Longfields Primary and Nursery School

Key Information Curriculum Music

MUSIC

Our music curriculum aims to provide all pupils with a high quality music education which engages and inspires children to develop a life-long love of music, increase their self-confidence, creativity and sense of achievement.

Children are provided with learning experiences appropriate to various stages of development in order to continue to develop their musical skills throughout their school life. Children participate in a wide range of activities to develop skills in all aspects of music including rhythm work, instrumental skills, composition, singing and critical appreciation.

Performance opportunities are a part of the school year. In the Autumn Term, Foundation and Key Stage One perform a Nativity play. Lower Key Stage Two will perform a musical play in the Spring Term and Upper Key Stage Two a musical play in the Summer Term. In addition, we aim to participate in various other musical performances with other schools in the local community.

AIMS and PURPOSE

We aim to give all our pupils the opportunity to undertake a broad and balanced programme of music activities developing their understanding of the 6 inter-related dimensions of music (pitch, duration, dynamics, timbre, texture, structure). Through these activities children develop the following skills:

Creativity and original thinking

Problem solving

Perseverance

Tolerance

Ability to listen carefully

Ability to practise and perform for an audience

Ability to compose music

Appreciation of music from a wide variety of times, styles and cultures

Evaluation of their own and others’ music

HOW WE IMPLEMENT

Children are given regular opportunities with a specialist music teacher to develop musical skills and knowledge by being actively engaged in making and responding to music through the following five main areas of learning:

Performing

Composing

Appraising

Listening

Singing

When opportunities arise musicians are invited into the school to perform or teach the children. Pupils are also taken to other venues to participate in, watch and listen to musical performances.

Additional music teaching

Choir is run as an after-school club free of charge for children in Years 3-6.

The Music for Schools Foundation also offers group and individual instrumental lessons during school time. Fees for these lessons are payable directly to the Music for Schools Foundation.

In addition, the school subscribes to the Oxfordshire County Music Service Online Music Resource. This is accessible to all teachers via the internet and is used in particular for teaching recorder playing in Years 3 & 4. Opportunities for cross-curricular links are encouraged – for example by singing songs to support topic work. Additionally the classes spend time working on performances at least once during the school year.

ASSESSMENT

Assessing achievement in music is through continuous teacher observation. These observations provide a basis for recording and reporting children’s achievements. This is an on-going process brought about by:

Observation of children working

Discussion with children before, during and after working

Looking at/marking children’s workOlder pupils are encouraged to make judgements about how they can improve their own work.

Music is mainly a practical subject but where written work is produced it is retained in a folder of work-samples.

Longfields Primary School And Nursery