Mayfield Primary SchoolMusic: Vision
MUSIC LEADER
Mrs Rickwood
'ALWAYS START WITH WHY'
What is Music?
How do musicians work? What does it mean to be a composer or musician?
We have set out in these two website pages how we consider these questions with our children by mapping out and delivering a clear, consistent and challenging curriculum for our children to meet their needs. You can download copies of every central document at the base of the relevant pages (VISION or CURRICULUM OVERVIEW) in PDF format. The subject guide and policy itself can be found at the base of this page.
To take a look at our curriculum overview page CLICK HERE.
Our Vision For Music
At Mayfield, we value music as a universal language and believe that all children can achieve the goals that we set for them and should enjoy taking part in a subject which is highly social and collaborative. We provide a music curriculum which gives all pupils the opportunity to sing, play, create and perform, both individually and collectively. Lessons are inclusive and developmentally appropriate for different age groups and specific needs of the children, while still allowing opportunities for pupils to stretch and challenge themselves.
The music curriculum is designed to build a musical foundation and build on skills and knowledge throughout the years. Pupils will become confident in their ability to create, compose, perform and listen. Children will leave KS1 with a good understanding of a variety of rhythms and pitches and basic knowledge of dot and stick notation, using crotchets, quavers and rests. They have learnt and practised key glockenspiel skills through taught exercises and composition activities. Pupils have also been exposed to music from around the world through our study of various genres.
As pupils progress through KS2 they become more confident in their singing and musical skills whilst continuing to use the glockenspiel as our core instrument. Pupils have a more in depth understanding of the inter-related dimensions of music and can describe music using key terms (pitch, pulse, rhythm, tempo, dynamics). They have an increased awareness of different genres of music and music from other countries and can improvise and create music in different styles and metres. Children will move onto KS3 with a passion to learn and share their love of music.
We provide children with a range of opportunities to cultivate their cultural understanding and develop their musical competencies, such as appreciating and understanding a wide range of music from different traditions. As our pupils progress through our curriculum, we teach them to engage critically with music, allowing them to compose, and to listen with discrimination to music drawn from different traditions and from great composers and musicians. By the time our children leave Mayfield, they have been equipped with this knowledge and understanding as well as having an appreciation of a breadth of musical forms. We value the link between music and wellbeing and the power sharing music can have on our mood and sense of belonging.
How We Plan For, And Teach, Music
Our music curriculum attempts to fulfil the intentions set out in The Model Music Curriculum and uses this as the basis for our curriculum construction, planning and resources.
The music curriculum is designed to rigorously ensure children make progress in the technical, constructive and expressive components of the National Curriculum for Music. The curriculum comprises termly units, with step-by-step progression, always building on prior knowledge and skills, giving children the opportunity to consolidate, deepen and progress their rich musical skill set. Teachers use much of their teaching time for recap, rehearsal and revision and add only small amounts of new learning in each session to ensure subject matter is presented logically and building on the children’s previous experience with music. This helps pupils to consolidate earlier learning and link new concepts to previous knowledge. Children regularly have the opportunity to perform a piece of repertoire they have studied at the end of a relevant term, with the chance to describe and discuss what they have been learning and exploring in music lessons. This allows teachers to assess progression and embed the learning from the current project. Other performance opportunities like our frequent ABC Theatre shows, external theatre shows and assemblies give children the exciting experience of performing before an audience. Singing is an important part of our music curriculum. Children are explicitly taught to sing with increasing accuracy, control, fluency and expression. Singing together for children’s wellbeing are highlighted and promoted throughout our curriculum.
Throughout their time at Mayfield, children develop an understanding of the history of music. They are also taught to use vocabulary associated with key musical concepts with precision and confidence. Vocabulary related to pitch, dynamics, tempo, timbre, texture and structure enables children to analyse and reflect on music they listen to and create.
In the Early Years, children begin to experience making music together in their weekly curricular music lessons. Through singing games, songs, rhymes and listening activities, children learn to recognise and recall songs, pitch-match and begin solo and small group singing. EYFS children begin learning ensemble skills with percussion instruments.
In KS1, weekly curricular music lessons allow pupils to learn about pitch, pulse and rhythm. The singing-led curriculum helps children to discover and develop their singing voice and ensemble skills on a range of instruments, through opportunities to create and perform their own compositions to the class. The Year 1 and 2 curriculum exposes children to a diverse variety of music from around the world and performance opportunities encourage them to perform these to a wider audience.
KS2 music lessons build a strong musical foundation for all pupils. Children develop their appreciation for music and the key role it plays in shaping cultures all over the world. A good understanding of musical theory and notation are developed through exploring genres of music (i.e. classical, pop, musical theatre, jazz and blues).
Our Melody Makers singing group give children opportunities to share their singing skills with the wider school community and beyond.
Music’s presence is maintained through the central position of our ABC Theatre as a unique and prominent learning space, whilst the profile of music reward, achievement and celebration throughout the school year is maintained via the role of Student Subject Champions, High Profile Theatre Performances, Subject Celebrations and Subject Achievement Displays. Rewards always have a specific eye upon personal progress rather than summative attainment.
Music continues via our enrichment, wider curriculum opportunity: The Melody Makers which runs across the year.
How We Assess Music Learning
Teachers regularly assesses children’s progress in music through watching and listening to children’s performances, evaluating their technical, expressive and constructive knowledge. Children are also involved in peer and self-assessment opportunities against specific criteria and are taught to analyse their performances to draw out areas of strength and next steps.
The impact of our music curriculum can be seen in the children’s work and responses to learning via: big books; pupil voice and regular performance. The detailed planning outlines the main learning objectives and the opportunity to evaluate and reflect on their learning is planned for regularly to enable the children to see how their learning is progressing through the use of Brain Gym, Music Station Recaps, Quizzes and Self-Quizzes.
Children’s learning is assessed during sessions and teachers plan responsively for next steps - often using the aforementioned strategies. These activities are also used at the end of a project and help to provide evidence for summative judgements made using the Key Milestones Assessment Document.
At the end of the year, class teachers use the children’s work to make a judgement as to whether each child is working at the expected standard.
How We Adapt Learning, And Record Outcomes, In Music
The Music Leader has created Learning Stations within the ABC Theatre to assist with progression and knowledge in each project. They act as a central support for short-term preparation and delivery. Above all they provide a spine for teachers and supporting adults that can then be further personalised, adapted and differentiated to meet the starting point needs of the children in each class.
Ways of demonstrating progress and outcomes must be adaptable to suit the needs of learners and the requirements of the subject. Therefore each subject has its own bespoke way of gathering evidence from learners. Otherwise recording work becomes a barrier to learning rather than a chance to celebrate children’s achievements and specialist skills and knowledge in areas where they may otherwise excel.
In Music, children’s work is gathered in:
Big Books (Per Cohort), Recording/Images of Performances & Pupil Voice
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A Musician's Vocabulary
Music Vocabulary has been identified for the children across school. The vocabulary is progressive from EYFS onwards and at all times retains vocabulary previously introduced. We have chosen this language based upon the perspective of being a musician considering the broader concepts and skills ahead of ‘theme specific terms’. The specific vocabulary is highlighted within each Learning Project and referred to throughout. These are also present around the Music Stations in the ABC Theatre.
We aspire for our children, to gradually embed the taught and shared vocabulary during their music journey across the seven years. There is a strong emphasis upon repetition of terminology and deploying its use in a wide variety of contexts and learning situations.
Here are examples of the two kinds of vocabulary we have identified: Core Vocabulary: Pitch; Rhythm & Project Vocabulary - will relate to specific musical artistes and their music.
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Music Enrichment Opportunity:
The Melody Makers run across the year as part of our beyond hours offer.
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My latest work as Music Leader...
1) I have been modelling aspects of our music curriculum during the last twelve months by team teaching with my colleagues in order to help develop specific subject knowledge and the further introduction of specific vocabulary.
2) I have been refining our selection of music to listen to and appraise based upon the Model Music Curriculum Appendices.
3) I continue to lead the Melody Makers in their performance schedule across the year including our own annual North Pier Theatre showcase!