Music
Intent: At Datchet St Mary’s Academy we all adhere to the school ethos which is expressed through our Christian values; love and compassion, friendship, honesty, resilience, and equality. It is our intent, that within a modern, social culture, we will prepare children with the skills and resilience required to be a confident and responsible citizen. At Datchet St Mary’s Academy our music curriculum intends to inspire creativity, self-expression and encourages our children on their musical journeys as well as giving them opportunities to connect with others. We hope to foster a lifelong love of music by exposing them to diverse musical experiences and igniting a passion for music. By listening and responding to different musical styles, finding their voices as singers and performers and as composers, all will enable them to become confident, reflective musicians.
Implementation: The music curriculum ensures students sing, listen, play, compose, perform and evaluate. This is embedded in classroom activities as well as weekly singing assemblies, various concerts and performances, the learning of instruments, and the joining of musical ensembles. We follow a broad and balanced Music curriculum that builds on previous learning and provides both support and challenge for learners. We follow a music scheme that ensures progression of skills and covers all aspects of the music curriculum. All classes will have a scheduled Music lesson each week. We want children to use the language of music to discuss it, and understand how it is made, played, appreciated and analysed. In the classroom students learn how to play various un-tuned percussion instruments and a tuned instrument, glockenspiel. In doing so they understand the different principles of creating notes, as well as how to devise and read their own musical scores and basic music notation. They also learn how to compose focussing on different dimensions of music, which in turn feeds their understanding when listening, playing, or analysing music. Composing or performing using body percussion, vocal sounds and technology is also part of the curriculum, which develops the understanding of musical elements. Well planned sequenced lessons are used to build on prior knowledge and skills taught to ensure progress in the children’s learning. Effective teaching ensures regular assessments and various forms of feedback to check understanding, provide further challenge. We want to ensure that Music is embedded in our whole school curriculum and that opportunities for enhancing learning by using music are always taken.
Impact:
Whilst in school, children have opportunities to forge their own musical journey, which allows them to discover areas of strength, as well as areas they might like to improve upon. The integral nature of music and the learner creates an enormously rich palette from which a child may access fundamental abilities such as: achievement, self-confidence, interaction with and awareness of others, and self-reflection. The children will also develop an understanding of culture and history, both in relation to students individually, as well as ethnicities from across the world. Children are able to enjoy music, in as many ways as they choose - either as listener, creator or performer. They can discuss music and comprehend its parts. They can sing, feel a pulse, add rhythms and create melodies in a group and they can further develop these skills in the future and continue to enjoy and embrace music in their lives.
Our Music Curriculum is a high quality ,well thought out, and planned to demonstrate progress.
Progress in Music is demonstrated through regularly reviewing and scrutinising children’s work, in accordance with our Music assessment policy to ensure that progression of skills is taking place. Namely through:
The Music curriculum will contribute to children’s personal development in creativity, independence, judgement and self-reflection. This would be seen in them being able to talk confidently about their work, and sharing their work with others.