Intent

Pupils should be taught to sing and play musically with increasing confidence and control. They should develop an understanding of musical composition, organising and manipulating ideas within musical structures and reproducing sounds from aural memory.

Pupils should be 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 interrelated 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

Implementation

Our music curriculum aims to promote a love of music and inspire to become creative and confident in exploring and understanding the many benefits that it brings to people's lives. 

We follow a music scheme called Charanga, and teach music on a fortnightly basis across the school. Each term we teach approximately 6 lessons, which focus on the children learning a particular song. Each lesson begins by giving the children the opportunity to listen and appraise a new song from a range of styles and genres, considering the instruments used, how the song is made up and their opinion on that particular song. 

During the main part of the lesson the children are given the opportunity to practise and develop the following skills:

• Find and following a pulse and rhythm 
• Singing
• Improvisation
• Composition 
• Using instruments
• Performing

Impact

Our aim is for children to leave Arno Vale as:

• Creative and confident singers and musicians
• Experienced in many musical genres
• Reflective and responsive listeners
• Having had opportunities to see and experience the benefits that music can bring to a community.

Music for Children with SEN

Music at our school is fully inclusive, and all children are encouraged and supported to learn music. This is done primarily on an individual basis, depending on the needs of each child. Many of our children with SEND needs respond positively to music and get a huge amount of enjoyment from their musical experiences in school. The resources can be adapted to suit a wide range of needs and can be used outside of the classroom in smaller groups when required. Historically, when children have not wished to participate in the performance aspect of music we have made allowance for this, offering performance opportunities on a smaller scale or pre-recorded where they may feel more comfortable. We are constantly striving to complete additional training to ensure our music teaching continues to be fully inclusive. 

We learn music to help us develop an appreciation of music and to develop skills so that we can express our thoughts and feelings through sound.