Music at All Saints
Intent
Music is a powerful and creative form of communication, which can inspire and motivate children. It can have a positive impact on personal and social development, including increased self-reliance, confidence, self-esteem, sense of achievement and ability to relate to others. Music is a vehicle for prompting personal expression, reflection and emotional development. It enables children to become part of a community, creating, playing, performing and making judgements. It allows them to acquire a greater understanding of the world and their place in it. Music is highly academic and maximises progress in education in subjects other than music.
We aim to:
- Provide a variety of enjoyable experiences to build self-esteem, confidence and self-discipline as well as to nurture creativity
- Improve pupil’s learning, confidence, health and social development through including singing in their everyday lives.
- Develop the interrelated skills of performing, composing and appreciating music across a range of historical periods, genres, styles and traditions, including the works of the great composers and musicians.
- Teach how music is composed, produced and recorded through the interrelated dimensions, pitch, duration, dynamics, tempo, timbre, texture and structure and different musical notations.
- Provide opportunities for pupils to create, improvise and compose music on their own and with others and play tuned and unturned percussion instruments musically.
- Use technology appropriately to support, capture and enhance pupil’s creativity and performance.
- Provide pupils with the opportunity to learn to play a musical instrument from specialist instrumental music teachers or as part of a whole class ensemble in/out of school.
- Provide performance and sharing opportunities outside the classroom to enrich musical experience.
At foundation stage, music is taught by the class teacher and as part of the EYFS as an integral part of topic work covered during the year. In the EYFS music contributes to a child’s level in the area of expressive arts and design.
Music is taught by a music specialist from Entrust (Mrs Dingle). Shared work between our curriculum lead and music specialist ensures that planning has appropriate breadth and depth. Our progression grids ensure that that musical activities have progression and continuity.
Music activities are planned so that all pupils may participate and enjoy them irrespective of ability and inclusive of gender, race and cultural background.
Singing is an integral part of school life and children sing daily in worship; children also take part in a once weekly singing practice. At the end of each term, classes perform to parents, productions to celebrate different occasions such as Christmas, Easter and leaver’s assemblies. We also arrange for our KS2 pupils to take part in the annual Eccleshall music festival and Holy Trinity church, alongside a number of other local schools.
Pupils are offered the opportunity to learn to play a musical instrument. The lessons are provided by visiting specialist instrumental teachers.
Assessment and Recording
Informal judgements are made weekly through observations and marking work.
Feedback is given to the pupils orally or through written comments. Pupils’ progress is recorded during and at the end of each unit of work and comments are recorded on an annual report to parents.
Information from visiting peripatetic music specialists is included when compiling appropriate parts of final reports to parents.
