Music

Subject Co-ordinators: Miss Halligan

Intentions of the Arts

At Elton Primary School we firmly believe that the arts embody some of the highest forms of human creativity and it is therefore our intention to ensure that our curriculum empowers our pupils to be able to express themselves confidently and creatively through high-quality and enriching opportunities. The opportunities within our arts curriculum will develop children’s critical abilities, as well as developing respect and empathy for the world around us through exploring their understanding of their own and others’ cultural heritage as they study a range of diverse artists and composers. It is our intention that our arts curriculum will allow our students to develop a mixture of both independence and teamwork skills through offering opportunities for them to work individually as composers, designers, and artists and also as part of a team undertaking larger DT projects or composing music in small groups or classes as examples. When developing skills such as composition and design, the children will gain key skills which can be continued and developed throughout their lives. At the centre of our arts curriculum, we endeavour to ensure our lessons are creative, engaging and challenging, helping also to broaden the children’s awareness of the wider world and creating a sense of purpose and pride in their work.

‘The arts are like your backbone. You may be

able to survive without your backbone but

what quality of life would you have?’

Sir Simon Rattle

Music:

Music is all around us. It is the soundtrack to our lives. Music connects us through people and places in our ever-changing world. It is creative, collaborative, celebratory and challenging. In our school, music brings communities together through the shared endeavour of whole-school singing, ensemble playing, experimenting with the creative process and, through the love of listening to friends and fellow pupils, performing. The sheer joy of music making can feed the soul of a school community, enriching each student while strengthening the shared bonds of support and trust which make a great school.

Purpose of study

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.

Aims

The national curriculum for music aims to ensure that all pupils:

• perform, listen to, review and evaluate music across a range of historical periods, genres, styles and traditions, including the works of the great composers and musicians
• learn 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
• understand and explore how music is created, produced and communicated, including through the interrelated dimensions: pitch, duration, dynamics, tempo, timbre, texture, structure and appropriate musical notations

At Elton Primary School & Nursery we use the Scheme Kapow. Kapow meets all the requirements of the National Curriculum and is in line with the published Ofsted guidelines. 

Kapow Music helps to support children feel that they are musical and helps them develop a life-long love of music. Kapow's focus is developing skills, knowledge and understanding that children need to become confident performers, composers and listeners. Kapow music curriculum introduces children to music from all around the world and across generations, teaching children to respect and appreciate the music of all traditions and communities. 

Knowledge & Skills Developed

-Performing

-Composing

-Listening

-The History of Music

-Inter-related dimensions of music: pitch,duration, dynamics, tempo, texture, structure, timbre