Intent

Notwithstanding the proven advantages between music as an aid to child development and academic achievement, music brings joy. At Honilands Primary School, we aim to make that joy available to all children by providing a high-quality music education that engages and inspires pupils to develop a love of music and their musical talents. In addition to singing, playing instruments, and composing, children are provided with opportunities to listen to and appreciate a wide range of music and to develop their musical vocabulary so they can speak about the subject using correct terminology. We encourage children, regardless of their musical background or talent, to participate in a variety of musical experiences to build confidence, discover innate musical ability, promote well-being and achievement, and unlock a lifetime of enjoyment. 

Implementation

Across Foundation Stage at Honilands

Pupils’ experiences are based on:

• Hearing and Listening 
• Vocalising and Singing 
• Moving and Dancing 
• Exploring and Playing 

(‘Aspects of Musical Learning and Development’ as defined by ‘Musical Development Matters in the Early Years’- Nicola Burke  2018)

Songs and recorded music for listening are seasonal or topic-related.

Children have access to a range of sound makers and instruments during both structured sessions and as part of continuous provision.

Across Key Stage 1 at Honilands

Pupils are taught to:  

• Use their voices expressively and creatively by singing songs, chanting, and reciting rhymes. 
• Play tuned and untuned instruments musically. 
• Listen attentively and with understanding to a range of high-quality live and recorded music.
•  Experiment with, create, select and combine sounds using the interrelated dimensions of music.

Across Key Stage 2 at Honilands

Pupils are taught to sing and play musically with increasing confidence and control. They continue to develop an understanding of musical composition, organising and manipulating ideas within musical structures and reproducing sounds from aural memory. 

Pupils are taught to: 

• 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 interrelated 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 

• The National Curriculum Programmes of Study and the Model Music Curriculum (DfE March 2021) provide guidance for planning in KS1 &KS2.
• ‘Musical Development Matters in the Early Years’ (Nicola Burke  2018) provides guidance for planning in the EYFS.
• The school’s curriculum map shows the units to be covered each term. 
• There is a medium-term plan for each unit of work. 
• Planning is annotated to show adaptations for children with SEND, lower attaining and those new to English to support access to  the content.
• More able children are planned for so that they can deepen their knowledge and skills. 

Teaching 

• Teaching is delivered by class teachers in the Nursery and Reception and by a specialist music teacher in KS1 & KS2.
• There is a weekly singing assembly for Years 1, 2, and 3, and one for Years 4, 5, and 6, led by the specialist music teacher. 

During music lessons, 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.
• Learn to play tuned and untuned percussion instruments and to handle them appropriately
• Use technology appropriately to advance to the next level of musical excellence. 
• Understand and explore how music is created, produced, and communicated by learning about pitch, duration, dynamics, tempo, timbre, texture, structure, and appropriate musical notation.

Impact

Feedback 

• The teacher will informally assess throughout any creation or rehearsal process, giving oral feedback and immediate strategies for improvement.
• Pupils are also assessed individually and when performing as part of an ensemble; playing or singing is evidence of achievement.  
• Students are encouraged to peer and self-assess: The evidence is in the critical listening of each student and the audience.  

Assessment

• AFL is used within each lesson to establish next steps for pupils. 
• Performance opportunities provide children with a way to present their work and teachers with a way to assess it. 
• EYFS: Teachers and Teaching Assistants make observations regarding the pupils’ development in music.