Intent 

Music is a universal language that embodies one of the highest forms of creativity. 

-The National Curriculum 

 

At Braybrook, we want Music to become part of our school culture, embedding our R.E.A.C.H. value of confident learners, building self-confidence, creativity and a life-long love of music in all. By the end of each child’s time at our school, they will have developed their musical potential and an appreciation of the wide-reaching value of music for both themselves and others.  

Our children will have a curiosity for the subject and will be able to explore music in it’s many forms, from listening to famous composers throughout history, to more contemporary, international performers. We want our children to see themselves reflected in the musicians and composers we listen to and to encounter inspirational and aspirational musical role models that reflect the world: past, present and future, in all its diversity. 

 

Throughout their weekly lessons and wider curriculum offerings, At Braybrook, we want Music to become part of our school culture, embedding our R.E.A.C.H. value of confident learners, building self-confidence, creativity and a life-long love of music in all. By the end of each child’s time at our school, they will have developed their musical potential and an appreciation of the wide-reaching value of music for both themselves and others.  

 

At Braybrook Primary Academy, children will develop the musical skills of singing, playing tuned and untuned instruments, improvising and composing music, and listening and respinding to music. They will develop an understanding of the history and cuoltural context of the music that they listen to and learn how music can be written down. Through their music lessons, children will develop transferable skills such as team-working, leadership, creative thinking, problem-solving, decision-making and presentation and performance skills. These skills are vital to each child’s personal development as well as their social and interpersonal skills when applied to their wider relationships both inside and outside of school.  

 

We intend to inspire musicians of the future and create a passion for music in all our children that will stay with them for a lifetime. 

 

 

Implementation 

Curriculum offering 

At Braybrook Primary Academy, we have chosen to use the Kapow scheme of learning in order to create an aspirational, challenging curriculum that will set our children up for the demands of Key Stage 3 Music, while developing a life-long love of music and allowing them to recognise the international nature of music.  

 

Our curriculum takes a holistic approach to music, in which the following golden threads are woven together to create engaging and enriching learning experiences:  

• Performing 
• Listening 
• Composing  
• The History of Music 
• The Inter-related Dimensions of Music 

 

Each unit combines these strands within a cross-curricular topic designed to capture pupil’ imagination and encourage them to explore music enthusiastically, removing barriers to access learning and making lessons inclusive to all. Over the course of their lessons, children will be taught how to sing fluently and expressively, and play tuned and untuned instruments accurately and with control. They will learn to recognise and name the interrelated dimensions of music (pitch, duration, tempo, timbre, structure, texture and dynamics) and apply these to a range of different contexts, using them expressively to create their own improvisations and compositions.  

 

In line with the Kapow Primary Music scheme, our curriculum follows the spiral curriculum model where previous skills and knowledge are returned to and built upon. This builds confidence in our learners and allows frequent opportunities for gaps in learning to be identified and addressed. Children face increasingly complex tasks and are able to deepen their knowledge and understanding of the history of music, staff and other musical notations, as well as the aforementioned interrelated dimensions of music.  

 

In each lesson, pupils will participate in musical activities drawn from a range of styles and traditions, developing their music skills and understanding of how music works. Lessons increase participation and engagement by using a range of strategies such as independent tasks, paired and group work as well as improvisation and performances. Lesson are inclusive to all, using ‘hands-on’ activities and movement and dance elements, as well as making cross-curricular interests. In order to further support and challenge our learners, differentiated guidance is available in each lesson plan, often providing scaffolded tasks and a less complex outcome for those that require extra help in order to achieve outcomes, while allowing leadership opportunities for pupils that show more confidence in the lessons.  

 

Each child at Braybrook is entitled to an hour of formal Music lessons each week. In those classes that are taught by the class teacher, opportunities to develop strong subject knowledge and to access regular CPD are made through the use of ‘Teacher videos’ on the Kapow website which all are actively encouraged to access prior to each lesson.  

 

In EYFS, music has a continual presence in a number of curriculum areas but is also taught explicitly as part of the Expressive Arts curriculum focus. Children benefit from learning a number of nursery rhymes across the year, and are able to then use what they have learnt to identify rhyming words across the curriculum, as well as exploring the sounds made by a number of instruments and recognizing musical groups. 

 

When children enter Year Four, they benefit from whole-class instrumental teaching (WCIT) as recommended in the Model Music Curriculum and the National Plan for Music Education. These sessions allow children the opportunity to learn to play the ukulele as part of an ensemble and to inspire a love of music learning that they can then take forwards. Throughout these lessons, children learn key instrumental skills such as the playing of chords, simple songs and are able to apply their previous learning of the inter-related dimensions of music.  

 

Extra-curricular opportunities 

At Braybrook Primary Academy, children with an extra interest in music have the opportunity to further their passion for the subject in one of our extra-curricular opportunities that take place on a weekly basis.  

 

For those that enjoy singing, weekly choir sessions allow children to further the skills developed on in weekly music lessons while exploring a range of different musical genres. Children in choir are given various opportunities to perform, such as at the annual Young Voices concert in London. 

 

As part of our partnership with Peterborough Music Hub, children in Key Stage Two are also offered the opportunity to learn to play the guitar at a subsidised rate and with free instrumental hire. This develops their understanding of interrelated dimensions of music in a practical sense, while preparing them for and continuing learning on whole-class instrumental lessons. 

 

Alongside this, we have recently introduced Rocksteady band sessions for all children in Key Stage One and Two. This provides our pupils with creative opportunities to learn contemporary songs of their choice, working together with others to create multi-instrument performances and develop the confidence to perform on stage in termly concerts for our school community. 

 

Trips and visitors 

In order to address the lack of cultural capital that some of our pupils have due to deprivation in the catchment area, we regularly invite visitors to perform at the school to broaden each child’s access to musical opportunities and develop positive and aspirational attitudes towards music.  

By working with the Peterborough Music Hub, each year group is able to experience at least one live performance or workshop by professional musicians each year. Over the last year, this has included visits by the Britten Sinfonia, Conductive Music and an African Drumming workshop, however providers of these opportunities will change each year depending on availability.  

 

Impact  

 

In order to recognise the successes of our music curriculum, we expect all children to: 

• Be working at, or above the expected standard for their year group and making good progress within these bands. 
• Be confident performers and composers, either individually or in small group ensembles and be able to express themselves musically both inside and out of school 
• Be able to play an instrument with some musicality by the end of their time at Braybrook Primary Academy.  
• Be passionate about music and to confidently discuss their musical tastes, using their understanding of the interrelated dimensions of music and musical vocabulary to evaluate a composition. 
• Appreciate a range of music from around the world and across history, understanding how the cultural, social and historical contexts of a piece influence it,  
• Notate their compositions using both graphic scores and traditional staff notation.  
• Be actively engaged with extra-curricular opportunities, either through the increased take up of instrumental lessons or participation in school concerts.