Music
Intent
“Music has a power of forming the character and should therefore be introduced into the education of the young.” (Aristotle)
Our music curriculum inspires creativity and enjoyment of music, producing confident and passionate musicians. Children will foster a life-long love of music by being exposed to diverse musical experiences; listening, responding and performing pieces of music from different eras, cultures and musical styles. We ensure that pupils develop a curiosity and understanding of the value and importance of music in the wider community as well as respecting the way music is expressed in a person’s life. Pupils will be able to develop their musical knowledge, skills and techniques by singing, listening, playing and performing. Music is accessible and available to all pupils as it is such an enriching and powerful building block to our lives.
Implementation
Music is taught from the Foundation Stage and forms an important part of our school curriculum. Following the National Curriculum, music is embedded in classroom activities. Our music curriculum is designed to encompass the following areas: listening and responding; exploring and creating; singing; sharing and performing and improvising and composing.
Children are taught either in weekly sessions or in blocked units of learning depending on the topic. By adapting the Charanga Scheme to meet the needs and interests of the children at Oaklands, we ensure that children are taught to use their voices, a mixture of tuned and untuned instruments, as well as compose and perform musical pieces. They learn to recall the melodic shapes, harmonic sequences and rhythmic patterns in songs as well as in their own compositions. Children will use the correct musical vocabulary to further develop their musical knowledge. Tasks are adapted to ensure that all pupils access the musical curriculum in their own ways. Children use their creativity to express their musical abilities through a variety of means, such as body percussion, technology and song. All children at Oaklands learn to play a tuned musical instrument. A specialist music teacher from Somerset Music supports the children to learn to read music whilst playing the instrument.
Our weekly singing assemblies are taken by a music specialist and teach our children to be able to sing in harmony and with musical delivery. Children create an aural bank of music from different cultures, recognising and understanding their musical background. Children develop their listening and appraising skills throughout the wider curriculum as well as through specific teaching.
Further opportunities for children to explore music are offered across the school. The school choir regularly meet and perform for their peers and wider community audiences. Children are also exposed to music through live performances by adults and children.
Impact
Children at Oaklands can:
- Engage with music as listeners, performers and creators
- Sing, find a pulse and follow a rhythm and melody in songs
- Recognise different musical genres and music from different cultures
- Play a musical instrument, and in KS2, read simple staff notation
- Compose their own music individually or as a group.