Intent

The National Curriculum for music aims to ensure that all pupils:

• Perform, listen to, review and evaluate music
• Be taught to sing, create and compose music
• Understand and explore how music is created, produced and communicated.

At Hazelbury, the intention is that children gain a firm understanding of what music is through listening, singing, playing, evaluating, analysing, and composing across a wide variety of historical periods, styles, traditions, and musical genres. Our objective is to develop a curiosity for the subject, as well as an understanding and acceptance of the validity and importance of all types of music, and an unbiased respect for the role that music may wish to be expressed in any person’s life. 

We are committed to ensuring children understand the value and importance of music in the wider community, and are able to use their musical skills, knowledge, and experiences to involve themselves in music, in a variety of different contexts.

Implementation

During music lessons, children are taught to use their voices expressively and creatively by singing songs, playing a range of musical instruments and experimenting with different sounds.

The music curriculum is embedded in the classroom activities as well as the weekly singing (music appraising) assemblies, various concerts and performances and the learning of instruments. The elements of music are taught in the classroom through a tailored music curriculum, so that children are able to use musical language to dissect it, and understand how it is made, played, appreciated and analysed. 

Children are exposed to a variety of genres through the use of playlists, where they become familiar with the key musical influences over time. They also learn how to compose focussing on different dimensions of music, which in turn feeds their understanding when listening, playing, or analysing music. Composing or performing using body percussion and vocal sounds is also part of the curriculum, which develops the understanding of musical elements without the added complexity of an instrument.

Impact

Whilst in school, children have access to a varied programme, which allows students to discover areas of strength, as well as areas they might like to improve upon. They will have created an enormously rich palette from which a they may access fundamental abilities such as: achievement, self-confidence, interaction with and awareness of others, and self-reflection. Children will have a developed cultural capital as well as knowledge of ethnicities from across the world. They will be to able appreciate music, as listeners, creators and performers. 

Pupils will have gained an awareness of the performing arts and know which establishments can further develop their skills later in life. Pupils will have built their self-esteem not only to be proud and confident members of our school, but also in the community and the wider world.

Enrichment

Each year we ensure all pupils in one year group have the opportunity to learn a musical instrument. Children also have the opportunity to visit a range of musical establishments as performers as well as audience members. They are exposed to a wide variety of educational visits from visiting the Royal Albert Hall to performing at the Royal Festival Hall in central London.

Other enrichment opportunities include:

• Access to a range of instruments in our designated Music Hub
• Annual visits to watch shows such as ‘Pinocchio on Ice’ at Alexandra Palace or a pantomime at the Millfield Theatre.
• Performing in the school choir at Christmas concerts etc.
• Performing with local schools in school choir e.g. Enfield Spring Concert Festival
• Year group performances e.g. Year 1 Christmas Nativity to the Year 6 End of Year Production 
• Groundswell – Sing Our Story project
• Variety of performers and visitors perform to the school such as ‘ChickenShed’ and Traditional Tales Storytellers.
• Opportunities for children to learn an instrument through the Enfield Music Service.
• West-End theatre visits