Music
At Barlby Bridge Community Primary School, it is our intent to make music an enjoyable learning experience. We encourage children to participate in a variety of musical experiences through which we aim to build up the confidence of all children. Our teaching focuses on developing the children’s ability to understand rhythm and follow a beat. Through singing songs, children learn about the structure and organisation of music. We teach them to listen and to appreciate different forms of music. Children develop descriptive language skills in music lessons when learning about how music can represent different feelings, and emotions. We also teach technical vocabulary such as volume, pitch, beat and rhythm and encourage children to discuss music using these terms.
Our Music Curriculum Vision
Intent
Our intent is to deliver the content outlined in the music Programmes of Study within the National Curriculum. Barlby Bridge School’s music teaching offers opportunities to:
To develop an appreciation of music, skill acquisition and improve the well-being of the children through regular and enjoyable musical learning experiences. To promote a love of music and singing across the curriculum
To build a musical curriculum which develops learning and results in the acquisition of knowledge and improved well-being.
To promote a love of music and singing across a broadened curriculum so that all children know more, remember more and understand more.
To this end, we use the Charanga curriculum. This is a knowledge-engaged progress model which clearly outlines the key knowledge and vocabulary for each stage of learning in sequence.
Implementation
In Music, we are passionate about implementing our curriculum through reflective, creative and expressive learning because we recognise the power of music to impact our everyday lives and inspire greatness among our students.
The importance of music:
Our Music curriculum at Barlby Bridge’s is creative, collaborative, celebratory and challenging. We recognise that music unites us, inspires us and motivates us. Music is one of the central building blocks of any culture and the shared knowledge of music is crucial cultural capital. We endeavour to model and instil a life-long love of music in all of our students and provide a foundation for further musical adventures.
Singing:
Singing is at the heart of our vision for Music and this is expressed through the centrality of song in our Charanga units of study. Singing features as a core part of our time in assemblies and across the curriculum, demonstrating both our celebration of diversity and CARE values.
Progression in musical skills:
The Charanga Music Curriculum develops a strong internalised sense of pulse, rhythm and pitch through a rich range of musical interactions including singing, moving, performing using untuned and tuned instruments, creating music and active listening. Pupils will gain knowledge of important moments in the evolution of music and of key musicians and composers, in a range of genres and styles as well as understanding of the stories, origins, traditions, history and social context of the music they are listening to, singing and playing. In the Charanga curriculum, we include pieces from a wide range of cultures and traditions that reflect our community as well as developing an appreciation for composers enshrined in the canon.
Reflecting on music:
We want children to be reflective, appreciating and evaluating music on a personal and technical level. Through a wide range of activities, our children will further develop their love of music, refining their individual taste and gaining confidence to be creative musicians with strong aural skills.
Creating and experimenting with music:
Pupils at Barlby Bridge’s will create music through repetition and improvisation as well as learning compositional techniques and structures. As pupils travel through the Key Stages, they will develop the craft of creating melodies and fashioning these into short pieces, growing to see composition as a current art form of which they can be a part. All children in Key Stage 2 have the opportunity experience the playing an instrument (Ukulele, Glockenspiel, Recorder) as part of an ensemble, refining their skills through feedback and rehearsal, which promotes form of expression and enjoyment. At Barlby Bridge, we also encourage our children to embrace tradition, culture and heritage by performing for seasonal, national and religious celebrations, such as Christmas Nativities, Pantomimes, and Harvest Festivals.
Impact
Children wherever possible to achieve age related expectations in music at the end of their cohort year.
Children will retain and develop knowledge that is focused on music.·
Children will have the opportunity to foster their instrumental flare and use this as a form of expression.
Music assessment is ongoing to inform teachers with their planning, lesson activities and differentiation. The impact of Music teaching throughout all year groups is monitored using a variety of strategies.
Charanga Music Curriculum Sequence & Resources
At Barlby Bridge, we follow the Charanga Music Curriculum.
Charanga say this about their curriculum:
"A step-by-step approach to teaching music in your school
Charanga’s Musical School Scheme provides week-by-week lessons for each year group in the school, from ages 5–11. It is used by 35,000 specialist and non-specialist teachers globally, and provides lesson plans, assessment, clear progression and exciting whiteboard resources for every lesson. The Scheme supports all the requirements of the national curriculum in England."
The curriculum is based on the progression of three clear strands of music:
Listening and Appraising
Musical Activities — creating and exploring
Singing, playing instruments and performing
To find out more, please visit their website, here.
Local Links
Barlby Bridge has received numerous visits from the North Yorkshire Music Service. This year, the children thoroughly enjoyed experiencing brass and woodwind instruments in addition to the variety of instruments taught as part of the our school curriculum.
