Music
LAT Narrative Over Time
Introduction
At the LAT, we fully encourage and enable our children to take creative risks and apply themselves intellectually, emotionally, physically and kinaesthetically in their musical learning experience. Our music curriculum encourages children to immerse themselves in musical learning that engages, inspires, challenges, provokes, exhilarates, and liberates.
Intent | What and why do we teach what we teach?
The teaching of music throughout the LAT encourages children to engage through regular structured skills and knowledge based lessons, providing an opportunity for pupils to develop their musicality, as well as drawing on new skills. With singing as our key driver, our children learn a wide variety of knowledge through song and musical performances, which further enhances their ability to remember more and deepen their understanding.
Music performance and composition play an integral part in developing our young musicians. Collaboratively, children develop their social skills and well-being through the sharing of ideas, skills, singing and playing instruments. Opportunities are provided for our children through learning specific instruments. Furthermore, we fully encourage and enable collaborative performances across the LAT, providing enrichment for children.
Our music philosophy encourages children to assess and critique a wide variety of musical genres and composers, through listening to the music of others. By developing the skills of critiquing established works, pupils are able to use those skills to effectively critique their own work and that of their peers.
The National Curriculum is adhered to as a minimum expectation of design and delivery. We believe that music is an important catalyst to learning a wider variety of knowledge across the entire curriculum. At the LAT, we utilise music as not only a subject within its own right but also as an enhancer for other subjects.
Through the interrelated dimensions of music (pulse, pitch, rhythm, tempo, dynamics, timbre, structure, texture and notation), our children are able to develop their creativity in a well-managed and safe environment.
Implementation | How and when do we teach what we teach?
In the EYFS, children will learn to sing a range of well-known nursery rhymes and songs and move in time with the pulse. They will listen to and talk about a wide range of music, expressing their feelings and responses. Children will explore instrumental sounds in order to create their own music and will be encouraged to share and perform their musical ideas with others.
In Key Stage 1, the children will learn to use their voices to sing expressively through learning songs and chants. They will begin to develop an awareness of the different interrelated dimensions of music through listening to a range of live and recorded music, and exploring and playing tuned and untuned instruments. Children will contribute to group and class compositions and begin to record their ideas using graphic notation. Children are encouraged to share and celebrate their learning through regular performance opportunities.
In Key Stage 2, the children will further develop their knowledge and understanding of the different interrelated dimensions of music through listening to a wide range of music from different genres and identifying their characteristics. By the end of Key Stage 2, children will sing and perform a broad range of songs, observing rhythm, phrasing, accurate pitching and appropriate singing style. All children in Key Stage 2 will learn to play an instrument through First Access (whole-class tuition) and will learn how to read and record staff notation. Music technology will be used as one way to record and share their compositional work. There will be frequent informal opportunities to perform across each unit to help prepare for performances to a wider audience.
Impact | How do we assess the impact of what we teach via pupil outcomes?
A record of pupil outcomes are captured using a variety of strategies. An example of this might be, an electronic music portfolio used to keep a record of the children’s outcomes at the end of each term (or unit). This will include recordings of children performing as a class, in small groups or solo performances. Retrieval practice is also used to encourage recall and enhance previous learning. Questions based on key vocabulary, notation and aural recall are just some of the activities included in this. In addition, regular opportunities to listen and appraise music will help the children to demonstrate their understanding of the interrelated dimensions of music and further develop their oracy skills.
At the end of the year, an age-related assessment is given based on the work seen across the year. Children’s attainment is then shared with parents/carers in their annual report.
Local Governors on Music