Music
“Music is all around us. It is the soundtrack to our lives. Music connects us through people and places in our ever-changing world. It is creative, collaborative, celebratory and challenging. In our schools, music can bring communities together through the shared endeavour of whole-school singing, ensemble playing, experimenting with the creative process and, through the love of listening to friends and fellow pupils, performing. The sheer joy of music making can feed the soul of a school community, enriching each student whilst strengthening the shared bonds of support and trust which make a great school.” ‘Music Model Curriculum’ 2021
To ensure that children at Hammond Junior School experience this ‘sheer joy of music making’, they are taught by a subject specialist using both in-depth expert knowledge and the ‘Kapow’ scheme for learning.
Curriculum Intentions
Music at Hammond Junior School aims to follow the specifications of the National Curriculum providing a rich and varied curriculum whilst ensuring that every child can experience music and make progress. Throughout each term, across each year and through the whole of Key Stage 2, we focus on the progressive development of musical knowledge, concepts, and skills.
This is achieved through:
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Singing: children will sing in weekly singing assemblies, as a class ensemble and in small groups, using their voices expressively; children will perform in front of audiences with an awareness of others.
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Performance: using untuned and tuned percussion, ocarinas, recorders and ukuleles, every year group will have at least one term of whole class instrumental tuition; children will
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Listening and appraising: children will be able to listen to, review, evaluate and appreciate a wide variety of music across a range of historical periods, genres, cultures, styles and traditions; children will use a range of musical language and develop musical literacy.
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Composition: children will work with different types of notations, finding ways to record their ideas; children will compose on their own and with others; children will improvise and be able to compose their own music in different styles.
"The lesson is really fun because you get to play new instruments and sing songs that you have never sung before.” Year 4 pupil
Curriculum Implementation
Every Music scheme of work at Hammond Junior School is adapted and taught with our children in mind. The ‘Kapow’ scheme for learning is taken as a basis, with resources reworked to ensure that all lessons are practical and that our children’s musicality is explored through performance as a primary discipline, with the other two pillars of music (composition and listening) integrated into every lesson also. This ‘hands on’ approach to music is inclusive and enjoyable, with schemes of work carefully sequenced to capture creativity whilst ensuring the key elements of music are taught and revisited over KS2.
Songs chosen for our weekly singing assembly will often suit the season, or events happening in the UK or wider world. We also select a range of styles of song to perform to live audiences at Christmas, Easter and the end of the Summer term. There is the opportunity for Upper KS2 voices to join the Upper School Choir which rehearses weekly to perform at a range of events, in and out of school.
Alongside our curriculum provision for music, children are also able to participate in additional 1:1 music teaching by being offered the opportunity to learn a musical instrument with peripatetic teachers. Our peripatetic music teaching is organised mainly by Surrey Arts.
"Music is fun, we listen to lots of different music. Today we did scat singing!” Year 3 pupil
Curriculum Impact
The Music curriculum at Hammond Junior School ensures that all children make progress, ensuring that key musical skills are taught, further progressed and embedded.
The expected impact of this is that children will:
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Perform confidently, compose with musicality and listen with attentiveness.
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Enjoy and have an appreciation of music which in turn, will nurture respect for other musical styles and consequently, acceptance of other cultures and societies.
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Have an understanding of the historical context in which music has developed.
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Make judgements and express personal preferences about the quality and style of music, using a range of musical language.
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Understand the ways in which music can be written down to support performing and composing activities.
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Meet the end of key stage expectations outlined in the national curriculum for Music.
In order to measure the impact that the Music curriculum at Hammond Junior School has, the following methods are used:
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Termly update of Music skills assessment
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Pupil discussions and interviewing the pupils about their learning (pupil voice).
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Annual reporting and tracking of standards across the curriculum.
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Photo and video evidence of the pupils practical learning
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‘Working Wall’ allowing the tracking of skills and recording of ‘I can’ statements
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Use of the assessment tools provided within the Kapow scheme
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Dedicated music leader time.
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Learning Walks
The impact of our music curriculum is also measured in the uptake of our choir and uptake of additional instrumental 1:1 or small group peripatetic lessons.
"We play ocarinas in music. I think music brings everyone together.” Year 3 pupil
"Ukulele is really fun to play, I like playing ukulele with my class” Year 6 pupil
Lead: Miss Jemma Pike
Knowledge Organisers
Year 3
