Music Curriculum Information
Music is a powerful, unique form of communication that can change the way pupils feel, think and act. It brings together intellect and feeling and enables personal expression, reflection and emotional development. As an integral part of culture, past and present, it helps pupils understand themselves and relate to others, forging important links between the home, school and the wider work. The teaching of Music develops pupils’ ability to listen and appreciate a wide variety of music and to make judgments about musical quality. It encourages active involvement in different forms of amateur music making, both individual and communal, developing a sense of group identity and togetherness. It also increases self-discipline and creativity, aesthetic sensitivity and fulfilment.
We aim to provide every child with high quality music experiences which engage and inspire them to develop a love of music and their talent as musicians. We provide opportunities for all children to create, play, perform and enjoy music and to appreciate a variety of music styles. We aim for every child to leave Icklesham Church of England Primary School and Nursery with a range of musical skills, knowledge and an understanding and love of music which they can carry with them for the rest of their lives.
We in the benefits music brings to our mental health and wellbeing, through music across the school, acknowledging how music can help energise and provide an outlet for us to understand, express and take control of our feelings.
The intention of our music curriculum is first and foremost to help children to feel that they are musical, and to develop a life-long love of music. We focus on developing the skills, knowledge and understanding that children need in order to become confident performers, composers, and listeners. Our curriculum introduces children to music from all around the world and across generations, teaching children to respect and appreciate the music of all traditions and communities.
We want our children to develop the musical skills of:
- singing,
- playing tuned and untuned instruments,
- improvising and composing music,
- listening and responding to music.
They will develop an understanding of the history and cultural context of the music that they listen to and learn how music can be written down. Through music, our curriculum helps children develop transferable skills such as:
- team-working,
- leadership,
- creative thinking,
- problem-solving,
- decision-making,
- presentation,
- performance skills.
These skills are vital to children’s development as learners and have a wider application in their general lives outside and beyond school.
| Performing | Listening | Composing | The History of Music |
| The inter-related dimensions of music: pulse, pitch, duration, dynamics, tempo, timbre, texture, structure & appropriate musical notation |
Our music scheme takes a holistic approach to music, in which the individual strands below are woven together to create engaging and enriching learning experiences. There are 5 strands:
EYFS:
Our EYFS scheme has been updated to reflect the updated 2021 Statutory framework.
Child-led learning plays a large part in the Early Years curriculum. We support our children in following and exploring their own interests. This allows for a greater depth of learning and understanding and much higher levels of well-being and involvement.
Children are supported in their use of music as part of child-led play, whether singing songs, listening to music, dancing or playing instruments. Thus allowing them to express their creativity and emotions, as well as reaching a deeper level of musical understanding.
Our EYFS staff enhance their chosen area of play by providing additional resources, demonstrating how to use existing resources or even using the computer. This may include:
- Demonstrating how to play certain instruments
- Encouraging children to perform together as a group
- Starting to sing a familiar song and play an instrument, encouraging others to join in
- Clapping or tapping out a beat
- Providing lyrics to a song
- Using familiar, everyday objects to create new instruments and sounds
- Demonstrating how to use your body and voice as instruments
- Searching for and watching videos showing traditional dances
- Learning and practising traditional dances together
- Using a safe search engine to find out more information or facts about particular dances or music types
- Searching for and listening to music together
Finding out about different music relating to customs and festivals that are important to the children
Enhanced provision is provided to encourage consolidation of learning after a lesson, in response to children’s expressed interests or a seasonal event.
Enhanced provision resources may include:
Seasonal instruments, for example, sleigh bells at Christmas Instruments related to a particular culture Instruments related to a special festival Instruments created by the children CDs or other listening material related to a topic of interest Costumes related to a topic of interest
These lessons are led by our music teacher and she combines these strands within a cross-curricular topic designed to capture pupils’ imagination and encourage them to explore music enthusiastically. Over the course of the scheme, children will be taught how to sing fluently and expressively, and play tuned and untuned instruments accurately and with control.
They will learn to recognise and name the interrelated dimensions of music – pitch, duration, tempo, timbre, structure, texture and dynamics – and use these expressively in their own improvisations and compositions.
In each lesson, pupils will actively participate in musical activities drawn from a range of styles and traditions, developing their musical skills and their understanding of how music works.
Lessons incorporate a range of teaching strategies from independent tasks, paired and group work as well as improvisation and teacher-led performances. Lessons are ‘hands-on’ and incorporate movement and dance elements, as well as making cross curricular links with other areas of learning.
Differentiated guidance is available for every lesson to ensure that lessons can be accessed by all pupils and opportunities to stretch pupils’ learning are available when required.
Our music curriculum is also enhanced with whole school weekly singing sessions which also focus on ensuring pupils understand, develop and remember important subject-specific vocabulary.
All children at Icklesham Church of England Primary School and Nursery learn to play either the recorder or the ukulele.
After the implementation of our music curriculum, pupils leave school equipped with a range of skills to enable them to succeed in their secondary education and to be able to enjoy and appreciate music throughout their lives.
The expected impact is that children will:
- Be confident performers, composers and listeners and will be able to express themselves musically at and beyond school.
- Show an appreciation and respect for a wide range of musical styles from around the world and will understand how music is influenced by the wider cultural, social, and historical contexts in which it is developed.
- Understand the ways in which music can be written down to support performing and composing activities.
- Demonstrate and articulate an enthusiasm for music and be able to identify their own personal musical preferences.
- Meet the end of key stage expectations outlined in the National curriculum for Music.
- Understand and appreciate that music can help them to understand and express their emotions and help to regulate them too.
EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
Clubs
We are lucky enough to have a music teacher on staff who runs a successful ‘Choir’ and ‘Musical Theatre’ club after school.
Instrumental lessons
At present this school is able to offer tuition on the violin, keyboard and guitar through the East Sussex Music Service (ESMS). Fees are payable for the lessons, although an Assisted Tuition Scheme is available for parent who are a case of genuine hardship. East Sussex Music Service teachers use ESMS instrumental schemes of work and lesson plans. They regularly assess pupils’ progress in line with ESMS guidelines and their own work is regularly monitored by senior ESMS staff.
CLASS INSTRUMENTAL LESSONS
As part of the government scheme to give every child the opportunity to learn an instrument, children in Year 4 have weekly Ukulele tuition and children in Year 2 and 3 learn to play the recorder.
MUSICAL PERFORMANCES GIVEN BY CHILDREN
We aim to hold a number of musical performances throughout the year and across the whole school. These might include summer concerts and Christmas productions. There are also less formal occasions when class or instrumental groups contribute musical items to our worship, including those to which parents/ carers are invited. Arrangements are made with peripatetic music teachers for children who receive music tuition as part of the East Sussex Music Service to play in assemblies.
MUSICAL PERFORMANCES GIVEN FOR THE CHILDREN
Whenever possible we like to take advantage of musical presentations offered by outside agencies. These include the East Sussex Music Service Instrumental Recitals and Orchestral Concerts for Schools. Such events extend and enhance the children’s musical understanding and enjoyment, but are subject to considerations of availability and cost.
OTHER EAST SUSSEX MUSIC SERVICE LINKS
We shall continue to promote strong links with East Sussex Music Service and the Music Advisory Support Team. We participate alongside other schools in our cluster group in musical workshops and events.
LINKS WITH THE WIDER COMMUNITY
Four times a year the children are involved in musical performances at All Saints and St Nicolas and have in recent years visited local residential homes to sing to residents. They have also performed in concerts at the Hastings Music Festival, in local theatres, performance spaces and on Hastings Pier.