Subject Leader: Louise Ashcroft

Intent:

Our music curriculum’s main aim is for children to develop a life-long love of music. At Corby Primary Academy, we focus on developing the skills, knowledge and understanding that children need in order to become confident performers, composers and listeners. Working collaboratively is a key part of our music curriculum. We use a vast range of musical language to extend children’s learning throughout their time at school. Lessons are planned for the children that are inclusive and memorable, encouraging their love of music to be deepened. 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. Our music curriculum covers five different strands.

• Listening and evaluating
• Creating sound
• Notation
• Improvising and composing
• Performing- singing and playing

Children develop the musical skills of singing, playing tuned and untuned instruments, improvising and composing music, and 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. We encourage children to be bold in their musical thinking, developing transferable skills such as team-working, leadership, creative thinking, problem solving, decision-making, and presentation and 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.

Implementation:

In each music 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. Knowledge organisers for each unit support pupils in building a foundation of factual knowledge by encouraging recall of key facts and vocabulary.

Strong subject knowledge is vital for staff to be able to deliver a highly effective and robust music curriculum. By following Kapow Primary’s Music scheme, this allows all staff access to multiple teacher videos to develop subject knowledge and support ongoing CPD, aiding teachers in their own acquisition of musical skills and knowledge.

During their journey through Corby Primary, children have access to different musical opportunities both in school and in the wider community. This enables learners to widen their musical knowledge and enjoyment of the subject.

Impact:

The expected impact of following the Kapow Primary Music scheme of work 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 various 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 musical preferences.
• Meet the end of key stage expectations outlined in the National curriculum for Music.