Music

Music is taught to all Key Stage 1 and 2 pupils as part of the school curriculum. It is also an important part of our Early Years provision.  We believe that in our school that includes children from a range of cultures, the universal language of music develops creativity, self-confidence and sense of achievement in all our pupils.

Intent | What and why do we teach what we teach?

At Mount Street Primary, the teaching of music ensures that all children have access to a broad and balanced curriculum that increases their confidence, creativity, and sense of achievement. Through careful planning, we ensure that the teaching of music is inclusive of all children, challenging their learning at every level through coherently sequenced lessons that are aligned with the National Curriculum and Early Learning Goals. We want all children to have access to a wide genre of music and understand what music is through listening, playing, analysing, evaluating, and composing music. We want children to have not only the skills for music but also the passion and curiosity to continue this after they leave our school, and as they go to KS3, as well as in the local community. Our music curriculum, designed through carefully selecting appropriate instrument tuition and playing opportunities and is also supported by selecting units on Charanga when needed. This will enable our children to develop strong foundation as they move up through the school. Our teaching intends for children to use music as a form of expression and make links between other areas of the curriculum at school and in the wider community.

Implementation | How and when do we teach what we teach?

At  Mount Street Primary, we teach a non- procedural knowledge-based music curriculum, which allows children to express their creative imagination as well as providing them with opportunities to practise and develop mastery in the key processes of music: listening, performing, pitch, duration, dynamics, tempo, timbre, texture, structure, and appropriate musical notations. This is supported through the exposure to live music or a range of different genres and musicians. The music curriculum is taught in sequences during the year, with extra opportunities at Christmas, through clubs or opportunities to perform beyond the school. This allows the children to be exposed to music in a meaningful way resulting in children learning more and remembering more. In the Early Years, children have a daily exposure to music through singing nursery rhymes and instruments in continuous provision. In Year One – Year Six, children will be able to experiment with tuned and untuned instruments and begin to compose their own music, with opportunities to review and reflect on their skills and knowledge. Opportunities for the children to learn to play instruments is available from Year 1 and the teaching of this is supported by a Music Tutor . The planning, monitoring, and staff CPD from the subject lead allows for lessons to be planned and taught effectively and confidently, as well as using staff’s own musical abilities.

Impact | How do we assess the impact of what we teach via pupil outcomes?

The impact of the music teaching at Mount Street Primary is that all children will be confident to apply their skills and knowledge as they move through the school and be curious to acquire new leaning. The children will be given the opportunity to express themselves creatively and they will have started to develop an awareness of the emotional, social, moral, spiritual cultural impact that music can have on themselves and others, as well as key music skills across a range of genres and instruments. The children will have a development of skills, knowledge, and vocabulary, developed by the confidence to review their own and others’ work. This will reflect the high expectations and pride that the children have for themselves ensuring that they are brave, curious, optimistic, kind, enterprising, inclusive, and confident musicians and learners. The teachers will also be confident and passionate when delivering Their progress will be measured through high-quality video evidence of the children’s learning, talking to the children and a collection of known vocabulary throughout the year. This vocabulary will be continuously consolidated and built on as they go through the school. This will help to support and challenge the children appropriately. These objectives are underpinned by a progression of non- procedural knowledge indicators, aligned with the National Curriculum and Early Learning Goals. Teachers ensure that planning is carefully constructed so that children build on their knowledge and understanding from EYFS to Year 6. their lessons, continuing to foster the children’s love for music and musicality.

At Mount Street Primary School, we then develop the children's conceptual knowledge and understanding through 'Big Ideas' which develop both in depth and knowledge as the children progress through the school.

As well as benefitting from whole class guitar and recorder tuition with instruments provided we also have an active school choir, of whom most also sing as part of the LAT choir.

Mount Street children frequently perform within the local community at a number of different events including playing guitars at the Guildhall and singing at the Lord Mayor's Carol service, Lord Mayor's choosing day and at the Sherwell Community Christmas event for the elderly. We look forward to participating in many performances in the future.