WHITEHILLS PRIMARY SCHOOL putting children first. MUSIC POLICY Date reviewed: May 2017 Reviewed by: Sarah Mithcell Ratified by Governors: October 2017
MUSIC POLICY is the universal language of mankind (Henry Wadsworth Longfellow) expresses that which cannot be put into words and that which cannot remain silent. Rationale We see the teaching of at Whitehills Primary School as a means of providing children with a life enhancing experience. enables children to express thoughts, ideas and feelings in ways that they may previously not have been able to do. makes a significant contribution to children s self-esteem and development. Structure Children are taught weekly from Foundation Stage through to Year 6. It is taught as a separate subject and where possible is linked to other subjects. is supplemented by extra-curricular activities ( see later section for details). Aims We teach to:- Enable children to see as a life changing experience Develop sensitivity to and understanding of sound in general and to organised patterns of sounds and silence called. ideas, thoughts and feelings through involvement in composing, performing and listening activities. Develop social skills, awareness and respect through making co-operatively with others Offer the opportunity to develop personal satisfaction and self-confidence Develop an awareness of, and begin to recognise a wide variety of al styles, including of different cultures and different historical periods. Offer equal opportunity to all children to learn about and share in making, including those with additional needs. Encourage children receiving instrumental tuition to use their skills and knowledge in class and share with others in the school. Support other areas of the curriculum through cross curricular links. Promote and support other areas of the curriculum through cross curricular links. Promote and support curriculum for all children as an entitlement through classroom experience and to follow the National Curriculum in full. Promote the continuing development of expertise and confidence in for all members of the teaching staff. Recognise ways in which ICT skills maybe incorporated into, and developed by, the curriculum and used to enhance the al experiences of all children.
Organisation and Planning The core of al activity takes place in the studio or classroom, but use of the hall also provides opportunity to combine, movement and drama with e.g class assemblies, school performances. The planning of s is based mainly around the scheme which focuses on the development of the al elements through performing, composing, listening and appraising. These elements are;- Pitch (High/low) Duration (beat/rhythm) Dynamics (loud/ quiet) Tempo (fast/slow) Timbre ( quality of sound) Texture ( layers of sound) Silence Structure ( different sections on going throughout all the above) These elements are taught through discreet units from Foundation stage to Year 6. As staff confidence and skill is varied, the co-coordinator regularly demonstrates model s, particularly in the areas of appreciation and composition. The scheme is taught through books containing s plans and is supplemented by online additional materials. An example of planning across a half term for Year 2 is below. 4 weeks are devoted to the main teaching of unit, 1 week is devoted to and 1 week is devoted to composition on a range of subjects linked to that Year groups topics. MUSIC PLAN YEAR 2 AUTUMN AUTUMN WEEK 1 WEEK 2 WEEK 3 WEEK 4 WEEK 5 WEEK 6 (Unit 1) (Unit 2) bears ( Traditional Tales) Autumn The Nutcracker SPRING The Nutcracker
SPRING SUMMER SUMMER (Unit 3) (Unit 4) (Unit 5) (Unit 6) Birds Castles and knights etc Animals Seaside Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Percussion Percussion An example of planning across a half term for Year 5 is below. MUSIC PLAN YEAR 5 AUTUMN AUTUMN SPRING SPRING SUMMER SUMMER WEEK 1 WEEK 2 WEEK 3 WEEK 4 WEEK 5 WEEK 6 (Unit 1) (Unit 2) (Unit 3) (Unit 4) (Unit 5) (Unit 6) Introduction Assessment Assessment Tudors Inventions Fairground Spring Animals Rhythm work The Planets The Planets Sound of Sound of African African
This plan is replicated in all Year groups from Year 1-6. In Years 5 and 6, one session a half term is devoted to teaching to introduce basic staff notation and al definitions. Singing is considered a hugely important part of in our school. Every week we hold a singing assembly. This is delivered alternately for different key stages e.g week one Years 1,2,3 and week two Years 4,5,6. This ensures that songs are pitched correctly and that all ages can participate in singing enthusiastically and confidently. Differentiation Teachers will provide opportunities for appropriate activities to be assigned according to ability levels. These may be activities for individuals, small groups or the whole class. Many activities emphasise differentiation by outcome, but also provides extension activities for more able children. All children from Year 2 upwards have the opportunity to play a descant recorder in the form of extra-curricular clubs. Children are able to access peripatetic s from visiting teachers from Northampton and Performing Arts Trust in brass, woodwind, strings, drums and guitar. If children show an aptitude for during their class, they will be encouraged to take up one of the instruments. These s are paid for by parents in accordance with the school s charging policy. The school aims to provide access to live making via specialist visitors, Northamptonshire and Performing Arts Trust instrumental groups and local school bands. weeks are held in school three times a year to give the children opportunities to experience performing in front of peers and adults. All children who learn instruments or attend extra-curricular clubs are included in these performances. Gifted and Talented ally talented pupils can be developed by:- Setting demanding challenges, expecting higher quality responses Encouraging connections between ideas Pupils setting their own challenging tasks Giving opportunities to practice higher technical skills Composing activities are timetabled once a half term. This gives opportunities for gifted and talented children to demonstrate their deeper understanding of and al techniques. Leading/conducting the class.
Encouragement of participating in a Saturday centre or auditioning for county groups. Health and safety Instruments are put away carefully after each session. Instruments are stored appropriately to size, weight and shape on trolleys in the studio. Children are taught to take care when transporting instruments. Extra care is taken with any electronic equipment. Appropriate steps are taken to ensure hygienic use of blowing instruments such as recorders. Resources A variety of tuned and untuned percussion instruments are available for class. scheme books and plans + online additional supplementary resources from Foundation to Year 6. CD players Piano in hall Electric drum kit and full drum kit CDs for listening to in assembly Keyboards A wide selection of song books School also subscribe to Sing Up magazines are delivered containing ideas and songs half termly and online materials are also available. Assessment provides guidance for assessment at Foundation Stage and end of unit assessment opportunities and record sheets for Years 1-6. The school assessment system (Symphony Assessment System) has sheets with core and non-core objectives and statements. Children are then judged to working at emerging, expected or exceeding at the end of each year group. Statutory requirements are that teachers provide an annual report to parents with the child s level recorded. By the end of Foundation stage children should be able to:- Know the names of a variety of untuned and some tuned percussion instruments
Recognise the instruments by their names and sounds Know how to handle them and play them correctly Have experience of playing a wide range of percussion instruments Have learned a variety of traditional nursery rhymes, counting songs, singing games Respond to pre-arranged signals for starting and stopping Have experience of dynamics, tempo and pitch Begin to show awareness of beat Be able to listen to quietly to short extracts of and talk about them By the end of Key Stage One pupils have been taught to:- Use their voice expressively and creatively by singing songs and speaking chants and rhymes Play tuned and untuned instruments ally Listen with concentration and understanding to a range of high quality live and recorded Experiment with, create, select and combine sounds using the inter related dimensions of Represent sounds with symbols Perform simple patterns and accompaniments keeping to a steady pulse Recognise and explore how sounds can be organised By the end of Key Stage Two pupils have been taught to:- Sing and play ally with increasing confidence and control Develop an understanding of al composition, organising and manipulating ideas within al structures Play and perform in solo ensembles contexts, using their voices and playing al instruments with increasing accuracy, fluency, control and expression Improvise and compose for a range of purposes using the inter related dimensions of Listen with attention to detail and recall sounds with increasing aural memory Use and understand staff and other al notations
Appreciate and understand a wide range of high quality live and recorded drawn from different traditions and from great composers and ians Develop an understanding of the history of Above all we want our children to be confident in whatever form of they choose to take part in. Policy review date: May 2019