Music is one of the performing arts that has the most impact and influence on our daily lives and provides an outlet for creative expression in every sphere of society. At Ellington Primary School, we recognise the importance and value of music and aim to reflect this in our curriculum. For many years, we have provided regular opportunities for children to learn the skills required to play a musical instrument via external teachers, with high quality lessons in the classroom laying the foundations of music theory and allowing opportunities for musical appraisal and discussion, as well as exploring composition. We regularly try to take groups of children outside of the school environment to perform for a range of audiences, developing the children’s confidence.
In classroom music lessons, teachers expose the children to a wide range of music that they can listen to and appraise. They participate in a range of activities to develop particular music skills, including singing, improvising and composing alongside their classmates.
The impact of our music curriculum on the learning of our children is measured using formative assessment throughout the year by teachers. Kapow lessons include guidance to support teachers in assessing pupils against the learning objectives and there is a short quiz for pupils to complete to demonstrate new subject knowledge. At the end of each unit there is also often a performance element where teachers can also make a summative assessment of pupils’ learning. Teachers carefully consider the objective of each lesson and whether children have successfully met enough criteria to have shown that they have grasped an area of the curriculum.
Children are encouraged to evaluate their own musical understanding and how confident they feel during self-assessment activities. More broadly, the impact of the music curriculum is shown through the children’s confidence levels and in their self esteem. Fully partaking in effective music teaching allows children to be creative and innovative, and having frequent opportunities to perform helps them to understand their potential as musicians and builds confidence which can influence many spheres of life. Being exposed to such a wide range of musical traditions broadens the children’s horizons and they learn to appreciate and understand cultures from around the world, increasing their understanding of the wider world and their empathy. Children’s musical understanding will be evident in speaking to them, as they show pride in what they have learnt and understanding of key aspects of the music curriculum.