Music

Music and Performing Arts

Intent

The National Curriculum for music aims to ensure that all pupils:

• Perform, listen to, review and evaluate music
• Be taught to sing, create and compose music
• Understand and explore how music is created, produced and communicated.

At Wessington Primary the intention is that children 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 objective is to develop a curiosity for the subject, as well as an understanding and acceptance of the validity and importance of all types of music, and an unbiased respect for the role that music may wish to be expressed in any person’s life. We are committed to ensuring children understand the value and importance of music in the wider community, and are able to use their musical skills, knowledge, and experiences to involve themselves in music, in a variety of different contexts.

Implementation
The music curriculum ensures students sing, listen, play, perform and evaluate. This is embedded in the classroom activities as well as the weekly singing assemblies, various concerts and performances and the learning of instruments.

The elements of music are taught in the classroom lessons so that children are able to use some of the language of music to dissect it, and understand how it is made, played, appreciated and analysed. In the classroom students learn how to play an instrument such as the glockenspiel, drums using the Wider Opportunities. In doing so they understand the different principle of each method of creating notes, as well as how to read basic music notation. They also learn how to compose focussing on different dimensions of music, which in turn feeds their understanding when listening, playing, or analysing music. Composing or performing using body percussion and vocal sounds is also part of the curriculum, which develops the understanding of musical elements without the added complexity of an instrument.

Impact
The integral nature of music and the learner creates an enormously rich palette from which a student may access fundamental abilities such as: achievement, self-confidence, interaction with and awareness of others, and self-reflection. Music will also develop an understanding of culture and history, both in relation to students individually, as well as ethnicities from across the world. Children are able to enjoy music, in as many ways as they choose- either as listener, creator or performer.

 We follow the Charanga Music Curriculum across the Federation Framework:

A world-leading, configurable music teaching and learning platform

All children perform on stage once per year to parents and the community to increase their confidence and give another opportunity 'to shine'. As well as this, there are many additional performance opportunities including termly celebrations in class groups, instrumental session performances and performances to the communities at school events such as the summer fete.

We are very fortunate to have community support from “The Old Crocs” who are a local group of grandparents who visit each week, teaching the nursery and reception songs and providing live music through singing, guitar and harmonica playing.

Key Stage 2 pupils are given the opportunity to experience the Young Voices concert held at Sheffield Arena in January each year.  This amazing event demonstrates to pupils that involvement in the arts can lead to a huge range of careers. All Key Stage 2 children learn to play a musical instrument through the Derbyshire “Classroom Instrumental Lessons”, this culminates in a concert with The Halle Orchestra at Derby Arena in June. In addition, we provide the opportunity for private guitar lessons for Key Stage 2 pupils.