Enjoy achieving together…to be the best that we can be!
Curriculum Intent
At Usworth Colliery our aim is for all children, regardless of ability, background or starting point, to develop a love of music. We aim to inspire our children in the arts and grow young musicians of the future by presenting the opportunities available to them.
We will expose all children to a range of musical genres and themes, broadening their knowledge of cultures around the world. By doing so, we will nurture respectful children that value our growing diversity within school.
We aim to shape children that can work collaboratively with their peers, who can create a supportive, nurturing environment. They will learn to be resilient and adaptable when things may not work.
Through listening and appraising, children will learn to respectfully articulate their opinions using musical terminology. Through singing, performing, improvising and composing, we will grow experimental learners that are confident to share their creations in front of an audience.
Implementation
In Music at Usworth Colliery, we deliver lessons through the teaching tool ‘Charanga’. All year groups follow a progressive scheme of learning which inspires children to appraise and explore a range of different genres each year. Our key skills ensure clear progression through school in the main strands – listening and appraising, singing, playing and performing and stave notation. Through the use of percussion instruments, glockenspiels and recorders the children can develop their improvising and composition skills in each unit. They learn to be creative and work collaboratively with their peers, adapting their work where necessary. The children then have the opportunity to perform their compositions in a celebration assembly at the end of one term in the year.
Across school, we are broadening the extra-curricular activities available to the children. We currently have a school choir and children access individual guitar, ukulele and keyboard tuition lessons. Alongside this, we have weekly ‘Rocksteady’ sessions where the children can form a rock band and perform music of their choice. They then work towards an end of term concert, where they can perform the song they have been practicing to their parents and peers.
Every week, KS1 and KS2 take part in a singing assembly where they are challenged to learn new songs and express their feelings. The songs are based around themes that link directly to our school values of aspiration, care and resilience.
Not only do our children get to develop their love of music in school, we like to take the children to local events where they can experience performing as part of a large group. Over the last few years, we have taken part in the ‘Sunderland Sings’ event at the Sunderland Empire and this academic year the choir will be taking part in the Music Outreach programme, hosted by Durham Cathedral.
Over the past 3 years we have worked hard to embed the use of cultural passports within the curriculum with the aim of broadening the children’s knowledge of art forms or extra-curricular groups they can take part in. Within the passport there are a wide range of cultural and arts experiences, from visiting a local landmark to seeing a live performance. The children complete 6-8 experiences per year with the intention that they will then have a completed passport by the time they leave in Year 6. This will promote a love of the arts, supporting our long term aim to develop musicians and creative artists of the future.
Impact
In Music, children will have covered a range of musical genres and themes through their time in school. All children will feel valued and that their contributions are always respected. They will have played different instruments and built confidence to express their personal creativity in a range of ways. They will show resilience to improvise and be experimental, without judgment. By the end of KS2, children will be passionate about music and have a better understanding of their own musical tastes. They will recognise the opportunities available to continue expressing their love of music and use their transferable skills in other aspects of school life. We will have children that are proud to achieve and confident to share their passion for music.
Music in Early Years Foundation Stage
In EYFS Music is taught using Charanga. The 3 main learning areas in EYFS are beat, rhythm and pitch. The children achieve these skills by exploring the beat and rhythm of different songs using a range of practical resources and un-tuned instruments. They are then able to develop a basic understanding of pitch by singing along to familiar songs and learning through song within all curriculum areas. The three learning areas that underpin the EYFS framework for Music are then the foundation for the skills they will move on to acquire and refine as they progress through school.
Music
Experiences
Our guitar and keyboard tutors are always keen to have more children learning their craft. The children have experienced a whole school assembly where they thoroughly enjoyed hearing about the skills they can develop if they take up lessons and heard different types of music. Every year group has been given the chance to experience what guitar and keyboard lessons are like. They were asked questions and even had a go at playing the instruments! See the pictures below.
Each year group performs a piece of music that they have been learning during Music lessons from one term that year. This may be a piece of music that they have learnt to play along to or it could be their own composition. All children get to experience performing as a musician in front of an audience. See the pictures of Year 3 below enjoying their performance.
This year the choir had the privilege to take part in the Durham Music Outreach Programme. Over the course of Autumn Term, the children have been practicing a range of songs during their choir after school club and in morning workshops. They have worked alongside members of the outreach programme, practicing as a choir and with other schools involved in the programme. They then performed to family and members of the public in the grand setting of Durham Cathedral. The children loved singing as part of their community and experiencing what it is like to perform in a large venue, in front of a huge audience. See the pictures below.
Throughout the year, the children are able to sign up to Rocksteady where they can play as part of a band. They get to choose their band name and then learn and perform songs of their choice. The whole school took part in an assembly and then key stage workshops to encourage children to be a part of Rocksteady. The children who take part in Rocksteady have a concert each term to showcase the work they have been doing in front of their parents and peers. See the pictures below.
