Music

Statement

 

Music: Intent, Implementation, and Impact

 

Intent

At Stanhope Primary School we recognise and understand the importance of music in our lives. Music is a universal language that embodies one of the highest forms of creativity. A high-quality music education should inspire our children to develop a love for music and grow skills to become young musicians. Such skills will increase self-confidence, creativity, and a real sense of achievement. As the children progress through school, they should develop a critical engagement with music allowing them to listen with discrimination, develop composition skills and truly engage with the emotive essence of all genres and styles of music.

We aim to introduce our children to the magic of music. Music is a practical and creative expression of ideas, thoughts and feelings. It provides opportunities to promote children’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Music contributes greatly to the ethos of our school.

The aims and objectives for music in our school are in line with the National Curriculum and aim to:

  • perform, listen to, review and evaluate music across a range of historical periods, genres, styles and traditions, including the works of the great composers and musicians
  • learn to sing and to use their voices, to create and compose music on their own and with others, have the opportunity to learn a musical instrument, use technology appropriately and have the opportunity to progress to the next level of musical excellence
  • understand and explore how music is created, produced and communicated, including through the inter-related dimensions: pitch, duration, dynamics, tempo, timbre, texture, structure and appropriate musical notations.

Music is taught across the EYFS and is an integral part of the Early Years framework. In the reformed 2021 EYFS curriculum, music goes hand in hand with the ‘Being Imaginative and Expressive’ Early Learning Goal.

 

Implementation

In school we will maintain and stimulate pupil curiosity, interest and enjoyment of music through the effective teaching of our scheme of work. We follow the ‘Charanga’ scheme of work which allows our children to develop the necessary skills to progress in line with the National Curriculum standards. We will, wherever possible, make meaningful links with other subjects in the curriculum. ‘Charanga’ allows us many opportunities to integrate music into other subjects. It contains a variety of topics that make direct link to areas of the KS1 and KS2 curriculum. Topics such as, Ancient Egyptians, Celts and Romans, Oceans, Seas and Rivers will allow the children a more diverse way of learning.

Throughout the scheme, children are actively involved in using and developing their own unique singing voices, using body percussion, whole-body actions and will begin to handle and play school instruments. Through a range of whole class, group and individual activities, the children will have opportunities to explore sounds, listen, compose and perform.

Throughout the school year, our children will have opportunities to receive specialist training in tuned instruments such as the ukulele. This will allow the children a better understanding of the texture of music by moving from single note playing to the successful use of chords.

The children at Stanhope Primary will also be invited to join a school choir. Here, they will become a valued member of an ensemble in which they will become attune to their own unique voice and hear the texture of a group performance.

 

Impact

The integral nature of music and the learner creates an enormously rich platform from which a child may access a multitude of life skills.

It is well known that music is a very social subject. At Stanhope Primary School, our children will be given opportunities to perform as an ensemble to a variety of audiences. By working together to make music, it will teach them that working cooperatively, and taking responsibility for their role can make a beautiful end product. Levitin (2006) writes, “Whenever humans come together for any reason, music is there.” We want our children to understand that music is a universal language that can bring people together in harmony.

Music is the foundation of a culture. It influences thoughts, language, celebrations, events, fashion, and helps us to find an identity. Using the Charanga scheme of work, our children will be shown a variety of cultural music to deepen our understanding of the importance of inclusion in our world. In demonstrating the importance of inclusion, we will begin to develop our local community by nurturing future leaders to show respect to all people from all walks of life.

 

By the time children leave Key Stage 1 they will be able to:

  • Use their voices expressively and creatively
  • Play tuned and untuned instruments musically
  • Listen with concentration and understanding
  • Experiment with, create, select and combine sounds.

 

By the time children leave Key Stage 2 they will be able to:

  • Play and perform in silo and ensemble contexts, using their voices and playing musical instruments with increasing accuracy.
  • Improvise and compose music for a range of purposes using inter-related dimensions of music
  • Listen with attention to detail and recall sounds
  • 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 will have a strong presence in the ethos of the school and bring joy to our children in the EYFS, KS1 and KS2. We aim for all our children, and staff, to understand that “Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything” (Plato).