Barnack Primary School
Music
Intent:
At Barnack, we 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. Music plays an important role within the curriculum and is fundamental in creating aspirational and knowledge-rich pupils. Through our school values, children will perform, listen to, review and evaluate music across a range of historical periods, genres, styles and traditions, including the works of the great classical composers and modern musicians. Children will also 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 and use music technology. Children will 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.
Implementation:
Our learning will always build on previous learning so that children can become proficient in their musical skills. Our music curriculum is delivered by classroom teachers in conjunction with our local Music Hub (Peterborough Music Hub). Music is taught termly by classroom teachers using the Charanga scheme of learning and will link to our whole school question for the term. Children will be given the opportunity to explore the question through the use of music whether that be listening, composing or performing. This allows all pupils to access a wide range of music from across all genres and time periods. All units involve:
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• Listening and appraising an anchor song
• Learning to sing the anchor song
• Learning to play instruments alongside the anchor song
• Improvise on the anchor song using instruments
• Learn about the interconnecting dimensions of music
• Learn ways to show musical notation (KS1 and KS2)
• Learn the key features of a genre (KS1 and KS2)
• Compose their own songs of the same genre (KS2)
• Perform the songs that they have learnt
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In addition to classroom teaching, Year 3 take part in the Peterborough Music Hub (PMH) first access strings project. This is taught by specialist teachers from PMH. After this project, pupils are given the opportunity to continue learning their instrument through small group lessons taught by PMH specialists.
Impact:
Our clear progression of topics and skills enables children to work at an age appropriate standard across each year group and at a deeper level for those who are able. Impact will be assessed through a multi-faceted approach including termly performances, informal observations in lessons, opportunities through practical music-making, listening to children talking and playing, and watching children respond. Evidence is built up by means of sound and video recordings taken throughout the taught units. These will show development of musical skills.
Our Music Lead and SLT undertake regular learning walks to monitor the quality and impact of the Music Curriculum and assess the extent to which pupils sing, play, compose and recognise various composers/musicians and their music.