Achieve Well, Aim High, Have Fun

Music

Intent

At Shelton Infant School, we aim to provide every child with a solid foundation of musical skills and a love of music. We recognise that music has many benefits to children’s well-being and academic development. It is our intent that we will foster children’s enthusiasm by offering them a broad range of musical experiences. Through these experiences, we will provide our children with opportunities to listen and respond to a range of music, to devise their own opinions and feelings about different music types, and to develop their skills to play and compose with a range of instruments. We are also committed to exposing children to a range of music from different periods of history, a range of composers and music from other cultures thereby encouraging them to show appreciation for a range of music genres and styles. We will celebrate all musical skills and performances, providing children with the opportunity to showcase their performance skills using the wide variety of tuned and untuned percussion instruments which the school owns. Music will feature regularly in whole school and class assemblies, church services and dance performances, which are well attended by families. We will use music across the formal and informal curriculum to teach children about routines and values of the school, e.g. the school song, Online Safety rap, Sun Safe song, nursery and reception routines, the ECO song, number, alphabet and days of the week songs. We will use highly skilled external expertise to deliver exciting and practical music lessons across the school. Through our music curriculum we will endeavour to develop children’s skills to create self-disciplined, cooperative and creative musicians, regardless of their starting points.

Our Music curriculum is broad and ambitious with a wide breadth of knowledge and skills taught from the beginning of Nursery to the end of Year Two. It meets the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage and also the requirements of the National Curriculum for Music at Key Stage One which covers all four areas of Music – 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 inter-related dimensions of music.

Implementation

Our whole school progression document and half termly knowledge and skills organisers for Music have been created by teachers working together using the Kapow and Music Playtime scheme as a framework.

Our curriculum documents have been reviewed and validated by the Derbyshire Music Hub who have also provided advice and guidance.

These documents are used to ensure that the knowledge and skills that teachers want the children to know, remember and use are clearly identified and carefully sequenced from Nursery to Year 2. This also ensures continuity and progression of teaching and learning.

EYFS

During their time in the EYFS the children are offered a wide range of musical opportunities. Musical instruments are incorporated into continuous provision areas, both inside and out and these are enhanced throughout the year depending on the topic. Singing is an integral part of the EYFS curriculum and part of the daily routine in both Nursery and Reception. Children will become familiar with traditional nursery rhymes, chants and simple songs growing in confidence with melody, rhythm and associated actions and movements.

Parents and Carers are invited to several performances throughout the year including a Nativity at Christmas, Spring and Summer service and end of year class assemblies.

Key Stage One

Pupils in KS1 experience a rich and varied music curriculum, through whole class music lessons, weekly singing assemblies, whole class voice lessons run by a specialist singing teacher, visiting musicians, signing club, recorder club and peripatetic instrumental lessons. KS1 follows the Kapow music scheme which allows children to build and develop their skills, knowledge and understanding of key musical concepts year on year. Parents and carers are also invited to enjoy the musical talents of our children throughout the year e.g. Harvest festivals, spring and summer services, Christmas and end of year concerts and class assemblies.

Impact

Children make good progress over time relative to their starting points. Throughout their time at our school pupils know and remember more in Music. Teachers regularly assess children’s knowledge and skills using ongoing formative assessment and complete summative assessments at three points during the year.

The subject leader evaluates the impact of the curriculum through lesson observations, professional dialogue with colleagues, and pupil voice which includes scrutiny of children’ work, discussions with pupils and their enjoyment of Music.

Our children say:-

I learnt that pitch means high and low and tempo means fast and slow.
I liked Shelton Rocks when we sang in the pop concerts – I liked it on the stage – my favourite song was Moving On because all the grown ups had to join in.
I liked it when we did the African drumming and it was loud and we played ‘I like chocolate cake’.
I liked it when we had microphones in the home corner and I dressed up like a pop star. I can sing Baby Shark!
I know how to find the beat because we learnt ‘How to find the beat with your feet’.
I know lots of nursery rhymes like Humpty Dumpty, Little Bo Peep and Twinkle Twinkle Chocolate Bar.
We learnt about major sounds – they are happy and cheerful – and minor sounds – they are sad sounds.