The Curriculum at Lord Blyton Primary School
The Intent, Implementation and Impact of our Curriculum – Music
Music Intent
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 pupils 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. At Lord Blyton School we use the Charanga scheme to support our music delivery across the school. Our children will use their voices as well as tuned and untuned instruments to compose and perform music.
Implementation
The scheme follows and covers the national curriculum for music and aims to ensure that all pupils:
- 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 interrelated dimensions: pitch, duration, dynamics, tempo, timbre, texture, structure and appropriate musical notations
The Model Music Curriculum
The 2021 Model Music Curriculum (MMC) sits at the heart of the Government’s agenda for supporting curriculum music in schools during Key Stages 1, 2 and 3. The curriculum development has been teacher led, with input from leading musicians and education sector bodies.
The MMC is a non-statutory resource that provides a practical framework through which the statutory requirements of the curriculum can be met. By setting out a model of how the curriculum can be delivered, it offers guidance and ideas for teachers, and provides a springboard from which to approach teaching. The MMC complements the National Plan for Music Education and is intended to be used by specialist and non-specialist music teachers at Key Stages 1 and 2 (Primary level), building on an Early Years Foundation, and by specialist music teachers in Key Stage 3 (Secondary level).
At Lord Blyton we have been working with the Local Music Hub on an offer to schools to support the MMC. We are working towards the implementation.
Lord Blyton Scheme
The Charanga Musical School Scheme provides teachers with week-by-week lesson support for each year group in the school. It is ideal for specialist and non-specialist teachers and provides lesson plans, assessment, clear progression, and engaging and exciting whiteboard resources to support every lesson. The Scheme supports all the requirements of the national curriculum.
How the Scheme is structured
Each Unit of Work comprises the of strands of musical learning which correspond with the national curriculum for music:
1.Listening and Appraising
2. Musical Activities
a. Warm-up Games
b. Optional Flexible Games
c. Singing
d. Playing instruments
e. Improvisation
f. Composition
3. Performing
Our children sing, play, improvise and compose using their voices as well as tuned and untuned instruments.
They learn to read and record the basics of the universal language of music using non-standard and then standard notation (when they are ready).
Our curriculum is further enriched by taking part in musical events and competitions which take place in various prestigious locations in our region such as The Sage and Customs House. Children’s talents and interests in music are fostered and developed by providing further opportunities for personal progression via private or small group instrumental tuition.
Music is used as a vehicle for collective worship, reflection and celebrations and is a huge part of daily life in our school. It promotes positive behaviours, confidence, engagement and enjoyment where all children are given the opportunity to succeed in the arts.
Impact
We measure the impact of our music curriculum with various formative methods of assessment including self and peer assessment. Children appraise and suggest constructive developments for their own work and that of their peers. Evidence of children’s work in music can be found as, pieces of work and photos in books as well as electronically as sound and video recordings. The music coordinator monitors the teaching and evidence of music through observations and work and planning scrutinies.
As well as assessing the skills, knowledge and understanding that children have developed in the subject, we also consider their level of enjoyment and engagement. This enables us to identify the children for whom music is their element. We endeavour to provide guidance and further opportunities to explore their talents and interest in this subject with extracurricular activities, private lessons, community events and competitions or shows in our region .