Music

Meet The Team

    Miss E Cohen              Mrs L Whittenbury-Brookes            Mrs K Burbidge                            Music School Tribe

  Subject Leader                       Subject Link TA                   Subject Link Governor                                 

Intent

At St Saviour Primary School we value Music as part of a broad and balanced curriculum. We collaborate closely with the Bolton Music Service, as an Artsmark partner, to provide our pupils the opportunity to learn from expert musicians. We believe that all children have right to equal access of the Music curriculum whatever their race, gender, beliefs or ability. Our staff will take steps to foster equality in their everyday teaching, also equip children with the opportunities and confidence to perform, contributing to the development of positive social, emotional, mental health and wellbeing.

Music is a universal language that embodies one of the highest forms of creativity. A high-quality music education should engage and inspire pupils to develop a love of music and their talent as musicians, and so increase their self-confidence, creativity and sense of achievement. As pupils progress, they should develop a critical engagement with music, allowing them to compose, and to listen with discrimination to the best in the musical canon.

Aims

All pupils will be able to:

• 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 of music: pitch, duration, dynamics, tempo, timbre, texture, structure and appropriate musical notations.

Implementation

The teaching of music lessons is led and supported by the Bolton Music Service. The BMS teacher will teach in EYFS, KS1 and KS2 on alternating weeks with the exception of Year Six who are taught music by their class teacher. BMS provide advanced medium term planning and then class teachers use the BMS skills progression document to track coverage throughout the year. This informs their lessons. In these lessons children have many opportunities to learn and work collaboratively, we do also ensure chances are created often for independent learning and performance.

Additional to these lessons are the singing opportunities we have in our junior choir, assemblies and class performances.

SEN children are given the necessary support to access the curriculum and where necessary tasks are adapted. Pupils identified as working beyond year group expectations will be able to extend their experiences by applying more individuality to their work, by showcasing their talents often, and where possible working with children from other schools or being directed to agencies, such as Bolton Music Service, to further their musical potential.

Progression documents provided by the BMS are used in correlation with SeeSaw to ensure thorough coverage and progression. Termly assessments are recorded and monitored by the music subject leader.

For any KS2 pupil, there is the option to take part in a weekly choir session, which is during timetabled lesson time. Choir members have many opportunities for performances throughout the year such as; the Bolton Music Festival, the school summer music show and a Christmas tour of the local community.

Our Year Four class take part in a weekly wider opportunities guitar lesson. KS1 classes are able to participate in Djembe drumming as a lunchtime club.

Further to this, we are Music Service Direct school, which means we allow pupils to sign up to BMS for group or individual instrument tuition, which takes place during the school day. Violin, keyboard, piano and guitar are the instruments available for tuition.

We believe performing is key to a successful music education and allows achievements to be celebrated appropriately. This is done through performances in classrooms, the hall and in our local area- church, supermarkets etc. Additionally, musical experiences are shared with families, the community, other schools and the public through mediums of the school website and Twitter.

We have worked with additional external music organisations, such as iSingPOP and RockKids, we look for opportunities such as this each year. These external providers allow for whole school performances and give our pupils the opportunity to perform on a stage and to a large scale audience. 

Continuous Professional Development opportunities are available through the BMS and our linked Music Education Hub- the Greater Manchester Hub.

Impact

Our music curriculum ensures that our children are confident musicians, which in turn allows them to progress to the next level of musicianship. They gain a thorough understanding of how the formal elements of music and musical notations allow music to be created, produced and communicated. Our curriculum also provides the children with a positive attitude towards listening to and experiencing music. They also understand that this benefits their mental health and wellbeing on a personal level.

Ongoing assessments take place throughout the year. Teachers use this information to inform future planning, ensuring children are supported and challenged appropriately. This data is analysed on a termly basis to inform and address any trends or gaps in attainment. Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage are assessed within the Expressive Arts and Design strand and their progress is also tracked termly when age related expectation levels are reported.

Key Documents

The file list below contains links to key subject documents.

Music In Action Around School