At Richard Coates Primary School, we aim to provide a musical environment that is enjoyable, diverse and creative and we value music as a vital part of the curriculum. Music allows children to express themselves and delight in what they are listening to or performing. It is a real chance to allow pupils to demonstrate our school motto “Let your Light Shine” where all pupils will have access to high quality experiences where they can flourish. Importantly, it is a chance for pupils to enjoy expressing themselves in a unique art form.
Children will have access to a range of tuned and untuned percussion instruments and have the opportunity to try many other musical instruments in school, with the creative process being at the heart of it. Pupils should get the opportunity to experience and appreciate the wide diversity of music in different cultures. As pupils progress through KS2, they should be able to think critically about what they are learning and understand the value of team-work and co-operation within music.
Aims
The national curriculum for Music aims to ensure that all pupils:
Can perform in various ways: whether that be using their voice or on an instrument.
Can listen with increasing concentration and understanding and be critical about what they have heard.
Can start to compose short pieces of music.
know about great musicians, and understand their historical and cultural importance.
Implementation
The skills and knowledge that children will develop throughout each Music topic are mapped across each year group and are progressive throughout the school. A systematic approach to the development of musical skills means that children are given opportunities to express their creative imagination, as well as practise and develop mastery in the key aspects of music: listening, performing, composition, knowledge of musical history as well as notation.
The school’s high-quality Music curriculum is supported through the availability of a wide range of quality instruments and resources, which are used to support children’s confidence and interest in Music. The school’s unique locality is also utilised, with planned opportunities for learning outside the classroom, as well as the involvement of adults with specialist skills from the local and wider community.
Impact
The structure of the Music curriculum ensures that children are able to develop their knowledge and understanding of the work of Musicians from a range of times and cultures and apply this knowledge to their own compositions. The opportunity for children to refine and develop their composing and performing skills over time is supported by effective lesson sequencing and progression between year groups. This also supports children in achieving age related expectations at the end of their cohort year.
The school environment also celebrates children’s achievements in Music and demonstrates the subject’s high status in the school, with outcomes, demonstrated in shows throughout the school year. The Music curriculum at Richard Coates contributes to children’s personal development in creativity, independence, judgement and self-reflection.