Music

Music is such a fundamental human experience that we want it to play a huge role in our school. We have great music offer and cover this dynamic and exciting subject in a number of ways, which we hope to share with you here. There is also a parent information booklet available to download at the bottom of the page. To explain how we teach music, we have broken this page into three broad sections:

Intent: the knowledge and skills that pupils will gain 

Implementation: how the curriculum developed or adopted by the school is taught 

Impact: the outcomes that pupils achieve as a result of the education they have received

Curriculum Vision Statement:

'By the time children leave Navigation they will have developed a deep love of music through critical engagement with a wide canon of music and the ability to compose their own music. Children should have the opportunity to develop creativity and confidence through a range of instruments.

Intent: 

Our curriculum vision statement outlines our broad goals for music, whereas our whole school curriculum progression map gives a detailed breakdown of what each year group is taught.  There is also an overview of the different units of work that each year group covers. Go to the bottom of the page and you can open these documents and take a look.

Here is what Kapow say about their intent. The intention of the Kapow Primary music scheme is first and foremost to help children to feel that they are musical, to develop a life-long love of music. We focus on developing the skills, knowledge and understand that children need in order to become confident performers, composers and listening. Our curriculum introduces children to music from all around the world and across generations, teaching children to respect and appreciated the music of all traditions and communities.

Children will develop the musical skills of singing, playing tuned and untuned instruments, improvising and composing music and listening and responding to music. They will develop an understanding of the history and cultural context of the music that they listen to and learn how music can be written down. Through music, our curriculum helps children develop transferable skills such as team-working, leadership, creative thinking, problem-solving, decision-making and presentation and performance skills. These skills are vital to children’s development as learning and have a wider application in their general lives outside and beyond school.

Kapow Primary’s Music scheme of work enables pupils to meet the end of key stage attainment targets and aims found in the national curriculum.

Implementation: 

Music is primarily taught through music lessons which take place each week. We use a scheme called Kapow to help structure these lessons. The scheme of work fulfills the statutory requirements for music outlined in the National Curriculum (2014) and aligns with the Department for Education’s Model Music Curriculum (2021).

Kapow’s Primary Music scheme takes a holistic approach to music, in which individual strands below are woven together to create engaging and enriching learning experiences:

• Performing
• Listening
• Composing
• The history of music
• The inter-related dimensions of music

Each five-lesson unit combines these strands within a cross-curricular topic designed to capture pupils’ imagination and encourage them to 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 with control. They will learn to recognise and name the interrelated dimensions of music: pitch, duration, tempo, timbre, structure, texture and dynamics – and to use these expressively in their own improvisations and compositions.

The instrumental scheme lessons complement the Kapow scheme of work and allow lower-key stage pupils to develop their expertise in using a tuned instrument for a minimum of one term as recommended in the Model Music Curriculum.

Our National Curriculum mapping document shows which of our units cover each of the NC attainment targets as well as each of these strands within it. The progression of skills document shows the skills that are taught within each year group and how these skills develop year on year to ensure attainment targets are securely met by the end of each key stage.

The Kapow primary scheme follows the spiral curriculum model where previous skills and knowledge are returned to and built upon. Children progress in terms of tackling more complex tasks and doing simple tasks better, as well as developing an understanding of knowledge of the history of music, staff and other musical notations, as well as the interrelated dimensions of music and more.

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 incorporate 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, as well as making cross-curricular links with other areas of learning.

Differentiated guidance is available for every lesson to ensure that lessons can be accessed by all pupils and opportunities to stretch pupils’ learning are available when required.

Strong subject knowledge is vital for staff to be able to deliver a highly effective and robust music curriculum. Each unit's lessons includes multiple teacher videos to develop subject knowledge and support ongoing CPD, aiding teachers in their own acquisition of musical skills and knowledge. Further CPD opportunities can also be found via webinars with our music subject specialists.

Music lessons are generally taught by the class teacher. However, there are certain year groups that will be taught by a music specialist from the Trafford Music Service. These are exciting ten-week blocks, in which the children will receive an instrument to use in class and at home. They develop their skills and aptitude over time and then the unit culminates in a performance in front of the parents. 

We also promote musicality throughout the school by having a culture of singing across the school. Years 1-6 have a weekly singing assembly in which they learn a variety of songs and our whole school assembly always finishes with a song too. Singing is also an integral part of all of the performances from our EYFS nativities, to the Y6 play (which is put on in a real theatre for the parents) and all the performances children experience in between. 

Impact:

The music curriculum is led by an experienced member of staff.  Each year, as part of the whole school approach to curriculum development - outcomes are assessed by teachers and then analysed by subject leads to ensure our high standards are maintained.  This analysis can then be used to provide support and resources where needed to maintain high standards across all subjects. 

Files to Download