Intent:

At Bishop Hooper, children gain a firm understanding of what music is through listening, singing, playing, evaluating and composing across a wide variety of historical periods, styles, traditions, and musical genres. We are committed to ensuring children understand the value and importance of music to their own and others’ lives and wellbeing and also the impact music has in the wider community. All children have access to music regardless of their academic ability, race, ethnicity, background and language. SEND pupils are actively encouraged to participate fully as music is often an area of the curriculum which allows them to excel. We aim to provide children with the opportunity to progress to the next level of their creative excellence.

Implementation:

The music curriculum ensures children sing, listen, play, perform and evaluate. This is embedded in the classroom activities as well as our weekly Songs and Praise collective worship, various concerts and performances and the learning of instruments. Through the musical program Charanga, teachers are able to produce inclusive lessons for all children to access the musical curriculum in a fun and engaging way, further promoting a love of learning. Teachers deliver music following the Charanga programme, designed specifically for the teaching of music in primary schools. Charanga lessons are planned in sequences to provide children with the opportunities to review, remember, deepen and apply their understanding. The elements of music are taught in classroom lessons so that children are able to use some of the language of music to dissect it, and understand how it is made, played, appreciated and analysed. In the classroom, children learn how to play the recorder, the ocarina and a variety of percussion instruments. Playing various instruments enables children to use a range of methods to create notes, as well as how to read basic music notation. They also learn how to compose, focusing on different dimensions of music, which in turn feeds their understanding when listening, playing, or analysing music. Composing or performing using body percussion and vocal sounds is also part of the curriculum, which develops the understanding of musical elements without the added complexity of an instrument.

Impact:

Throughout the child’s journey at Bishop Hooper, their musical skills and understanding are built year on year, from singing nursery rhymes and action songs from memory and performing simple rhythm patterns on tuned and untuned percussion instruments in Early Years, progressing their skills and understanding in KS1 where they also experience whole class instrumental tuition on the recorder or ocarina, to further developing their skills and knowledge of the subject in lower KS2,  where the children access music confidently, and have the ability to read and follow a simple musical or graphical score. Throughout all of this the child’s enjoyment of music is a key element, running alongside the ‘taught’ musical skills and objectives.