Music at Lovington Church of England Primary School

Intent 

Here at Lovington Primary School, music education is highly valued. It is an enjoyable experience for pupils and teachers. Teachers recognise the fundamental importance of music in supporting child development and ensure that music lessons are highly quality and engaging.  

Children experience music from a variety of cultures and eras throughout their lessons to ignite their passion and appreciation for music that will last a lifetime. Children participate in a range of musical activities, developing their confidence at the same time. They develop their understanding of technical terminology alongside refining their skills such as rhythm, pitch and how music is structured. Over time, as children’s confidence grows, they perform aspects of their music learning to their peers and adults.  

We intend to:

– Promote a curiosity for the subject; an understanding and acceptance of the validity and importance of all types of music.
– Promote creativity and expression.
– Know and understand the key concepts of ‘Tradition and Culture’, ‘Quality’ and ‘Expression’ within music.
– Equip pupils with the following musical techniques. They will combine notes to play scales and chords, creating rich musical sounds; they will read musical notations, strum, strike and blow to match notation and create melody and will memorise through practice.

Our Children will:

•  Demonstrate a general awareness of sound both musically and in their everyday environment.
• Experiment with sound and identify sound from a variety of media.
• Listen to a variety of music with attention and understanding.
•  Recognise the inter-related dimensions of music such as pitch, dynamics and duration of sound.
• Imitate and recall simple rhythmic and melodic patterns through percussion instruments, body percussion and vocals.
• Join in as a member of a music-making group and play instruments.
• Create short compositions in response to given stimuli.
• Improvise using instruments, body percussion or vocals. Demonstrate highly positive attitudes towards the subject and be aspirational in their goals.
• Learn songs from memory and join in with a wide range of singing styles.

Our Teachers will:

• Teach a music curriculum providing quality, range, depth, progression, challenge and personalisation.
• Use the ICT based Charanga Music Scheme to deliver exciting, contemporary and relevant music lessons.
• Teach one musical focus each half term linked to the Artforms Progression in Music document, thus ensuring progression across Key Stages.
• Identify gaps in understanding and swiftly overcome these with precise teaching.
• Provide the children with a rich curriculum of carefully crafted lessons that ensures time for practise and consolidation.
• Provide opportunities for our children to: listen to, make and analyse music working both individually and collaboratively thus fostering an enthusiasm for music beyond the classroom.

 

“When we sing together in harmony, our hearts start beating together.”  

  Tania De Jong (Australian Soprana) 

 

Implementation 

 

Impact – What knowledge and skills are obtained?

At Lovington C of E Primary School, every pupil will:

• Be given equal opportunities to fulfil their potential within music, regardless of ethnicity, culture, class, gender or special educational needs.
• Have access to a varied programme within which they will discover something that they enjoy, thus cultivating a starting point for a lifelong interest in learning.
• Complete each key stage with a high proficiency in each aspect of music.
• Believe that they are good at music and will have the resilience required to take part in all elements of the music curriculum.
• Be a listener, a creator and a performer and will understand the culture and history of music.
• Be exposed to meaningful, high-quality experiences and lessons that promote choice and independent thinking.
• Be aware of their own music strengths as well as areas for improvement.
• Be encouraged to develop a positive and lifelong relationship with Music and musical activity.
• Have an improved sense of achievement, pride, self-confidence and where relevant, improved behaviour and increased academic achievement because of the creative engagement of music making and team work.

 

Music is taught as a discrete subject but also woven through our other curriculum subjects. Particularly in KS1, songs during maths lessons for concepts such as times tables, doubling and subtraction are enhanced by singing, which allows knowledge to become memorable. Music is entwined in our computing curriculum by composing digital music, and in geography, children hear music from different cultures and understand what role music can play in others' lives.  

Our weekly singing in collective worship allows the children opportunities to develop their singing skills and gain an understanding of how ensembles and rounds work. Throughout the academic year, performances, such as nativities and drama productions demonstrate that music is very important to the life of the school.  

Our school choir meets on a weekly basis to rehearse performances for local community events, outside of school, singing at Church as well as enriching our Collective Worship. Children are encouraged to take on solos as well as singing as part of an ensemble.  

Expert practitioners come into school each year to teach the children a sequence of lessons that develop a wide range of musical skills.

Four main concepts have been mapped out across the year groups to ensure that children build upon their prior knowledge. These four concepts, our golden threads are:

• Listening and Appraising
• Singing
• Composition
• Performing

 

Pippin Class - African Drumming Enrichment 

September 2024 

 

“Music is the universal language of mankind.”  

 – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow  

 

Impact  

Music allows children to gain a deeper appreciation of culture and history, both in terms of their personal individuality and that of diverse cultures around the world. Children are offered various ways to engage, whether as listeners, creators, or performers. They can express and share their thoughts, opinions, and ideas about music, recognising and respecting the differences in perspective as a positive aspect. Children will have the opportunity to analyse musical components, sing, and experience rhythm and pulse.   

At Lovington Primary, children are provided with opportunities beyond the National Curriculum to further develop their understanding. These include having visitors with a musical talent. The children also participate in school productions and community events.

 

Pippin Class - End of unit performance 

July 2024 

 

 

See below a selection of messages from parents, grandparents and governors following the KS2 production.

Summer 2024

 

"Congratulations  to the children and staff for the brilliant production this evening. The acting and singing were outstanding. You could see the children loved performing!"

 

"Lovington School should be very proud! What a wonderful performance of music and fabulous singing. "

 

"We had several family members come along to the performances, they were taken aback by all that they saw. My parents remarked that they felt as though they’d been to the theatre!"

 

" I just wanted to say how fantastic this evening’s performance was. Wow! Well done to everyone involved!"

 

" Congratulations to all, on the wonderful production this evening. The children were amazing, all their words could be heard so clearly, whether singing or speaking. It was a joy, with many spine-tingling moments.

Thank you!"

 

 

Our Music Gallery