MUSIC

at Alwoodley Primary School

Awarded June 2021

Intent, Implementation and Impact

Our vision for music is that all children are involved through enjoying, playing, composing and listening.

INTENT 

At Alwoodley Primary School, our music curriculum intends to inspire creativity, self-expression and encourages our children on their musical journey as well as giving them opportunities to connect with others.   We hope to foster a life long love of music by exposing them to diverse musical experiences and igniting a passion for music. By listening and responding to different musical styles, finding their voices as singers and performers and as composers, all will enable them to become confident, reflective musicians. 

‘Music is a universal language that embodies one of the highest forms of creativity’ (The National Curriculum)

The aims of our Music curriculum are to develop pupils who:

• Can sing and use their voices individually and in a group
• Create and compose music on their own and with others
• Use technology appropriately when composing
• Have opportunities to learn a musical instrument
• Understand and explore how music is created, produced and communicated
• Listen to, review and evaluate the work of great composers and musicians from a 

range of historical periods, genres, styles and traditions

• Enjoy and have an appreciation of a range of different musical styles e.g. Classical, Jazz, Hip Hop, Pop, Rock etc.
• Use and understand musical language and include musical features in their own work
• Make judgements about the quality of music
• Have opportunities to play a wide variety of instruments
• Have different opportunities to take part in performances

IMPLEMENTATION

The music curriculum ensures students sing, listen, play, perform and evaluate. This is embedded in classroom activities as well as weekly singing assemblies, various concerts and performances, the learning of instruments, and the joining of musical ensembles. The elements of music are taught in classroom lessons so that children are able to use the language of music to discuss it, and understand how it is made, played, appreciated and analysed. In the classroom, students learn how to play various un-tuned and tuned percussion instruments and as a class in years 2-6 on ocarina, recorder and ukulele. Year 5 also have the opportunity to learn Samba with the end product being a huge concert in Leeds with other schools. In doing so they understand the different principles of creating notes, as well as how to devise and read their own musical scores and basic music notation. Children also learn how to compose focussing on different dimensions of music, which in turn feeds their understanding when listening, playing, or analysing music. Composing or performing using body percussion, vocal sounds and technology is also part of the curriculum, which develops the understanding of musical elements without the added complexity of an instrument.

IMPACT
At Alwoodley, children have opportunities to forge their own musical journey, which allows them to discover areas of strength, as well as areas they might like to improve upon. Key Stage 2 children also have the opportunity to play instruments in small groups which are taught by peripatetic staff. The integral nature of music and the learner creates an enormously rich palette from which a child may access fundamental abilities such as: achievement, self-confidence, interaction with and awareness of others, and self-reflection. Music will also develop an understanding of culture and history, both in relation to students individually, as well as ethnicities from across the world. Children are able to enjoy music, in as many ways as they choose - either as listener, creator or performer. They can discuss music and comprehend its parts. They can sing, feel a pulse, add rhythms and create melodies in a group and they can further develop these skills in the future and continue to enjoy and embrace music in their lives.

We use a range of strategies to assess what skills and knowledge the children have attained each term including the following:

• Videos and photos of lessons
• Use of super six or equivalent 
• Pupil Voice 
• Regular feedback each lesson
• A well maintained benchmarking folder

"Music is the universal language of mankind."

(Henry Wadsworth Longfellow)

"Music gives soul to the universe,

wings to the mind,

flight to the imagination,

and life to everything."

(Plato)

IMPLEMENTAION

Music  plays an important part in our school from whole class music lessons to small group playing and from concerts to formal exams and special projects.
 
Keyboard Groups
Keyboard lessons are taught by Mr Dodd from Artforms. Children can begin lessons in Year 3.

Woodwind
Woodwind lessons start in Year 3. Children can choose to play either a flute, clarinet or saxophone. Miss Freitas, from Artforms, is our woodwind teacher.

Brass
Mr Tong, from Artforms, teaches brass lessons. Brass instruments available to play are the cornet, trumpet or trombone. Lessons start in Year 3

Violins
Miss Galloway, from Artforms, teaches the violin. Lessons start in Year 2.

Guitar
Guitar lessons are taught by Mr Hogg from Artforms. Children can begin lessons in Year 3.

Groups
All Year 2 learn how to play the ocarina. 

Recorder Groups
All children in Year 3 start to learn the recorder in whole class lessons. As children move to Year 4 they continue to progress on this instrument.
 

Choir
Choir meets once a week at lunchtime. Twice a year members of the choir take part in the Leeds Town Hall Concert. The choir are also part of a successful world record attempt to have the largest number of people signing and singing at the same time.

Ukulele
Everyone in Year 6 learns the ukulele.

Town Hall Concerts
Each year our musicians and members of the choir take part in the town hall concerts in the Spring and at Christmas.