Music
Our music curriculum aims to 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.
We aim to equip pupils with the ability to sing, perform, listen to, compose and evaluate music whilst installing a love of music through all of our musical experiences that we offer.
The children are given opportunities to sing at Wigmore through assemblies, music lessons, individual tuition, after school clubs, performances and school trips. In addition, the children have opportunities to learn a musical instrument, create and compose music and explore how music is created to progress to the next level of musical excellence.
The children at Wigmore will explore the inter-related dimensions of music through their music tuition to extend their musical vocabulary and understanding. Overall, we aim to ensure our children are provided with a rich and stimulating music curriculum that inspires them in all areas of music.
The EYFS Framework and National Curriculum for music aims to ensure that all pupils:
EYFS
Expressive arts and design: Sing a range of well-known nursery rhymes and songs; Perform songs, rhymes, poems and stories with others, and – when appropriate – try to move in time with music.
Key Stage One
Use their voices expressively and creatively by singing songs and speaking chants and rhymes
Play tuned and untuned instruments musically
Listen with concentration and understanding to a range of high-quality live and recorded music
Experiment with, create, select and combine sounds using the inter-related dimensions of music
Key Stage Two
Play and perform in solo and ensemble contexts, using their voices and playing musical instruments with increasing accuracy, fluency, control and expression
Improvise and compose music for a range of purposes using the inter-related dimensions of music
Listen with attention to detail and recall sounds with increasing aural memory
Use and understand staff and other musical notations
Appreciate and understand a wide range of high-quality live and recorded music drawn from different traditions and from great composers and musicians
Develop an understanding of the history of music.
Planning and progression
Long term and medium term planning is based upon the Music Express scheme which from Yr R – 4 is based on three week topic blocks exploring a particular musical focus and in Yr 5 – 6 topics are in the form of a 6 week block. Staff are able to adapt the music express lessons as long as they are meeting the lesson objective. Topics have been ordered to match topics running simultaneously within each class e.g. space in Year 5 in the autumn term.
Skills progression – The musical skills are documented and ensures necessary music skills are taught, reviewed and developed and the children are progressing throughout each year group and as they move up through the school.
Implementation
Teaching and learning
Music lessons are taught by individual class teachers. The Music Express scheme is followed and the interactive whiteboard resources are used to support the learning.
KS2 children have the opportunity to learn the recorder – lessons are delivered by ‘Encore Music Services’ and are taught to Year 4, 5 & 6 for a term per year on a Thursday afternoon.
There is a wide range of percussion and some tuned instruments available for every class to use within their lessons and to support the objectives in Music Express.
Children are engaged in fun and exciting lessons which are often practical. Teachers ensure that children have opportunities to work individually and in groups and have opportunities to perform.
Children learn the key terminology e.g. pitch and beat through their music lessons and these are revisited throughout each year groups to ensure children retain this knowledge and understanding.
Wider learning
Children are given a wide range of opportunities to express themselves through music and performance at Wigmore. These include: Young Voices trip, Sing Spring, Carol Concert and KS1 nativity, Year 6 performance, Harvest and other celebrations that impact our community as well as half-termly class performance assembies.
Weekly singing assemblies are carried out where children learn new songs and practise their ability to sing in unison and perform.
Wigmore Primary School liaises with peripatetic music teachers to ensure our children are offered the opportunity to learn a wide range of musical instruments through individual tuition. We currently offer 1:1 teaching of stringed instruments, flute, piano, trumpet, singing and drums.