Music

Music Curriculum Intent

At Manor, the children are taught how to be a musician by:

• performing, listening to, reviewing and evaluating music across a range of historical periods, genres, styles and traditions, including the works of the great composers and musicians;
• learning 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;
• understanding and exploring how music is created, produced and communicated, including through the inter-related dimensions: pitch, duration, dynamics, tempo, timbre, texture, structure and appropriate musical notations.

The Music curriculum is coherently planned and sequenced towards cumulatively sufficient knowledge and skills for future learning. 

The curriculum is successfully adapted, designed and developed to be ambitious and meet the needs of pupils with SEND, developing their knowledge, skills and abilities to apply what they know and can do with increasing fluency and independence. 

Implementation

• Teachers across the school have a good knowledge of Music.
• Teachers present subject matter clearly, promoting appropriate discussion about the subject matter being taught. They check pupils’ understanding systematically, identify misconceptions accurately and provide clear, direct feedback. In so doing, they respond and adapt their teaching as necessary without unnecessarily elaborate or individualised approaches.
• Over the course of study, teaching is designed to help pupils to remember long term the content they have been taught and to integrate new knowledge into larger ideas.
• Teachers use assessment well, to help pupils embed and use knowledge fluently, or to check understanding and inform teaching. Assessment is informative and does not create unnecessary burdens on staff or pupils.
• Teachers create an environment that focuses on the needs of pupils. The resources used, reflect the school’s ambitious intentions for the units. These materials clearly support the intent of a coherently planned curriculum, sequenced towards cumulatively sufficient knowledge and skills for future learning.
• The work given to pupils is demanding and matches the aims of the curriculum in being coherently planned and sequenced towards cumulatively sufficient knowledge.
• A specialist music teacher from Hampshire Music Service delivers the Listen to Me programme to children in Year 1 and 2 on a weekly basis, using specific instruments to teach specific skills. The children learn how to play tuned percussion, ukuleles and samba drums. Children learn how to use their voice as an instrument.
• Children are taught notation, using symbols and pictures.
• Children are given the opportunity in Year R to be expressive and engage in musical experiences within continuous provision to enhance and develop their skills and confidence to perform.

Impact

By the time the children leave Manor at the end of Year 2 they will:

• be confident when performing, listening to, reviewing and evaluating music;
• be able to identify music from different genres, styles and traditions;
• know and enjoy singing a variety of songs;
• know how to play tuned and untuned instruments;
• know and be able to use the terms: pitch, duration, dynamics, tempo, timbre, texture and structure;
• use musical notation.