MAB’S CROSS PRIMARY SCHOOL

MUSIC CURRICULUM 

INTENT

Music at Mab’s Cross is an opportunity for children to thrive in the world of performing arts, exploring the history of musical genres and connecting with members of the local community through the medium. In our curriculum, we provide opportunities for children to become knowledgeable within the key areas of the discipline: musical theory, historical genres with key aspects linked to classical music, singing and instrumentation. This ensures children have an equal breadth of exposure at all intervals of their primary education, building both confidence and technical ability. Each area has a designated project running for one half-term a year across KS1 and KS2. In Years 1,2,3, and 5, projects include a classical music focused workshop, based on an influential piece of music, whilst Year 4 participates in the Wider Opportunities Wigan Music programme, whereby children are taught by specialist teachers the ability to play a stringed instrument and Year 6 creates a consolidative programme by ending the children’s time at primary school with a West End Musical Production performed to families, and members of the school community. The Christmas period also plays an important role in the music work at Mab’s Cross. EYFS use song and performance to communicate the story of the Nativity, whilst KS2 collaborate on a Carol Concert held at the local church every year.

In order to contextualise the learning and skill development, interspersed within the projects are genre-focused lessons related to a musical movement of significance. These have been selected to broaden the children’s wider learning across the curriculum, whilst also providing an opportunity to aspire (a key driver within Mab’s Cross) to demonstrate the broad background of successful musicians. The reference to existing music allows reflection and evaluation of the different artistic processes and impact work has on the individual; breaking down the cultural barrier of music appreciation and ensuring listening opportunities are not restricted to chart music.

The curriculum is structured using a bespoke progressive framework where skills are embedded throughout the year through the categories of: performance - singing and playing instruments; listening and appraising; experimenting, improvising and composing; musical knowledge and understanding. Long-term plans ensure necessary skills are addressed and can be reinforced and extended each year. Skills progression documents enable teaching staff to view the starting points for each discipline by considering previous years’ objectives and assessing their role in preparing children for the subsequent year.

At the end of EYFS, children should have developed an interest in the way sounds can be produced and the versatility of the voice as an instrument in singing, chanting and sound making. Music should have a positive reaction by allowing exploration through both guided and independent opportunities. In Key Stage One, we intend for children to begin to recognise the features of music description e.g. pitch and tempo and replicate through voice and instrument (particularly untuned). In Key Stage Two there is a view of broadening musical influences through listening, appraising and composing whilst allowing children to become more critical and reflective of their own and others’ work. Control and proficiency in each discipline continue to be refined and, at later stages, preferences for genres and sounds will begin to appear in many.

All children follow the same topics in music in-line with the class. However, expectations of response and product are modified based on an individual’s known skill bank and their previous technical ability.

IMPLEMENTATION

At Mab’s Cross, music is led by an enthusiastic team of individuals who have an understanding and experience of all year groups as a collective. Planning and resources are provided to support teachers by providing key step teaching activities, linked activities and songs. Colleagues will wholeheartedly support and offer advice during planning or discrete conversations to ensure all teachers feel confident and enthused in their music teaching.

Music has become a regeneration of focus within Mab’s Cross to provide a balance between a positive engagement in the discipline, including the other-curricular opportunities and rigorous curriculum coverage. Our bespoke scheme has been written with our school’s pedagogical philosophy to support and nurture whilst offering opportunities for experimentation within independent learning and many avenues to celebrate musical success both in and out of school.

Our curriculum ensures music plays a role in enriching each child’s education and cultural creativity in participation in whole school events. It is also used as a tool of communication to highlight the achievements of classes through class assemblies, school productions and concerts and, community engagements. Outside our curriculum, music can be found filtering through wider engagement in learning by the uptake of individual instrument lessons, band practice and choir.

Regular curriculum meetings allow the team to evaluate the subject and decide upon next steps for continued improvement and development of the subject.

Our agreed foundation subject assessment grid allows staff during the year to assess children’s abilities to summarise the children’s successes with an end of year grading. Assessments are made throughout the year, tuned to the children’s progress in responses to discussions and listening activities to individual performances in class based on the final performances in response to the skills displayed and applied. Subsequent teachers are able to use this information to gain an understanding as to the varied starting points of each child.

IMPACT

At Mab’s Cross, our monitoring schedule allows an opportunity for subject lead and associated team members to undergo scrutiny evaluations to ensure teaching staff follow the agreed planning. The result of which enables constructive feedback and admiration of achievements to be provided on a one-to-one basis. When viewed across year groups, performances show clear development of skills progression, highlighting the effectiveness of our music curriculum in preparing children for their later music education.

Our bespoke curriculum planning has ensured the children are able to refer to a diverse selection of musicians, who work in a variety of genres. Following our plans, teachers ensure a consistency of teaching across all classes and a knowledge of children’s starting points at the beginning of each school year, ensuring skills can be built upon and an endeavour to execute greater accomplishments as the children’s skill repertoire is broadened through the years.

Following the introduction of the plans, music has become a subject with balance in theory and performance whilst always having been a subject which children take pleasure in participating in.

Music performances, especially the carol concert, strings performance and year 6 end of year production are always viewed as highlights of the school calendar for both pupils and staff, enabling everyone who is part of the school community to enjoy the success of the children’s musical abilities and create lasting memories in all. We encourage children with musical talents to also perform in our weekly celebration assemblies and visits to local establishments for our community engagement.