Intent
Our vision is that all children should receive a high-quality music education that should engage and inspire pupils to develop a love of music. As pupils progress, they should develop a deeper understanding of music, allowing them to compose, and to listen with understanding. Music has been proven to develop early language, communication and confidence in children, and we want to give all children at Jackfield this opportunity to develop these early skills. At Jackfield Infant School we provide opportunities for all children to create, play, perform and enjoy music, to develop the knowledge and skills to appreciate a wide variety of music, and to begin to understand and talk about these different kinds of music.
Implementation
Music is a skills based subject and must be engaged with and taught practically. We demonstrate this through the spiral of learning, adding to musical concepts throughout the curriculum but ensuring previous knowledge and skills continue to be developed. Our curriculum at Jackfield ensures children sing, listen, play, perform and evaluate continually. In the EYFS, Soundpots from the City Music Service is used to support the teaching of Music, including songs and rhymes in everyday routines and school life. The Sing Up! Website is used throughout the school to support the teaching and learning of Music. This website has a bank of songs and activities linked to different topics, events, special days, assembly themes and subjects. Planning for lessons is also included on Sing Up! and can be followed throughout the year groups showing excellent musical progression. In Key Stage One, we aim for one hour of Music each week- whether it is a discreet Music lesson or tasters of music activities at different times throughout the day. experimenting with, create, select and combine sounds using the inter-related dimensions of music.
Powerful Knowledge
The Sing Up! planning and Progression of knowledge and skills document form a ‘spiral curriculum’, so that pupils encounter and engage with the core skills on a number of occasions, embedding and building on their learning.
Literacy
The pupils are taught to use basic subject-specific vocabulary. We use the musical term heroes to explain the definitions of the musical terms in a child-friendly, understandable way.
Excellence for all
The teaching of music helps to develop children’s’ early language, communication and confidence; and this is something we thrive for all children to have at Jackfield. Teachers will follow the progression of knowledge and skills document that lessons are planned for all children to access new skills, with an inclusivity for all. We use our Music evaluation grid to identify next steps within lessons and we use the Musical heroes to support the teaching of music vocabulary.
Wider world
Pupils should develop their knowledge and understanding of music from around the world when listening to different genres of music. Opportunities to learn in after school clubs eg. recorder and take part in city wide events. Professional musicians are invited into school to showcase musical skills and inspire our children.
Impact
Our Music curriculum is high quality and carefully constructed to build upon prior knowledge, so children can remember and learn more. Our pupils enjoy learning about music and develop the skills and knowledge relevant to becoming musicians.
We measure the impact of our curriculum through the following methods:
• Pre and post learning quizzes based upon our knowledge organisers, are used to support effective learning through recall
• Pupil discussions about their learning demonstrate what they remember
• Pupils develop a greater understanding of music.