Music

At Colham Manor Primary School we learn music because we aspire for all children to develop their creativity to compose and sing a range of music. This supports them to thrive as individuals, who are able to express their feelings and emotions through music.

Through music, we are provided with a powerful universal language which helps promote unity, enabling us to thrive by processing and expressing our emotions and fuelling our imagination. Music is important in developing individual discipline, focus and memory. Whether we are singing, playing, or listening, we develop our aural discrimination through music, which is an important part of communication and literacy.

Our Approach

We intend to educate the 'whole' child with a well rounded musical knowledge through their curriculum, extra-curricular music and range of musical experiences.

Our Music Curriculum is taught through a combination of subject knowledge and composing, performing, listening and appraising skills. Learning takes place both inside and outside the classroom. Our curriculum map and long term planning sets out sequences of learning in the following key areas which, when taken together, all contribute towards the steadily increasing development of musicianship:

Singing
Listening
Composing
Performing/Instrumental Performance

We deliver our Music curriculum primarily through 'Get Set 4 Music' scheme of work. This has been carefully selected to align with the Model Music Curriculum and other non-statutory guidance around best practice in music education.

Musical knowledge and skills are further embedded and mapped out through our Learning Means the World core thematic units. The musical learning within these themes is designed to enable pupils to build on and contextualise prior learning using a contemporary, meaningful framework.

What Does Music Look Like?

Pupils in Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) will be taught music as an integral part of their topic work covered during the academic year. All musical objectives within the EYFS are underpinned by the objectives of the early learning goals (ELGs). The music curriculum in the EYFS is delivered with particular reference to being imaginative and expressive, which enables children to:

Sing a range of well-known nursery rhymes and songs
Perform songs, rhymes, poems and stories with others
Try to move in time with music, when appropriate

All pupils within KS1 and KS2 are taught music in line with the requirements of the national curriculum.

In Key Stage 1, pupils are taught to:

Use their voices expressively and creatively by singing songs and speaking chants and rhymes.
Play tuned and untuned instruments musically.
Listen with concentration and understanding to a range of high-quality live and recorded music.
Experiment with, create, select and combine sounds using the inter-related dimensions of music.

In Key Stage 2, the focus for music is to teach pupils to sing and play musically with increasing confidence and control. They will be able to develop an understanding of musical composition, organising and manipulating ideas within musical structures and reproducing sounds from aural memory.

In Key Stage 2, pupils are taught to:

Play and perform in solo and ensemble contexts, using their voices and playing musical instruments with increasing accuracy, fluency, control and expression.
Improvise and compose music for a range of purposes using the inter-related dimensions of music.
Listen with attention to detail and recall sounds with increasing aural memory.
Use and understand staff and other musical notations.
Appreciate and understand a wide range of high-quality live and recorded music drawn from different traditions and from great composers and musicians.
Develop an understanding of the history of music.

At Colham Manor, we work in partnership with Hillingdon Music Hub and Rocksteady Music School specialist teachers. With them, children can learn a musical instrument in addition to their class music lessons.

Curriculum maps and long term overviews

Knowledge and Skill Progression

At Colham Manor, children are offered access to Rocksteady Music School rock and pop band lessons.

During these 30 minute lessons run by trained musicians, pupils choose from learning the electric guitar, keyboard, drums or vocals. During this time, they progress in their musicianship, confidence and teamwork skills. They also benefit from taking part in termly concerts at school assemblies, enjoying their opportunity to show off their progress to friends, teachers and parents with the rest of their band.