INTENT

Willaston is a school which has a thriving musical culture and over the past 4 years, we have developed our curriculum and wider opportunities to enrich our children’s experiences, develop our staff subject knowledge and to provide memorable and potentially life-changing opportunities for children to create and perform – no matter what their interest. From this solid base, our vision is to develop our offering even further, offering more ambitious opportunities for children, developing a rigorous curriculum, enriching singing throughout school so that children can build cultural capital that will be a significant part of their lives as they grow and continue to enjoy creating and performing. We want to develop our links with our colleagues in secondary schools and utilise these links to inform our curriculum content and create further opportunities for our children, particularly those who would like to pursue musical excellence.

IMPLEMENTATION

• Using quality first teaching, our music curriculum is designed to provide a well thought-out sequence of learning for our children. We draw on elements from the Love Music Trust music programme and the Model Music Curriculum to create a bespoke curriculum that ensure that children sing, listen, play, perform and evaluate in a comprehensive and holistic manner.

• Skills are mapped out and progression across these areas is built up from the start of Nursery, to the end of Year 6.

• Children are given the freedom to enjoy music in a multitude of ways, whether it be as a listener, creator, or performer. They are taught to analyse music, comprehend its various components, and feel its rhythmic pulse.

• Musical vocabulary is emphasized, and class discussions allow for respectful sharing of opinions and personal musical experiences.

• Classroom lessons are carefully crafted to teach the elements of music, allowing children to use the language of music to analyse and appreciate it.

• We provide opportunities for children to compose and perform using body percussion and vocal sounds, enabling them to develop their understanding of musical elements before learning a variety of instruments such as chime bars, recorders and glockenspiels.
• We work with Love Music Trust to enhance our curriculum with specialists providing World Percussion opportunities and specialist teaching of the Modern Music Curriculum.

• Our Music curriculum ensures that all pupils learn to use iPads and computers to create compositions and to with loops, sample and digital instruments. This allows children to show their creativity and share their own musical ideas.

• Our curriculum is also enriched by singing assemblies and concerts which allow the pupils to showcase their talents and feel part of a musical community.

• Pupils have the opportunity to receive instrument lessons from specialist peripatetic music teachers which further compliments our varied curriculum.

ASSESSMENT

Music is assessed using our skills progression map which highlights year group expectations from nursery to year 6. Children are supported in lesson with previous year’s skills and vocabulary being recapped to ensure that no learning is lost.

IMPACT

During their learning journey in school, pupils are exposed to a diverse range of musical activities that allow them to:

• Feel inspired by the work of others and are excited to develop a life-long learning for the subject
• Develop their capacity for imaginative and original thought through experimentation.
• Develop their abilities to articulate and communicate ideas, options and feelings about their own work and that of others.
• Explore and develop their musical strengths, as well as identify areas where they can improve
• Develop essential skills such as self-confidence, collaboration, and self-reflection.
• Foster an appreciation and understanding of different cultures and histories, both individually and across the globe.
• Be equipped with the necessary skills to continue their appreciation of music. This equips them with the skill-set to succeed throughout KS3 and fosters a love of music for the future.
• Learn about musicians and understand the historical and cultural development of their art forms.
• Achieve well in Music which is reflected through a consistent learning journey and clear progress.
• Create lasting memories from a range of musical experiences.
• Developed resilience, competence and confidence in their own ability in a range of musical skills.