Music Intent

The national curriculum for music aims to ensure that all pupils:

•  perform, listen to, review and evaluate music across a range of historical periods, genres, styles and traditions, including the works of the great composers and musicians
•  learn to sing and to use their voices, to create and compose music on their own and with others, have the opportunity to learn a musical instrument, use technology appropriately and have the opportunity to progress to the next level of musical excellence
• understand and explore how music is created, produced and communicated, including through the inter-related dimensions: pitch, duration, dynamics, tempo, timbre, texture, structure and appropriate musical notations.

It is our intention at Greengate to deliver a wide range of opportunities for all children to engage with music from teaching in class to extra-curricular activities.  We aim to give all our pupil’s a chance to find a love of music at Greengate and to encourage them all to carry on with their interest in music beyond their time at junior school. We hope for every pupil to develop their knowledge and skills in all areas of Music. These skills include listening and appraising a range of quality music, singing as ensembles and learning to play instruments. Through Music, we aim to deliver our Intent by:

• Teaching the skills of Music, the ‘Greengate Way’; using positivity, perseverance, responsibility and reflection.
• Encouraging pupils to use their voices expressively and creatively by singing songs and speaking chants and rhymes
• Playing tuned and un-tuned instruments musically
• Listening carefully to a range of high-quality live and recorded music from a variety of different traditions and from great composers
• Providing time to experiment with, create, select and combine sounds using the inter-related dimensions of music
• Developing an understanding of musical composition
• Giving children the skills and vocabulary to evaluate music
• Playing and performing in solo and ensemble contexts, using their voices and playing musical instruments with increasing accuracy, fluency, control and expression
• Encouraging pupils to improvise and compose music for a range of purposes
• Listening with attention to identify and describe certain aspects of a piece of music
• Developing an understanding of musical notations and how to follow someone else’s actions when performing as well as giving actions to others

Implementation

Music planning is taken from Charanga across the school to focus on different musical styles and skill areas. Staff can follow ready-made lessons or using the library of resources, in order to create a unique and personalised sequence of lessons. Throughout the year, all pupils will have the opportunity to develop the skills in the following areas; Listening and appraising, singing, playing instruments, improvisation, composition and performing.

In Year 3, all children are currently learning to play brass and lessons are delivered by an experienced brass tutor. In brass lessons they learn musical notation and how to follow someone else’s actions when conducting and being given the opportunity to conduct themselves. Additionally, in Years 4,5 and 6 children have the option to learn to play flute or ukulele or to continue with brass.

At Greengate we believe it is important to offer children the chance to attend an extra-curricular music club to enhance their playing and performance skills. We encourage children to work towards a specific performance such as a musical play at Christmas, performing in whole school assemblies and an infant liaison outdoor festival event. We offer children the chance to join the school choir where they perform at Young Voices, Furness Voices and local concerts in the town.

Impact

There are many ways we can demonstrate the music curriculum at Greengate. Below are a few highlights:

• All classes have performed a song or piece of poetry at their class assembly, prepared as part of the in-class music teaching.
• The whole school perform a range of songs as part of their Nativity, Harvest Festival, Easter Service and Leavers’ Service.
• All year groups perform to each other at the termly ‘Music Challenge’ prepared as part of their in-class music teaching.
• Children who play brass in Year 3 had the opportunity to learn a few pieces of music to play alongside other primary schools at The Forum Barrow in an evening concert ‘The Big Play.’
• All classes have evidence of listening to a wide range of music.
• The school choir is open to all year groups and they perform at a number of events throughout the year.