Music Intent, Implementation and Impact Statement
Intent
The National Curriculum for music aims to ensure that all pupils:
• Perform, listen to, review and evaluate music
• Be taught to sing, create and compose music
• Understand and explore how music is created, produced and communicated.
At Longney Church of England Primary Academy, the intention is that children gain a firm understanding of what music is through listening, singing, playing, evaluating, analysing, and composing across a wide variety of historical periods, styles, traditions, and musical genres. Our objective is to develop a curiosity for the subject, as well as an understanding and acceptance of the validity and importance of all types of music, and an unbiased respect for the role that music may wish to be expressed in any person’s life. We are committed to ensuring children understand the value and importance of music in the wider community and are able to use their musical skills, knowledge and experiences to involve themselves in music in a variety of different contexts. Whilst in school pupils will have access to a wide range of music making such as Young Voices, Gloucester Cathedral Junior Voices Project, Gamelan orchestra, African drumming, Samba, Whole Class Violin and Garage Band lessons.
Implementation
The music curriculum ensures students sing, listen, compose, play, perform and evaluate. This is embedded in the classroom activities as well as concerts and performances and learning of instruments. The elements of music are taught in the classroom lessons so that children are able to use some of the language of music to analyse and understand how it is made, played, appreciated and evaluated. Pupils have the opportunity to learn an instrument through whole class tuition. This provides the opportunity for them to understand the different principle of each method of creating notes, as well as how to read basic music notation. They 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 and vocal sounds is also part of the curriculum, which develops the understanding of musical elements without the added complexity of an instrument.
We have our own music curriculum, which has been created with the model music curriculum in mind as well as our ethos as a school, our culture here at Longney and the resources we have available. We use Charanga to support our curriculum in places as is provides class-room based, participatory and inclusive resources for the teacher to use and implement in their teaching of music. Throughout our curriculum children are actively involved in using and developing their singing voices, using body percussion and whole-body actions and learning to handle and play classroom instruments effectively to create and express their own and others’ music. Through a range of whole class, group and individual activities, children have opportunities to explore sounds, listen actively, compose and perform. Our curriculum also provides learning opportunities around different music cultures from around the world as well as analysing and understanding a variety of composers.
Impact
Whilst in school, children have access to a varied programme of music making. Music enables pupils to 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 pupils individually, as well as ethnicities from across the world.
