How we teach Music at Wordsworth Primary School

VISION AND INTENT

At Wordsworth Primary School we would like our pupils to develop a life-long love of music and we see every child as a musician. We provide them with a rich and varied music curriculum and many opportunities to get involved in musical activities both within school and in the community. We aim for our children to develop their creativity and performance skills, to experiment with sound and to form their own opinions about the music that they listen to, play and create. Music helps our children to work together and to develop their confidence and self-esteem.

IMPLEMENTATION

The “Golden Thread of Singing” can be followed through from Nursery to Year Six. Children learn to develop their singing skills from simple chants and melodies to more complex songs, including those in different parts. They learn to play a wide range of tuned and untuned classroom percussion instruments as well as recorders, ukuleles and keyboards, working towards final performances and recordings. They create their own music, from different stimuli including art, stories and musical starting points and learn to be reflective composers, who can edit and improve their work. They listen to a wide range of music from different times, places and cultures, learning to respond physically and through a developing musical vocabulary.

The inter-related dimensions of Music (musical elements) are introduced from Early Years and the children increase their knowledge of these building blocks as they progress through the school.

The development of skills and musical knowledge is cumulative; therefore, many activities are revisited during KS1 and KS2 to practise previously learnt skills and knowledge and then to build upon them.

How we teach Music at Wordsworth Primary School

In the EYFS, music is threaded through the areas of learning and development. The children in KS1 follow a Music Project devised by the Music Specialist Teacher and taught by HLTAs. They also have weekly singing assemblies to develop their voices and enjoy the experience of singing together. Everyone in KS2 has a weekly music lesson with the Music Specialist Teacher (Years 3, 4 and 6) or HLTA (Year 5), developing their skills of singing, playing, improvising, composing and listening.

Extra-curricular Music

We encourage our children to take up a musical instrument. Violin is offered from Year Two, viola and cello from Year Three, Woodwind and Brass from Year Four and Guitar from Year Five. Children who receive the Pupil Premium are almost fully funded for their instrumental lessons. Parental payment is required for other children, although having larger group sizes ensures that we make it affordable for many families. Our lessons are provided by Southampton Music Hub.

We ensure that our children have opportunities to sing and perform to parents during the year. These include Harvest Festival, EYFS Seasonal Songs and Nativity, Winter Celebration Assemblies in KS1 and KS2 and Performance Showcases for different year groups throughout the year.

We run choirs for Year 2 and Lower/Upper KS2 and have many opportunities during the year when the choirs can perform, both in school, in the local community and at city and national events. The choirs are open to all, without audition. Our School Orchestra is open to children in Years 5 and 6 (and invited children in Year 4). It runs as a “Before School Club” on a Thursday morning, and the orchestra play at school, Trust and city events.

SMSC

Children can experience wonder and awe by listening to music and we allow our children to develop their ability to develop and express their thoughts and feelings and to understand that everyone reacts to music in different ways and can feel different emotions or no emotions. Through Music, our children can gain a greater understanding of different cultures and beliefs, using listening and responding activities. They also listen to music from different times and places, as well as music created by their peers. Children can learn to show compassion when assessing the work of others and learn to understand that their comments can impact another person’s self-belief and self-esteem.

By taking part in performances, children are helped to feel part of something that is bigger than just themselves. They often work collaboratively in music lessons, in pairs and small groups, as well as working as a class, choir or orchestra. All of this helps them to develop co-operation and communication skills.