Music

 

We aim to deliver a high quality music education, which engages pupils and inspires them to develop their love of music and talents as musicians, both through explicit music lessons and through the development of musical skills through performances.

 

Aims in teaching Music at Lee Brigg Infant & Nursery School:
We aim:
• To provide opportunities across the curriculum for children to develop their listening skills from an early age.
• To teach about a variety of tuned and non-tuned musical instruments including their voice.
• To develop an awareness of how to use these instruments effectively by changing rhythm, pitch or dynamics.
• To enable pupils to respond to and evaluate live and recorded music, including their own and others’ compositions and performances;
• To provide an opportunity for all children at all levels to perform alone and with others, using a range of instruments and their voices, developing an awareness of audiences, venue and occasion.

 

How is the content / theme chosen?

Whenever possible, we teach through a themed approach, to enable children to embed learning and make connections, which leads to a greater depth of understanding within the subject.

The content is therefore chosen to make effective links with key themes, reflect expectations in the National Curriculum programmes of study and Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework and engage the children.

 

The content may also be chosen based upon the needs or interests of specific cohorts, links to events which are taking place in the community or wider world, or to countries, places and people being studied.

 

How do we ensure progression of knowledge and skills?

At Lee Brigg Infant & Nursery School we have in place, for each subject area, a knowledge and skills progression document, which is used for planning, to ensure sequenced and appropriate content for specific year groups, as well as a build up of knowledge and skills.

Within these documents there are also opportunities for differentiation, in order to meet the needs of all learners.

 

How is the subject taught?

A two year, long term rolling programme maps out the coverage of the discrete teaching and learning opportunities for children to develop and embed specific skills.

Within each discrete block of music teaching, class teachers carefully plan the specific outcomes for their year group, based upon age appropriate knowledge and skills, as well as the needs of the cohort or individuals within it.

 

Our teaching and learning opportunities ensure all children are introduced to and reminded of key vocabulary.

Questioning and demonstration is used to check their understanding and prior knowledge, before new concepts or skills are introduced.

 

Modelling is used by class teachers to clarify expectations, children are then given plentiful opportunities to consolidate, build upon and apply basic skills in order to all take part in performances and events which showcases what they have learnt.

 

When children are learning about a subject through a discrete teaching sessions they are explicitly told that today they are going to be ‘musicians.’ They are then reminded of the key skills that they will learn, use and develop within that subject.

In music these are:
We are learning to:

• listen to a range of musical pieces and form our own opinions.
• create, compose and perform.
• use tuned and un-tuned instruments.
• talk about how music makes us feel.

Music is usually taught weekly to all of our children, however opportunities for listening to and evaluating music are ongoing through the year, as children are given regular opportunities to sample and discuss different styles and genres of music, which reflect the locality and the wider world. They are therefore continually using the language associated with music and have regular opportunities to learn about the work of famous and local musicians.

 

Music is one of our key subject drivers in developing the ‘Challenge & Educate’ side of our school curriculum. Through studying a range of people from the past and present, who have had an impact on the world of music, as well as a range of countries and cultures, children learn about and are taught to challenge stereotypes connected to gender, wealth, disability and cultural background. They are educated that differences should be celebrated and are not a barrier to achievement in music.

 

Teaching Music in EYFS

Planning and teaching in EYFS is similar to that in Key Stage 1. The children are expected to develop a specific set of skills and knowledge appropriate to their age. This is often beyond the expectations that are set out in the end of year Early Learning Goals, as we prepare them with the skills they need for year 1.

As well as topic work and the discrete teaching of skills and knowledge, children in EYFS are given the opportunity to continually practise and embed their skills through the areas of provision set up in the indoor and outdoor learning environments.

 

How do we know that our children are making progress?

Ongoing assessments of the children’s knowledge and skills is observed by the class teacher. Misconceptions are addressed and next steps carefully planned. Children’s outcomes are compared to the subject specific skills and knowledge documents. At the end of a block of discrete teaching (or term) subject leaders gather an overview of children’s outcomes in each subject area. This is used to plan appropriate next steps for their future learning, as well as provide an overview of learning within a subject area across the whole school.

 

How do we promote Communication & Language (including reading), Personal, Social and Emotional Development and Physical Health and Wellbeing?

Music is at the very essence of our curriculum drivers. It allows our children to be creative, independent, learn new vocabulary, as well as demonstrate a sense of pride in their work. Positive relationships in school ensure that children get the opportunity to work collaboratively together on projects, as well as recognise how to sensitively respond to others when offering evaluations of their work.

 

Participation in musical activities develops physical skills including fine motor control and hand-eye co-ordination. It also has a positive effect on children’s well-being.

Through music children are enabled to discover how it has shaped our history and contributed to the culture, creativity and wealth of our nation and the wider world.

 

What wider opportunities are provided for our children?

Each week a specialist music teacher comes into school to work with children. Children are then regularly given the opportunity to participate in performances in front of an audience to show case their skills.

We regularly host musicians in school, to work with the children and broaden their experiences. We hold regular ‘music workshops’ for the children, supported by Wakefield music services.

 

Each year we take part in the Waterton Multi-Academy Trust Talent show, which allows our children to perform at the Wakefield Theatre Royale.

 

Extra-curricular clubs throughout the year include choir, show tunes, music and composition.