Cradle Hill Community Primary School

Music

Intent

Our music curriculum aims to provide a passionate, engaging experience where children will be immersed in a celebration of different genres of inspirational music from around the world, then use their broadening knowledge and listening skills to develop as musicians and performers.

They will understand that some music can be meaningful with a powerful message, yet other music will capture an emotion- then learn how to create their own music reflecting this understanding.

As well as celebrating world culture through music, they will uncover some of the rich folk heritage of this area, learning to sing local smuggler’s songs that would have been sung here hundreds of years ago.

When creating and performing their own music, children will feel safe to explore, understanding that making mistakes and developing perseverance will make them a better musician, and being given the knowledge and tools to progress to the next level of musical learning, becoming ever more independent.

Children will learn to play both traditional and electronic musical instruments, using them to develop composing skills culminating in writing their own leaver’s song celebrating their unique identity.

Ultimately, we want the broadening of our children’s understanding of other cultures and histories together with the development of their own sensitivity, creativity and confidence to lay a foundation for a musical journey that will continue throughout their lives.

Implementation

  • Music is taught through Charanga Music School, which is supplemented in KS2 with Ten Pieces as well as cross-curricular topics such as Klezmer in Y6, all of which are designed to give children opportunities to develop active listening skills, knowledge of genres and historical periods, singing and instrumental techniques, improvising and composing skills, notation, vocabulary and musical dimension understanding, and performance skills. As children progress through the school, they revisit appropriately sequenced musical knowledge, skills and vocabulary so that they are built on year-by-year. This ensures children are given opportunities to achieve depth in their learning.
  • Children begin to explore chime bars, basic xylophones and non-pitched percussion instruments in KS1, then learn Glockenspiels, Recorders and Ukuleles in KS2.
  • In Y2 children begin to learn electronic music skills, using Chrome Music Lab; then use Garageband  in Y4, Incredibox in Y5 and Quickbeats and Yu Studio in Y6.  Some children will choose to create their own electronic backing or piece of music using these apps for their Identity composition in Y6.
  • Pupils in Y6 are given access to Yumu, a safe music platform which is part of Charanga Music School, where they can explore and compose backing beats,as well as develop their end of year compositions on identity.
  • Singing is very important to our school- we have separate singing assemblies every week for both EYS/KS1 and KS2
  • Our choir is available to every child in KS2 and takes place every week throughout the year. Children have the opportunity to perform at the O2 as part of Young Voices; to parents at the Summer Fair; they sing carols at the Mayor’s Carol Service and to the residents of Threeways Nursing Home. We have also set up a Seaford School Choir Community, with three local schools joining us to sing with and to each other regularly, allowing us to celebrate our love of singing while building on our links with the wider community.
  • Pupils are encouraged to take up keyboard lessons provided by Create and drumming lessons with Red Butler Workshop.
  • Children’s feedback is crucial at this school and music is no exception. Pupil Voice meetings inform the planning for the following year and the interactive displays in the music room allow children to write their honest opinions under the suggested playlist of the term as well use the feedback and suggestion box. New for this year will be a music magazine written and edited by the KS2 children, with featured artists, instruments, interviews with staff and children and quizzes.

Impact

 

We believe that musical learning is not necessarily a linear process but a journey which differs for every child.

Therefore, while incremental progression develops in each year group leading to a defined end point at the end of each key stage, we assess holistically, over the pupil’s entire time at Cradle Hill.

We use multiple sources, such as recording responses to songs; instrumental skills; singing ability; improvising and composing skills; ability to work in or lead a group; ability to make meaningful marks which relate to sounds; performance skills and ability to edit and critically their own and other pupil’s work, to gather information.

Ongoing feedback and continual encouragement and support is given to each pupil on this journey, who leaves our school with a clear idea of their own musical preferences; the confidence to compose, play, sing and perform with increasing musicality, and above all, a genuine love of music which they will carry with them forever.

Policy

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