Music
Music Intent
At Walworth School we aim to ‘significantly improve the quality of all our children’s lives’ delivering a rich and varied curriculum that meets the requirements of the National curriculum whilst meeting our overarching curriculum intent of:
- Teaching pupils to have an awareness of how to be successful learners.
- Helping children to possess the appropriate knowledge and skills to develop independence.
- Supporting pupils to develop a good understanding of what it means to be a responsible citizen.
Our curriculum drivers shape our curriculum breadth. They have been developed from an exploration of the backgrounds of our pupils, our beliefs about high-quality education and our values. They are used to ensure we give our pupils appropriate yet ambitious curriculum opportunities. We recognise that many of our children have had limited exposure to music and its many genres and purposes. We therefore plan to offer them wide and varied artistic opportunities to develop their cultural capital. Cultural capital gives our pupils the vital background knowledge required to be informed and thoughtful members of our community who understand and believe in British values. Which helps the children to develop into responsible citizens. This has a direct impact on ensuring that our children are prepared for adulthood. It gives them an understanding of how music reflects the history and development our nation as well as contributing to our culture and national identify, and the culture and identity of other countries across the world.
Good quality experiences in the music give children an opportunity to express themselves creatively, contributes to their emotional well-being and fosters an awareness of a sense of wonder. Music therapy is a well established and recognised clinical intervention supporting the psychological, emotional, cognitive, physical, communication and social needs of people at all stages of life. For this reason, music delivery here at Walworth is designed to enable children regular access and involvement in music lessons to take advantage of some of the benefits exposure to music can have on the life of children with complex additional needs. Our curriculum is designed to enable them to enjoy and engage in learning through various and new modes of personal expression.
Our music curriculum is designed to help pupils to become creative and critical thinkers, whilst giving them time to master the basics, with an aim to inspire pupils and develop their confidence, through improvisation and composition, to create their own pieces of music and develop their own individual musical flair. Following our long term plan, pupils gradually progress in their expertise and understanding and have regular opportunities for revisiting and overlearning. Ofsted have stated that, in music, “we will not always know the learning outcomes” so segregated learning objectives at the start of each lesson are not appropriate. Instead, the interrelated dimensions of music weave through the units to encourage the development of musical skills as the learning progresses, through, ‘listening and appraising’, differing musical activities (including creating and exploring) and performing.
The teaching of subject specific vocabulary is an important aspect of the music curriculum, allowing them to articulate their creations and their views. An essential part of the music curriculum is building the ability to be critical of music in a responsible and respectful way. These still are developed through the regular exposure to and use of technical language. These skills combine to develop our childrens’ overall communication skills allowing them to become responsible members of society beyond the classroom. Children are exposed to a variety of musicians and musical genres widening their understanding of music and the impact it has on society.
Music Implementation
Provided by Durham Music Service, ‘The Charanga Musical School Scheme’ provides teachers with extensive support week by week for each year group being taught. Lesson plans, assessment, clear progression along with engaging and exciting whiteboard resources are all provided, therefore ideal for non-specialist teachers.
Each unit of work comprises the strands of musical learning which correspond with the National Curriculum for music. These strands are;
- Listening and Appraising
- Musical Activities
- Performing
There is an Activity Manual which provides teachers with knowledge, understanding and support when preparing and delivering music lessons. It explains the supporting ideas and methodology as well as how each strand of musical learning within the Units of Work corresponds with the National Curriculum. It can be used as a handbook or a teaching companion.
Pupils will also have opportunities to enjoy lessons, taught in small groups by an experienced music tutor. The tutor has extensive experience and superb knowledge and understanding of the music curriculum. He is also experienced in teaching pupils with special needs as well as pupils with social, emotional and mental health issues. During these lessons, the pupils will learn how to play instruments such as the ukulele and some brass instruments. They will build on this learning as they progress from through the classes.
Music Impact
Following our Art & Design curriculum will offer pupils the opportunity to develop their knowledge and skills whilst enhancing their cultural capital, creativeness and emotional well – being. It will help them to broaden their horizons and pursue a wider range of interests into their adult lives.
The units of work provided by the Charanga Music Scheme enable children to develop an understanding of musical concepts through repetition based learning. They learn about the same musical concept through a range of different musical activities. As a result, the children develop a more secure and deeper learning experience which develops to a mastery of music skills.
The strands of musical learning are part of a learning spiral. As the children progress, the children will develop new musical skills and concepts and also re-visit musical skills and concepts that are established. They will shift within the spiral, meaning the children will achieve a deeper understanding of musical skills and concepts. Teachers use the iASEND assessment tracking tool to help evaluate the progression of children and the effectiveness of the curriculum. This relates to the National Curriculum Programme of Study for music. This in conjunction with regular monitoring of group music books and short lesson visits will enable the subject lead to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of our curriculum.
