Music

What are we trying to achieve through our Music curriculum? (Intent)

Music is integrated in all that we do. It is our intent that we make music an enjoyable learning experience.

At Westrop Primary and Nursery School all we do is underpinned by our strong vision and values. Our vision and values support our ‘Curriculum Drivers’ which offer golden threads throughout our curriculum and ensure we have clear drivers for all that we want to achieve for our children.

	In music, it is our intent to develop children’s ability to listen, create, review and evaluate music across a range of genres, styles and traditions. Their creativity and heart will be opened by music, and they will gain confidence in order to express themselves. We aim to develop the children’s confidence through providing opportunities for children to practise and create different songs and pieces of music. We empower children to create, rehearse and collaborate performances to embed and enhance their learning. We give children opportunities to perform and build their confidence sharing their music with others, with the whole class or with the whole school. We build their confidence as they learn songs or play instruments with increasing accuracy and control. We understand that a high-quality music education will engage and inspire pupils to develop a love of music and their talent as musicians, and so increase their confidence.
	In music, it is our intent to fill our children with positivity and enjoyment as they join in with music, songs and playing instruments. We aim to develop the children’s wellbeing through whole-class teaching of music and providing opportunities for children to practise and create different songs and pieces of music. We understand the importance of engaging children using music, to sing or play an instrument and give children the support needed to create and express themselves freely through music. We explore a broad variety of songs and appreciate, gaining an understand of a range of live and recorded music drawn from different traditions and genres. We aspire to nurture passionate, inquisitive and creative children, who have a love of music in one or many of its forms.
	In music, it is our intent to provide children with opportunities to sing and play musical instruments with increasing confidence and control. Children will start by using their voices expressively and creatively by singing songs and speaking chants and rhymes. Also they experiment with, create, select and combine sounds using their voices, body or instruments. They will then be encouraged to improvise, compose and perform musical accomplishments. We challenge our pupils to strive for their best, developing increased confidence with each creative obstacle they overcome. We aim to provide an environment in which our pupils are happy to take risks, ask themselves questions about their creative journey and respond positively to both staff and their peers.
	In music, it is our intent to provide children with opportunities to express and share their wonderful music with each other, whole school and out into our wider community. We have a busy ‘Westrop Music Calendar’ where children from our KS1 and KS2 choir perform to their wider community. We have established links with retirement homes, key public events for example ‘Highworth Christmas Lights’ turn on and also join in with a range of musical collaborations, including ‘The Swindon Infant Music Festival.’ Children develop a sensitive awareness of, and the ability to respond constructively to, the work of other musicians from a vast spectrum of backgrounds, genders, ethnicities, countries and cultures. We provide our pupils with a safe space in which to explore complex and controversial global issues they encounter through the media, history and their own experiences through the medium of music. We provide children with opportunities to learn about, and from, different cultures through listening to and being submerged in songs and music. This will ensure that our pupils are aware of the wider world; have a sense of their own role as a world citizen and respect and value diversity.
	In music, it is our intent to communicate our ideas, feelings, fears, thoughts and imagination through songs and music. Music encourages sound making both with the voice and instruments, while musical activities can aid memory and provide a wonderful medium for learning. Children from a very early age can learn to sing, so music can provide them with an early means of communication. Music is a universal language that embodies one of the highest forms of creativity. Music can convey a message and a purpose, it can help children express themselves and communicate openly and freely.

How is the Music Curriculum delivered? (Implementation)

At Westrop, we use a variety of teaching and learning approaches in our Music lessons. Our principal aim is to develop children’s knowledge, skills, and creativity in relation to Music. Children are given opportunities to listen to, review and evaluate music. As pupils progress, they develop a critical engagement with music, allowing them to compose, and to listen to different varieties of music. Our timetables ensure that pupils have a weekly lesson which focuses on the skills that the children need to become confident, able musicians. Children also experience a wide, regular catalogue of songs both in classes daily and during weekly singing assemblies.

The national curriculum for music 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 inter-related dimensions: pitch, duration, dynamics, tempo, timbre, texture, structure and appropriate musical notations.

KS1 Pupils should be able 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.

KS2 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.

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.

Charanga Scheme of Work

In Years 1 to 6, we use the Charanga Scheme of Work to ensure varied and comprehensive coverage of the music curriculum. Children’s skills and knowledge progresses and is built on throughout each carefully planned units of work. Inspirational musicians and singers are incorporated into this progressive scheme of work. In Reception Classes, children also have access to the Charanga Scheme of Work and have ‘core nursery rhymes’ to listen to, engage with and explore.

The scheme supports all the requirements of the national curriculum and uses an integrated, practical, exploratory and child-led approach to musical learning. Children are taught to understand musical concepts through a repetition-based approach to learning, building on their skills as they progress through units within and across year groups. Each Unit of Work comprises of the strands of musical learning which correspond with the national curriculum for music: listening and appraising; musical activities; warm-up games; optional flexible games; singing; playing instruments; improvisation; composition; and performing. For more a more detailed view of the skill progression please see the links below for each year group. Reception experience music through a number of avenues linked to their Early Learning Goals.

Differentiation and Challenge

All children have access to music, songs and musical instruments at our school. Every child is valued and empowered to contribute musically. In all classes, children have a wide range of abilities, and we seek to provide suitable learning opportunities for all children by matching the challenge of the task to the ability of the child. We achieve this through a range of strategies. Children who have access to our ‘Den’ have the opportunity to listen to calming music and experiment with instruments. In some lessons, we do it through differentiated outcomes, levels of support or opportunities to practise for longer. We ask children to work from the same starting point before moving on to develop their own ideas. We use classroom assistants to support some children, and to enable work to be matched to the needs of individuals working with a wide range of groups.

Drumming or Clarinets

We believe that first-hand experiences enrich our music curriculum, therefore each term, a KS2 class take part in weekly Djembe drumming or clarinet lessons, led by our external drumming/clarinet teacher. Through these lessons children learn about the history of the African drums and a number of different drumming strokes as well as the traditional names for different strokes. We use whole class games to develop our collaboration and patience skills. After weeks of composing a piece and practicing, we often come together to perform a piece at our end of school celebration.

Choir

At Westrop, our 2 choir clubs are very popular. The KS1 and KS2 choir clubs are ran by the talented Mrs Humphreys, whose enthusiasm and love for singing is infectious! Each year we attend the Voice in a Million events, as well as the Swindon Music Festival and we have earned our gold Sing Up award. One of the most rewarding parts of choir club is the link it gives us to our local community. Throughout the year, the choirs visit many of our local care homes to sing for the residents. The choir really enjoy these visits and the chance to chat to the older people after their performance. We have always been so proud of how the children represent our school and the feedback we have received.

Please see our ‘Westrop Music Calendar’ for all our experiences and annual Musical Events!

Rock Steady

Rock Steady is a paid-for programme which allows children to perform as part of a band. The external company provide their tuition during school hours and children choose from the electric guitar, keyboard, drums or vocals and enjoy playing in a happy, supportive environment with their friends. At the end of each term the bands perform to the whole school and their parents in a Rock Steady concert.

Instrument Lessons

You can pay for instrumental lessons organised by Swindon Music Co-operative and learn an instrument of your choice during the school day.

What difference is the Music Curriculum making? (Impact)

Confidence in music will enable children to become competent and independent in key life skills, including logical thinking and evaluation.
From their different starting points, all children will make at least good progress and achieve their potential academically, emotionally, creatively, socially and physically. Knowledge, understanding and skills will be secured and embedded so that children attain highly.
Pupils will have strong communication skills, and will listen respectfully and with tolerance to the views of others.
Pupils will take pride in all that they do, always striving to do their best.
Pupils will be able to explore and critique songs and pieces of music, respectfully sharing their own thoughts and opinions whilst understanding that others critiques may differ from their own.
Pupils will demonstrate emotional resilience and the ability to persevere when they encounter challenge.
Pupils will develop a sense of self-awareness and become confident in their own abilities.
Pupils will develop an appreciation and enjoyment of music that enriches their learning experience.
Pupils will beâ€¯given a wide range of opportunities to express themselves creatively.â€¯
Pupils will develop an awareness of the emotional impact that music has on themselves and on an audience.
Pupils will confidently explain how their previous learning has supported the development of their current work.
Pupils will competently use agreed vocabulary correctly and without prompting when talking about artists and their art.
Pupils will gain confidence and skill in using a variety of different instruments.
Pupils will recognise music as both an outlet for creativity and a means of positive well-being and wellness, in our ever-changing world.

See our Westrop Music Policy 2022 or speak to our Music Coordinator Miss Corsan for further information.

Overview of Westrop Music

Westrop Music Calendar

Westrop music skills progression

What Do The British Values Look Like At Westrop?

Individual Liberty

Music lessons, musical assemblies and choir sessions provide opportunities for pupils to express themselves freely in composition and performing tasks. We focus on resilience and believe that anything can be achieved if you put your mind to it.

Democracy

Within lessons we have the opportunity to express our opinions and our personal musical preferences, which are respected by others. As part of whole class drumming lessons, the children will perform in small groups, in which they will have to co-operate with others, respecting different opinions. We take turns and respect the person who is performing at any given time. This is also the case in rhythm, pitch and beat games throughout the Charanga music curriculum. In choir clubs, votes are taken for performance songs and the results of these votes are respected.

Mutual Respect

In all aspects of music at Westrop we are encouraged to respect everyone’s abilities and performances. In music lessons we are encouraged to give feedback sensitively.

Tolerance

In music, we listen to and learn about the music of other faiths and cultures. We tolerate ideas from others that are different to our own and understand musicians are inspired by their cultures, which may be different to our own. We are encouraged not only to understand and tolerate other cultures and their music, but also to respect and celebrate them. We reflect on the similarities and differences between music in a variety of cultures.

The Rule of Law

We understand the importance of safety rules when using instruments to ensure we are able to use a range of instruments. Behaviour expectations during music lessons, especially with regard to handling the instruments, are made clear and the consequences of not following these rules are explained to children. The expectations are consistent regardless of whether the lesson is led by our class teacher or an external music teacher.

How to Help Your Child at Home

Opportunities to explore music at home can be as simple as listening to a song together and discussing it with your child. Questions you could discuss include:

Did you like the song? Why/why not?

How did this song make you feel?

What genre of music do you think it is?

What instruments could you hear in the song?