Asquith Primary School- Music Overview

Our music curriculum at Asquith Primary School is enquiry based, inclusive and meets the needs of all learners. We build strong foundations in our EYFS, support and challenge pupils on their journey through our school, ultimately ensuring that they are equipped with the skills and knowledge that they will need to succeed in the future and be citizens of tomorrow’s world. 

At Asquith Primary we want to inspire the minds of tomorrow to be creative musicians. We encourage our children to be appreciators of music from different eras and diverse cultures. We encourage children to make musical choices based upon their feelings, understanding, and experiences. It is our vision that every child adopts an understanding and love of music which they can carry with them for the rest of their lives.  

Our curriculum is underpinned by 5 golden threads: High aspirations for all, Fostering resilience, Embedding key skills, Respecting diversity and Creating global citizens- with the intent that all our children have the opportunity to grow and succeed as musicians. 

Intent

At Asquith Primary School we recognise that music is an essential part of life, integral in the development of the whole person. We believe that the opportunity to engage in musical experiences is crucial for the development of the whole child. We believe through playing, singing, creating, composing  and performing, children develop confidence, communication, thinking and creative skills and improve their emotional well-being. The skills involved in playing and listening to music will also help learners develop the self-esteem, self-discipline, cooperation, creativity, and self-motivation necessary for success. 

We aim to enable children to grow and succeed by:

• Developing pupils’ understanding of the key knowledge within each unit and across each year group. The key knowledge identified within each year group is underpinned by the Early Years Curriculum and the National Curriculum.Encouraging children to participate in a range of musical experiences, building up their confidence at the same time.
• Developing children’s understanding of rhythm and pitch and for them to learn how music is structured, as well as learning technical vocabulary for these elements.
• Enjoying the performance aspect of music.
• Developing children’s resilience  through opportunities for them to experiment with music both with playing and composition. This in turn embeds the understanding that to FAIL is a First Attempt in Learning, at first you may not succeed but through perseverance progress is possible. 
• Developing aspirations through the study of music and musician from a diverse range of backgrounds and places in history, enabling children to listen to music from different cultures and eras and form their own opinions. 

Implementation

Music is taught as a discrete subject in classes but also across the curriculum. Areas of learning, such as times tables in maths, vocabulary in languages and movement in dance all incorporate different elements of music. We use our performances, such as our Christmas plays and Nativities and end of year shows to show how important music is to our school.

The focus on ensuring that children grow to succeed is implemented by: 

• 
  Organising knowledge  into song-based themes. This encourages children to see connections between previous learning, current learning, and future learning, both within music and the wider curriculum. 
• Units of work building on existing knowledge which is checked at the beginning of each unit and opportunities to embed knowledge and skills are offered through collaborative activities, individual practice, and intervention.
• Embedding musical skills into lessons to ensure that skills are systematically developed throughout the pupils’ school career and new vocabulary and challenging concepts are introduced through direct teaching.
• Where appropriate, exploring the work of other musicians from a diverse range of backgrounds as well as music of different styles and eras. 
  
• Children engaging in a wide variety of experiential and exploratory learning activities to complement and broaden the curriculum. This also includes working collaboratively. Children are given opportunities to showcase their learning through participation in performance to parents and the wider community.

Impact

At Asquith Primary School we aim for children to leave our school with an increased interest in music and a desire to continue as a listener, performer and composer. Teachers plan interesting and varied lessons which are closely linked to our cross-curricular topics. Teachers build upon prior knowledge and skills learnt as identified in our music progression overview. Children have opportunities to perform in a variety of ways including at end of year concerts, in performances to parents. Our children grow in confidence and self-esteem during these performances and every child is included and valued. Music also develops an understanding of culture and history, both in relation to children individually, as well as ethnicities from across the world. Children can enjoy music in as many ways as they choose – either as listener, creator or performer. They can sing and copy a pulse. They have an understanding of how music can influence personal feelings and emotions. 

Places to Visit

Eureka, National Children's Museum, Halifax https://www.eureka.org.uk/

Music lessons https://www.minimaestro.co.uk/