Music
Statement of Intent
Here at Barley Mow Primary School, our intention is to make our children feel they are successful musicians and to develop a lifelong love of music.
We intend for children to 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 curriculum will create independent, creative, curious, resilient and reflective learners.
All pupils are entitled to experience the benefits music can offer them to develop their confidence, listening, social and team skills. They are entitled to experience professional performers and musicians, make their own music with others, opportunities to learn a musical instrument, learn to sing and a chance to progress to the next level of excellence, if they so wish.
Implementation
Barley Mow Primary School’s approach to music, takes a holistic approach in which the different strands are woven together to create an engaging and enriched learning experience.
The main 5 areas of music are:
1. Performing
2. Listening
3. Composing
4. The history of music
5. The inter-related dimensions of music.
Each unit is designed to combine these strands with a cross-curricular topic designed to capture pupils’ imagination and encourage them to explore music enthusiastically. Across Key Stage 1 & 2 the children will be taught how to sing fluently and expressively, and play tuned and untuned instruments accurately and with control.
They will learn to recognise and name the different, interrelated dimensions of music of pitch, duration, tempo, timbre, structure, texture and dynamics. They will learn to use these in their own improvisations and compositions.
The school use the Kapow Scheme of work, which uses a spiral curriculum, where knowledge and skills are built up each year. Children progress in terms of tackling more complex tasks and doing more simpler tasks better as well as developing an understanding and knowledge of music and other musical notations as well as the inter related dimensions of music.
In each lesson, pupils will actively participate in musical activities drawn from a range of styles and traditions, developing their musical knowledge, skills and their understanding of how music works. In light of the current situation and the recovery of a global COVID pandemic, lessons will incorporate some aspects of previous year groups or terms where children have missed key aspects of knowledge or understanding. Lessons will use a range of teaching strategies including, independent activities, group and paired activities, as well as teacher led performances. Lessons are ‘hands on’ and make cross-curricular links to other subjects.
Differentiated guidance is available for every lesson to ensure that lessons can be accessed by all pupils and opportunities to stretch their learning. Knowledge organisers for each unit support pupils in building a foundation of factual knowledge by encouraging recall of key facts and vocabulary.
Currently in Year 3, the school has made links with Gateshead’s Music Service, whereby children are taught by a music specialist once a week, where they have the opportunity to learn an instrument which is at this time is the ukulele.
Music is timetabled once a week and taught discreetly, according to current government guidance. This allows children to review and revisit knowledge and skills each week, as well as learning new ones.
Impact
After the implementation of Barley Mow Primary School’s music curriculum, pupils should leave school equipped with a range of skill and knowledge to enable them to succeed in their secondary school education and be able to enjoy and appreciate music throughout their lives.
The expected impact of following the Kapow scheme will be that children will:
• Be confident performers, composers and listeners and will be able to express themselves musically at and beyond school.
• Be able to show an appreciation and respect a wide range of musical styles from around the world and will understand how music is influenced by the wider cultural, social and historical contexts in which it is developed.
• Understand the ways in which music can be written down to support performing and composing activities.
• Demonstrate and articulate an enthusiasm for music, being able to identify their own personal musical preferences.
