Intent

At Bishop Ridley C of E Primary School, we aim to develop a love of music by providing a high-quality musical education which engages and inspires pupils, increasing their self-confidence and creativity.

By studying music at Bishop Ridley, pupils will learn to sing, create music on their own and with others, and will have the opportunity to learn a musical instrument. Through experiencing a variety of musical genres, pupils will develop a critical engagement with music, helping them to listen, review and evaluate what they hear. Studying music from a range of historical periods and traditions will help children to consider the relationship between music, culture and history. Pupils will examine how music is created, produced and communicated through the dimensions of pitch, duration, dynamics, tempo, timbre, texture and structure.

Musical education at Bishop Ridley will be focused around 3 key components: performing, composing and listening. Learning will progress sequentially, with new concepts and ideas introduced gradually to build on children’s prior knowledge. From the Early Years, pupils begin their musical development by gaining an understanding of pitch and rhythm. Beginning in Key Stage 1, 30-minute weekly music lessons will help pupils develop their ability to control sound, listen and appraise, and perform confidently to others. From Key Stage 2, pupils will be introduced to and become able to use musical notations confidently to compose music, whilst being given autonomy to realise their imagination in sound.

In-class music teaching will be supported by the wider musical life of the school. All pupils will sing collectively during Collective Worships and singing assemblies. Children are offered the opportunity to have instrumental lessons in groups and, in Upper Key Stage 2, can join the school choir and take part in a Young Voices concert at the O2 Arena.

Implementation

The implementation of the Music curriculum at Bishop Ridley is based on the National curriculum and learning is sequenced to provide coherent progression from EYFS to KS2 as children develop their musical knowledge and understanding.

At Bishop Ridley, musical development begins in the Early Years Foundation Stage, as children begin to develop their understanding of the 3 key musical components: performing, composing and listening. In Nursery and Reception, children will sing as part of a whole class, listen to sound and respond to what they hear, and create their own songs or improvise around one that is already known. Their understanding of pitch will develop as they sing songs whilst increasingly matching pitch and following melodies and their confidence in performing will start as they remember and perform songs with others whilst trying to move in time with the music.

Beginning in Key Stage 1, we will use Kapow Primary’s music scheme as the foundation for our music lessons. Music is taught once a week, by the class teacher. Each five-lesson unit weaves together the five strands of music (performing, listening, composing, the history of music and the interrelated dimensions of music) in a cross-curricular topic to capture pupils’ imagination and explore music enthusiastically. Over the course of the scheme, children will be taught how to sing fluently and expressively, and play tuned and untuned instruments accurately and with control.

In each lesson, pupils will actively participate in musical activities drawn from a range of styles and traditions, developing their musical skills and their understanding of how music works. Lessons will use a range of teaching strategies from independent tasks, paired and group work as well as improvisation and teacher-led performances. Lessons are ‘hands-on’ and incorporate movement and dance elements. Each unit culminates in a performance which allows children to share what they have learnt.

Musical experiences throughout the wider life of the school support pupils’ learning. All children from Reception to Year 6 sing together weekly as part of Collective Worship. Children in KS2 can take part in group musical lessons and Year 5 and 6 pupils have the opportunity to join the school choir.

Impact

Pupils should leave Bishop Ridley with a range of musical skills to enable them to succeed in their secondary education and be able to enjoy and appreciate music throughout their lives.

The impact of Bishop Ridley’s music curriculum on pupil progress will be constantly monitored through both formative and summative assessment. Teachers will assess pupils in each lesson against the learning objectives and at the end of each unit there will be a performance element where teachers will make a summative assessment of pupils’ learning. Pupils will also be able to self-assess their own learning through knowledge organisers, which will provide them with a highly-visual record of their key learning to refer back to throughout the unit.

Progress in music is also measured through the confidence pupils show when performing, composing and listening and their ability to express themselves musically at and beyond school. They will be able to show an appreciation for and respect for a wide range of musical styles around the world and will understand how music is influenced by the wider cultural, social and historical contexts in which it is developed.

Successful music teaching will ensure pupils demonstrate and articulate an enthusiasm for music and are able to identify their own musical preferences.