Maynards Green Community Primary School Music

Intent

At Maynards Green we believe that all children should have access to an engaging music curriculum that sparks curiosity and fascination.  

We seek: 

• To engage, motivate and inspire pupils to develop a love of music that extends beyond their time at school. 
• To develop the self-confidence, skills, knowledge, and understanding to develop a lifelong love of music, whilst also providing a secure foundation that enables them to take music further should they wish to. 
• To listen to and appreciate a wide variety of musical styles, genres, from a wide variety of traditions, cultures and time periods 
• To begin to appraise a piece of music and make judgements about the quality of music using the appropriate musical vocabulary
• To learn how music can represent feelings and emotions. 
• To sing in tune, on their own, and with other people 
• To compose and perform music as part of a group 

Implementation

Our planning follows the Sing- up scheme of work to ensure children in both key stages have access to an inspiring and robust music curriculum. Sing Up aims for every child to have access to high-quality, practical, and engaging musical experiences . 

We will achieve this through: 

• Incorporating and embedding the knowledge and skills set out in the Music National Curriculum 2014 : to perform, listen to, review and evaluate music, to be taught to sing, create and compose music and to understand and explore how music is created, produced and communicated 
• Using the Sing up scheme to plan music lessons, which ensures consistency and a clear sequence for progression and utilising Charanga electronic resources for delivering lessons 
• Implementing an integrated, practical, exploratory and child-led approach to musical learning 
• Developing musical skills as the learning progresses through listening and appraising, composing, exploring and performing.
• Using Sing Up’s pupil assessment tools to self-assess and peer-assess their musical knowledge and understanding 
• Using a range of tuned and untuned percussion  
• Giving all pupils opportunities to take part in performances to the school or a wider audience and to see live performances by professional musicians. 
• Providing opportunities for children to learn to play a variety of instruments such as ukulele, drums, woodwind, violin and keyboard through East Sussex Music School and Red Butler peripatetic teachers. 

Impact

• Pupil’s wellbeing, listening and concentration are developed and improved 

• By the end of KS1, pupils should be able to sing expressively, play tuned and untuned percussion instruments, concentrate whilst listening to music and create original music.

• By the end of KS2, pupils should be able to play and perform individually and as part of a group, improvise and compose music, use and understand a variety of musical notations, listen and appreciate a range of music and develop an understanding of the history of music.

• Musicians, singers and performers in school inspire pupil’s own musical activities. 

• Children engage in a variety of performances and extracurricular activities  

We appreciate that for some learners, music can be a medium to break down barriers that may exist in other curriculum subjects. The nature of the subject allows freedom and flexibility in musical expression, preferences and performance which can be beneficial, not only for musical development, but for the growth of self-confidence and for the fostering of creative flair in all learners.

An Inclusive Environment

• At times, music can create challenges for learners with sensory issues. This needs to be considered when creating an effective learning environment.
• The practical layout of the room and seating - ensure we remove barriers to learning for children with physical disabilities and or sensory needs as well as those with social and emotional needs who may struggle with group or solo working with or without the support of an adult
• Consider whether there is a need to alter visual and/or auditory stimuli to support individual children to  play an active part in the lesson.

An Accessible Curriculum

• Strategies to Scaffold Learning - These could include visual aids (word banks, Widget instructions, First, Next, last), modelling, embedding key vocabulary sharing outcomes from the previous lesson's work as a memory aid. Paired and small group work. Pre and post teaching.
• Playing of instruments - tuned and untuned instruments must be carefully chosen to ensures that all learners can access this element of the curriculum and be successful at it.
• Time - Allow sufficient time to encourage talking, thinking and idea sharing (possibly adapting the lesson into chunks). Take time to demonstrate each element of a process - step by step approach.  Movement breaks for those who need it. 
• Adaptation - correct terminology should be used but simplified where necessary. In KS2 where  musical notation is introduced it can be represented in different ways to meet the needs of all learners.

Curriculum & Resources

• Ensure that all peripatetic music teachers and external visitors are
• appropriately checked, e.g. DBS.
• Ensure that all equipment such as instruments are maintained properly and hygienically and are regularly checked.
• Ensure that music used in school, e.g. assemblies/dances etc. is age-appropriate.
• Engage appropriately should children raise adult themes from music that they have listened to outside of school.

Mental health and well-being

• Use response to music to help recognise, label and articulate feelings and as a way of allowing children to express their feelings and emotions in a non-verbal manner.
• Through performance and feedback, raising self-esteem and confidence.
• Use the collaborative nature of music to promote positive peer interactions.