Music Curriculum – Barlby Bridge Community Primary School

Music Curriculum

At Barlby Bridge Community Primary School, it is our intent to make music an enjoyable learning experience. We encourage children to participate in a variety of musical experiences through which we aim to build up the confidence of all children. Our teaching focuses on developing the children’s ability to understand rhythm and follow a beat. Through singing songs, children learn about the structure and organisation of music. We teach them to listen and to appreciate different forms of music. Children develop descriptive language skills in music lessons when learning about how music can represent different feelings, and emotions. We also teach technical vocabulary such as volume, pitch, beat and rhythm and encourage children to discuss music using these terms.

Intent

Our intent is to deliver the content outlined in the music Programmes of Study within the National Curriculum. Barlby Bridge School’s music teaching offers opportunities to:

To develop an appreciation of music, skill acquisition and improve the well-being of the children through regular and enjoyable musical learning experiences. To promote a love of music and singing across the curriculum
To build a musical curriculum which develops learning and results in the acquisition of knowledge and improved well-being.
To promote a love of music and singing across a broadened curriculum so that all children know more, remember more and understand more.

To this end, we use the Charanga curriculum. This is a knowledge-engaged progress model which clearly outlines the key knowledge and vocabulary for each stage of learning in sequence.

Implementation

In Music, we are passionate about implementing our curriculum through reflective, creative and expressive learning because we recognise the power of music to impact our everyday lives and inspire greatness among our students.

The importance of music:

Our Music curriculum at Barlby Bridge’s is creative, collaborative, celebratory and challenging. We recognise that music unites us, inspires us and motivates us. Music is one of the central building blocks of any culture and the shared knowledge of music is crucial cultural capital. We endeavour to model and instil a life-long love of music in all of our students and provide a foundation for further musical adventures.

Singing:

Singing is at the heart of our vision for Music and this is expressed through the centrality of song in our Charanga units of study. Singing features as a core part of our time in assemblies and across the curriculum, demonstrating both our celebration of diversity and CARE values.

Progression in musical skills:

The Charanga Music Curriculum develops a strong internalised sense of pulse, rhythm and pitch through a rich range of musical interactions including singing, moving, performing using untuned and tuned instruments, creating music and active listening. Pupils will gain knowledge of important moments in the evolution of music and of key musicians and composers, in a range of genres and styles as well as understanding of the stories, origins, traditions, history and social context of the music they are listening to, singing and playing. In the Charanga curriculum, we include pieces from a wide range of cultures and traditions that reflect our community as well as developing an appreciation for composers enshrined in the canon.

Reflecting on music:

We want children to be reflective, appreciating and evaluating music on a personal and technical level. Through a wide range of activities, our children will further develop their love of music, refining their individual taste and gaining confidence to be creative musicians with strong aural skills.

Creating and experimenting with music:

Pupils at Barlby Bridge’s will create music through repetition and improvisation as well as learning compositional techniques and structures. As pupils travel through the Key Stages, they will develop the craft of creating melodies and fashioning these into short pieces, growing to see composition as a current art form of which they can be a part. All children in Key Stage 2 have the opportunity experience the playing an instrument (Ukulele, Glockenspiel, Recorder) as part of an ensemble, refining their skills through feedback and rehearsal, which promotes form of expression and enjoyment. At Barlby Bridge, we also encourage our children to embrace tradition, culture and heritage by performing for seasonal, national and religious celebrations, such as Christmas Nativities, Pantomimes, and Harvest Festivals.

Local Links:

BBS

At Barlby Bridge we implement a variety of teaching and learning styles which reinforce an expectation that all pupils are capable of achieving high rates of participation and performance in musical activities.

There is a clear and comprehensive scheme of work in line with the National Curriculum through Charanga. Teaching and learning is progressive across all key stages within the strands of music and follows the principles of the Model Music Curriculum.

Music lessons will engage and inspire pupils to develop a love of music and develop their talent as musicians, and in turn 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.

Children are taught a specific musical instrument for a school year, such as ukuleles, glockenspiels and recorders. These lessons incorporate teaching musical notation, singing, as well as learning to play an instrument. Opportunities are taken to perform in class, in whole assemblies and also to parents and the wider community.

Impact

Children wherever possible to achieve age related expectations in music at the end of their cohort year.
Children will retain and develop knowledge that is focused on music.·
Children will have the opportunity to foster their instrumental flare and use this as a form of expression.
Music assessment is ongoing to inform teachers with their planning, lesson activities and differentiation. The impact of Music teaching throughout all year groups is monitored using a variety of strategies.

At Barlby Bridge, we follow the Charanga Music Curriculum.

Charanga say this about their curriculum:

A step-by-step approach to teaching music in your school

Charanga’s Musical School Scheme provides week-by-week lessons for each year group in the school, from ages 5–11. It is used by 35,000 specialist and non-specialist teachers globally, and provides lesson plans, assessment, clear progression and exciting whiteboard resources for every lesson. The Scheme supports all the requirements of the national curriculum in England.

The curriculum is based on the progression of three clear strands of music: