Music

“Music is a universal language that embodies one of the highest forms of creativity. A high quality music education should engage and inspire pupils to develop a love of music and their talent as musicians, and so increase their self-confidence, creativity and sense of achievement. As pupil’s progress, they should develop a critical engagement with music, allowing them to compose, and to listen with discrimination to the best in the musical canon."

National Curriculum, 2014.

At Sherburn Hungate we believe all children should  learn to create, explore, perform and enjoy music, allowing them to develop the skills they need to become musicians. We encourage children to develop a love of music and provide opportunities for children to learn an instrument as well as having the experiences of hearing and appreciating a range of musical genres and cultures.

MUSIC CURRICULUM SUBJECT PROGRESSION FRAMEWORK

SUBJECT CONTENT IMPLEMENTATION

Key stage 1 Pupils should be taught to:

• 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.

Key stage 2 Pupils should be taught to:

• sing and play musically with increasing confidence and control. They should develop an understanding of musical composition, organising and manipulating ideas within musical structures and reproducing sounds from aural memory. Pupils should be taught to:
• play and perform in solo and ensemble contexts, using their voices and playing musical instruments with increasing accuracy, fluency, control and expression
• improvise and compose music for a range of purposes using the inter-related dimensions of music - listen with attention to detail and recall sounds with increasing aural memory
• use and understand staff and other musical notations
• appreciate and understand a wide range of high-quality live and recorded music drawn from different traditions and from great composers and musicians
• develop an understanding of the history of music.

MUSIC CURRICULUM PLANNING

Children demonstrate their ability in music in a variety of different ways. Teachers assess children’s work in music by making informal judgements as they observe them during lessons. Video recordings are made of live musical performances for the children to use as self-assessment. Oral or written feedback is given to children after they have completed a piece of work. As you move through school, children are encouraged to make judgements about how they can improve their own work and that of others.

TEACHING & LEARNING

Music is taught with the aims and objectives of the National Curriculum 2014. At Sherburn Hungate, we use the online Music Scheme Charanga, which supports progression and breadth of coverage whilst allowing children of differing abilities to access the music curriculum and develop their skills.

In our Early Years Foundation Stage, we relate the musical aspects of the children’s work to the objectives set out in the Early Learning Goals; these underpin the curriculum planning for children aged 3-5 years old. Our Early Years team encourage and enthuse young children to find and use rhythm and music in many aspects of the curriculum as a means of increasing a child’s knowledge and understanding of the world around them.

Music lessons are taught by class teachers, with two music specialists in upper key stage two. Throughout the academic year, children are offered the opportunity to study a musical instrument with peripatetic teachers. These lessons, which usually take place in curriculum time, are taught to small groups of children, who have chosen to study a range of instruments, including guitar and flute.

MUSIC EVENTS AT SHERBURN HUNGATE

We believe that music enriches the lives of people, and so we encourage as many children as possible to take part in musical activities. Our Christmas and summer productions enable children to showcase their music talents and perform to an audience.

Throughout the academic year, our school hosts celebration assemblies which incorporate whole-school singing and provide the opportunity for teachers to share their love of music by playing their own instruments. This, we hope instils in them the desire to engage in this enrichment activity whilst enhancing their appreciation for musical performances.

Our successful school choir, organised and ran by our headteacher, meets regularly, enabling children to enjoy singing together and performing within our local community. We also support national events such as Young Voices and attend alternate years.