Music

Back

Vision and Aims

At Oxclose Primary academy, we believe that our pupils should have access to a wide range of musical opportunities, giving them the opportunity to showcase their skills and enjoy music. By using Charanga, we are accessing a range of different genres and giving our pupils the chance to listen to and learn how to play music to songs that they are both familiar and unfamiliar with. Opportunities for both individual and group performances is evident throughout our music curriculum. At the end of all units, our pupils are encouraged to evaluate their own performances, highlighting their achievements, strengths and areas for improvement following their final performances.

At Oxclose Primary Academy, our Music curriculum aims to ensure that all pupils:

  • Develop confidence when learning to play a musical instrument
  • Engage in a wide range of musical opportunities and events
  • Develop an enjoyment for music
  • Evaluate own performances

Sequencing Rationale 

Themes

Our music curriculum has been designed to ensure that themes run throughout the units of work and build upon the skills taught year after year. The following themes are evident throughout our music curriculum:

  • Singing
  • Playing
  • Improvisation
  • Composition
  • Performing

Links

  • Y1 Autumn (Hey You) links to Y5 Summer (Fresh Prince of Bel-Air)
  • Y2 Spring (I Wanna play in a band) links to Y5 Autumn (Livin’ on a prayer)
  • Y3 Summer (Bringing us together) links to Y2 Summer (Friendship song) Y4 Spring (Stop!) Y6 Summer (You’ve got a friend)
  • Y4 Autumn (Mamma Mia) links to Y5 Autumn (Livin’ on a prayer)
  • Y4 Spring (Stop!) links to Y5 Summer (Fresh Prince of Bel-Air)
  • Y5 Spring (Make you feel my love) links to Y4 Autumn (Mamma Mia)
  • Y6 Autumn (A new Year Carol) links to Y1 Spring (In the groove)
  • Y6 Summer (You’ve got a friend) links to Y5 Spring (Make you feel my love)

Extraordinary Opportunities

At Oxclose Primary Academy, we offer a range of extra-curricular activities for our pupils, outside of their allocated lesson times. Pupils in Reception access Tiny Tweeties in Autumn Term.  Across Key Stage 2 pupils have the opportunity to attend the Play and Shine Club where they learn to play the glockenspiel and enjoy performing a wide range of musical genres Recorder Club where they have the opportunity to practise their skills and enjoy playing the instrument for enjoyment and to showcase their transferrable skills and Singing Club where pupils have the opportunity to develop their singing skills and sing together as a large group.

We also offer the opportunity to learn how to play the violin and drums.  These sessions are positive experiences for our pupils and they look forward to attending their lessons each week.

Intent

At Oxclose Primary Academy we believe that pupils should be given the opportunity to explore a varied range of musical genres and musical instruments.

During their time here, it’s our aim for pupils in EYFS, Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 to have opportunities to explore sound, learn about beat and rhythm, explore changes in tempo and pitch and be able to perform in some way with confidence and control throughout our ambitious and rich music curriculum.

We believe that by allowing our pupils to develop their musical knowledge and ability through a balanced curriculum we are able to foster creativity and encourage them to develop skills in all aspects of their learning.

Implementation

Music is one of our enhancer subjects within school and we have a Long Term Plan with a focus for each year group. The Long Term Plan is closely matched with the Charanga scheme of work and the National Curriculum.  Charanga follows a structured pattern of lessons for each year group, ensuring all children have the opportunity to access a range of genres, skills and instruments during their allocated music time. Units of work are progressive and build on prior learning in each year group.

As well as weekly music lessons, which are taught alternating half terms, peripatetic teachers visit school to deliver bespoke violin and drum lessons to pupils from Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2. This enhances our curriculum and allows children with an interest in performance to access further learning. In EYFS, local musicians Tiny Tweeties visit the class regularly to provide opportunities for our younger pupils to join in with rhymes, songs and performance.

Pupils across all year groups learn how to read music and play an instrument across the year. Charanga offers opportunities for pupils to learn how to play the glockenspiel and recorder and these skills develop further which ensures they have opportunities to build on prior knowledge.

The whole school takes part in festivals such as Christmas and Easter; this allows our pupils to engage in whole school activity and encourages choral singing. Every year group has opportunities to perform and share music, listen and appraise and improvise. Singing is a highly valued aspect of our music curriculum and our pupils are taught to sing with increased accuracy, control, fluency and expression as they progress through school.

Assessment takes place across lessons, at the end of each topic and across the school year. Teachers use this assessment to inform their planning for future learning and identify those pupils that may need extra support, likewise, those pupils that may show a particular strength in some aspects of music.

Impact

Pupils will be able to confidently explore all aspects of the musical curriculum and develop their skills of performance across their time here. They will have experience of reading music, knowledge of the beat and rhythm and have an understanding of control.

To enable us to measure the impact, the subject leader and senior leaders will use lesson visits and pupil voice activities across the year.

Subject Documents Date  
Music Long Term Plan 18th Feb 2025 Download

Page Gallery