Music
At Dashwood Banbury Academy our music curriculum will engage and inspire pupils to develop a love of music and their talent as musicians.
Music: Intent, Implementation and Impact
Intent:
‘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.’ National Curriculum 2014
At Dashwood we understand the importance the exposure of music plays in our lives both as a listener and a musician. We want to, therefore, support our children to be passionate, creative and curious appreciators of music and its valuable impact on their lives.
With this in mind, our three whole school threads are woven throughout our music curriculum and daily practices to ensure that our children experience a broad and balanced curriculum that deepens their musical knowledge, skills and well-being.
Our children will:
- Learn to sing and to use their voices to create and compose music on their own and with others.
- Understand and explore how music is created, produced and communicated.
- Perform, listen to, review and evaluate music across a range of historical periods, genres, styles and traditions.
Implementation:
We have a comprehensive music curriculum that has a clear progression of knowledge and skills. Music is implemented in our curriculum in a variety of ways:
Whole School Experiences
Music appreciation and performance is included within many of our whole school daily, weekly and yearly practices. Our children will share songs, performances and music experiences within our assemblies, classroom environments, mindfulness sessions and specialist 1:1 instrument lessons. We also strive to include additional musical experiences through after school clubs and outside educational excursions.
Year Group Experiences
Our taught curriculum encompasses a clear set of objectives that extend our children’s knowledge of songs, music styles, musical components, composers and instruments across many cultures and historical periods. This knowledge is then broadened and developed through the acquisition of key skills that include singing, responding to rhythm, pulse and beat, exploration of tempo and pitch, composition, the awareness of a wide range of instruments and how these can create a variety of sounds, performance and appreciation.
It may be taught weekly or in a block. Learning objectives will be clear and well sequenced in order to build upon the skills from each session. The lessons are supported by Charanga Music School, an online platform that provides a week-by-week Scheme of Work for the whole school. This programme supports class teachers by providing exciting and innovative teaching plans, resources and a bank of topic based ideas that ensure progression through an enjoyable and interactive experience. This resource can also be accessed safely from home so that our children can further practice and develop their musical skills.
In addition to this, Year groups have opportunities to perform to the rest of the school, parents and the wider school community throughout the school year.
Intended Impact
The impact of the music curriculum is evaluated through the following measures:
- To ensure children enjoy all aspects of the music curriculum information will be gathered via pupil and staff voice.
- Outcomes will be evident in a range of different performances.
- Charanga Music School framework links Musical School teaching and learning to a step-by-step assessment programme. Using the PLAN • DO • CHECK • REVIEW approach that is supported by the planning and assessment documentation collates evidence of progression.
- Monitoring through the use of Tapestry and Seesaw will allow us to assess the children’s abilities and confidence levels. This can be accessed at home, supporting homework and for parents to have a better understanding of the level their child/ren are working at.
- Progress will be assessed through outcomes of assignments and a formative assessment will be given 3 x a year in our data collection points.