability. Music forms part of the school curriculum aims to provide a broad and balanced education to all children. Assessment against the National Curriculum allows us to consider each child’s attainment and progress against expectations. When progress falls significantly outside the expected range, the child may have SEN. We look at a range of factors, including classroom organisation, teaching materials, teaching style, and differentiation, so that we can take some additional or different action to enable the child to learn more effectively. This ensures that our teaching is matched to the child’s needs.

Assessment and recording

Teachers assess children’s work in music by making informal judgements as they observe them during lessons. Teachers may collect information using videos, sound recordings, photographs or written observations. Additional evidence may be gained during school performances or other relevant events, and may be presented in the form of recordings or photographs. The attainment of each child is indicated at the end of each topic using our electronic assessment programme.

Resources

In addition to the electronic resources which are used by teachers and children from the Charanga website, there are a wide range of additional music resources available for the use of all staff in the school. We keep these resources in a central cupboard. They are regularly checked for safety and relevance and new resources may be purchased as needed.

Monitoring and review

The music subject leader is responsible for keeping an overview of the standard of children’s work and for the quality of teaching. The work of the subject leader also involves supporting colleagues, being informed about current developments and providing a strategic lead and direction for the subject in the school. The music subject leader is responsible for making a contribution to the progress and attainment of pupils across the school, indicating current performance and identifying critical issues and steps for success.