Our vision at Chopwell primary school is that we provide every child with a solid foundation in musical skills and that we seek to build every child’s love of music through high quality musical experiences both within and outside school. Our aim is for ALL children to enjoy music.

Learning music develops all aspects of a child’s learning from the physical action of using an instrument to the mathematical skills needed to keep a pulse. At Chopwell we provide every child with a weekly music lesson where children will learn different aspects of music including, listening and appraising, composing, singing, performing and more.

Intent

We have designed our Music curriculum so that our learners:

• Develop a passion for music, in which pupils learn to appreciate music and develop a life-long love of music.
• Develop their skills, knowledge and understanding, to enable them to be become confident performers, composers and listeners
• Are introduced to a variety of genres of music from around the world and across generations, recognising the multicultural nature of our school and how we use music as a medium to explore and appreciate British and other cultures
• Develop their musical skills through singing, playing tuned and untuned instruments, composing music and responding to music that they listen to
• Develop transferrable skills which are key in their development as learners and have a wider application in their lives both inside and outside of school e.g.: team-working, leadership, creative thinking, decision-making and performance skills.

Implementation

Our Music curriculum is taught:

• Progressively so that it begins in the Early Years, where the children’s musical awareness is developed to support their imagination and creativity. This early love of music is then developed throughout the school, whereupon, children are encouraged to perform, rehearse, sing and explore their own musicality
• So that the individual strands of music are interwoven in lessons to create engaging, enriching learning that progresses through the years and throughout the key stages.  Music lessons comprise of: performing, listening, composing, the history of music and the interrelated dimensions of music.
• Pupils knowledge is built upon year-on-year, and they are taught how to sing fluently and expressively, play tuned and untuned instruments with accuracy and control.  They will learn to recognise and name the interrelated dimensions of music: pitch, duration, tempo, timbre, structure, texture and dynamics and use these in their own composition and improvisations expressively
• Using The Model music curriculum alongside Charanga and instrumental tuition we can ensure that previous skills and knowledge are returned to and built upon.  This allows pupil progress to be developed as they will be able to undertake more complex tasks, whilst tackling simple tasks with greater ease and accuracy.  As pupils’ skills are developing, their understanding of the history of music, composition skills and interrelated dimensions of music are also being furthered
• So that pupils actively participate in a range of musical activities and tasks that are drawn from a range of musical styles and traditions to develop their musical skills and their understanding of how music works. KS2 pupils take part in weekly singing assemblies where they are able to hone their performance skills, celebrate diversity by learning new songs from other cultures as well as learning new key vocabulary.
• So that the cross curricular value of music and the enjoyment that it can bring are used in other subjects to strengthen long term memory of key facts such as number bond songs/rhymes or historical facts
• Pupils have the opportunity to learn instruments through whole class teaching through Gateshead Music Service.
• Whenever possible, we try to expose pupils to live music to enhance both the enjoyment, culture and understanding of music.

Impact 

The impact of the Music curriculum at Chopwell Primary can be seen through:

• Our children are engaged and excited by our music curriculum.  The skills that they are taught equip them with a range of skills to enable them to appreciate music throughout their lives
• Our children have become confident performers, composers and listeners, who are able to express themselves musically at school and beyond
• Our children show an appreciation and respect for a range of music from a variety of genres across a variety of generations
• Our children demonstrate and express their enthusiasm and enjoyment for music

Musical experiences

Big Sing at the SAGE Gateshead

School Music performances 

Pantomime visits

Christmas performances

Choir performances outside of school

Digital Music workshops

Music in the EYFS (Taken from EYFS guidance)

The development of children’s artistic and cultural awareness supports their imagination and creativity. It is important that children have regular opportunities to engage with the arts, enabling them to explore and play with a wide range of media and materials. The quality and variety of what children see, hear and participate in is crucial for developing their understanding, self-expression, vocabulary and ability to communicate through the arts. The frequency, repetition and depth of their experiences are fundamental to their progress in interpreting and appreciating what they hear, respond to and observe.

ELG: Being Imaginative and Expressive

Children at the expected level of development will: - Invent, adapt and recount narratives and stories with peers and their teacher; - Sing a range of well-known nursery rhymes and songs; Perform songs, rhymes, poems and stories with others, and – when appropriate – try to move in time with music.

In EYFS the children ........

   Sing a range of well-known nursery rhymes and songs

   Build a repertoire of songs and rhymes through opportunities to sing on a regular basis

   Perform songs, rhymes, poems and stories with musical elements

   Begin to tap out simple rhythms

   Access a range of percussion instruments indoors and outdoors, and are taught their names

   Explore sounds around them

   Explore how sounds can be changed and begin to learn appropriate vocabulary eg, loud/quiet, fast/slow, high/low.

   Listen to a range of music by different composers

   Discuss music and how it makes them feel

   Move in response to music