Music Intent

At Brownsover Community School, our music curriculum intends to inspire creativity, self-expression and encourage children on their own musical journeys. We hope to foster a lifelong love of music for our children, by listening and responding to different musical styles, finding their voices as singers, performers and composers and becoming confident, reflective musicians. We recognise the benefit of music for many of our children in increased self- esteem and confidence that they can take into other subjects.

Music Implementation

At Brownsover, the EYFS children are introduced to a range of songs and rhymes throughout the year. They have access to simple percussion instruments and are taught how to use them correctly, respectfully and in different ways. They are exposed to a variety of different music genres and music from around the world relevant to the particular theme of learning. Children are encouraged to develop their listening skills, sing with pleasure and move rhythmically in response to sound. Music is also an integral part of our physical development strategies, ie; Dough disco, Squiggle whilst you wiggle and Flappers.

The children in Reception are also taught music through Charanga Musical school in line with the rest of our school.

Music is taught across Reception and Key stage 1 in units using Charanga Musical school. Charanga enables pupils to study in depth the key skills, understanding and vocabulary of the music curriculum.

• Each unit aims to activate and build on prior learning, to ensure better cognition and retention. Each unit is carefully sequenced to allow for prior learning to be built upon and skills to be practised and advanced.
• The Charanga Musical school Scheme provides teachers with week-by-week lesson support for each year group in the school. It is ideal for specialist and non-specialist teachers and provides lesson plans, assessment, clear progression, and engaging and exciting whiteboard resources to support every lesson.
• Charanga is a scheme of work which offers a topic-based approach to support children’s learning in music. A steady progression plan has been built into Charanga, both within each year and from one year to the next, ensuring consistent musical development.
• Charanga includes many examples of musical styles and genres from different eras and places around the world. These are explored through the language of music, through active listening, performing and composition activities, which enable further understanding of contexts and genres.
• Charanga provides a classroom-based, participatory and inclusive approach to music learning. Throughout the scheme, children are actively involved in using and developing their voices, body percussion, whole-body actions. They learn how to correctly handle and play non-tuned and tuned percussion instruments effectively to create music and express their own and others’ musical preferences.
• Charanga supports all the requirements of the national curriculum. In line with the curriculum for music and guidance from Ofsted, this Scheme moves away from the previous levels and learning objective/outcome concepts, to an integrated, practical, exploratory and child-led approach to musical learning. Ofsted have stated that “We will not always know the learning outcomes” so segregated learning objectives at the start of each lesson are not appropriate. Instead the interrelated dimensions of music weave through the units. As the learning progresses, musical skills are developed through listening and appraising, differing musical activities (including creating and exploring) and performing.
• Each Unit of Work comprises the strands of musical learning which correspond with the national curriculum for music, combining a range of musical activities and games; • Listening and Appraising • Singing • Playing instruments • Improvisation •

Composition • Performing.

All lessons enable pupils to explore their own response to music.

• Pupils are encouraged to discuss and share their ideas using key musical vocabulary, for example how the composer has used dynamics and tempo to create mood or atmosphere and its effect on the listener/audience.

• We have a whole school singing assembly weekly, where children are taught to sing a variety of songs as a large group.
• Children have access to an after school ‘Singing for fun’ choir club.
• Children are given opportunities to perform to an audience throughout their time at Brownsover. They perform in class assemblies, cultural and religious celebrations and regularly visit our local church to perform in a different setting.

Music Impact

At Brownsover our children have access to a high-quality music curriculum with lots of additional opportunities to create and perform. A love of music is developed and is evident both when our children perform to an audience and during their interactive Charanga music sessions. We see how music can increase individual’s self-esteem, confidence and give a real sense of achievement. As pupils progress, they develop a growing musical vocabulary that allows them to critically engage with music. Teaching and learning of music is a reflective process for the children as they are given the opportunities to assess themselves and their peers. The children also celebrate their success and skills with their peers and wider audiences.