Intent

At Langrish we believe that Music has the power to unite and engage all children. From Years 1 to 6 we follow the Charanga Model Music Curriculum, supplemented by BBC 10 pieces and the Chrome Music Hub. The Model Music Curriculum follows a spiral approach to musical learning. Within each unit of learning, children revisit existing knowledge and skills and then build upon and extend them incrementally. Alongside this, the BBC 10 pieces units allow children to explore key classical music pieces in depth, linking these to their wider musical knowledge. In this manner, learning is consolidated and augmented, allowing increasing musical confidence, while constantly being gently challenged to go further. A copy of the progression of skills can be found at the bottom of this page. 

Implementation and Impact

Throughout the school, curriculum music lessons are taught weekly in our Music and Drama room. Within this space, children have access to a range of instruments as well as visual resources to support their learning. In addition, a large number of children also undertake individual instrument lessons delivered by Hampshire Music Service.

Within the half termly units children are encouraged to express themselves through playing instruments, composition, improvisation and performance. The Model Music Curriculum within Charanga allows our children to explore a range of music to excite and engage them. This includes studying a range of significant, diverse and influential historical and contemporary artists and composers to place their music in a global context. We explore a range of genres from modern k-pop to 18th Century Classical. This year we have increased the place of technology within our music curriculum, offering children the chance to compose using a range of music software.

Music is interwoven into our school with opportunities to incorporate songs across all curriculum areas and assemblies. Singing often takes place during our assemblies and each week we have a whole school singing assembly. During this time children have the opportunity to practise their singing skills and learn a range of different songs. 

We believe in the value of performance and aim to give children as many opportunities as possible to perform to different audiences, in order to develop their confidence and to experience, appreciate and appraise performances. Each week a different child shares a music performance in assembly. This has built their confidence in performing and has offered the opportunity for children to experience a live performance.

In each year group, children have the chance to learn a musical instrument as part of their curriculum learning. This year we have enjoyed djembe drums, recorders and boomwhackers!

Many extra-curricular opportunities are on offer to students during their time at Langrish, which support and extend their musical education. Our Year 5 and 6 choir attend the Petersfield Music Festival each year and younger choirs have performed at our Christmas Carol concert.

Most excitingly, this year we took a choir of children to be part of Young Voices concert at the O2. The children were able to experience a full technical rehearsal with a professional conductor and band, before performing to a sold-out O2 arena!  

We are consistently blown away by the talent that our children have! We are a Music Mark school who support quality music education for all and aim to offer a collective voice for all those involved in music education.

Impact

Children at Langrish have a true love and appreciation of music! Our curriculum gives them the opportunity to explore a range of genres and to learn and apply musical vocabulary. Children are able to apply this vocabulary in a range of contexts and can give examples within a piece of music to support their ideas. 

Children are assessed continually within lessons and encouraged to challenge themselves. We have a range of visual resources available in our Music and Drama Room which children use to independently support themselves in their learning, whether through checking musical vocabulary or supporting with reading sheet music.

Children create a videoed performance each term which gives children the opportunity to watch their own performance back and allows other classes to observe and appraise each other. Children are encouraged to use musical vocabulary to discuss and describe the performances they see. 

SEND, inclusion & adaptation

We make Music accessible to all. We achieve this by:

• Following a spiral, holistic curriculum which allows children to regularly revisit their learning.
• Beginning each lesson with a music warm up to revisit and refresh key skills and vocabulary.
• Offering a dedicated space for our music lessons, ensuring the correct dynamics, so that sound is not overwhelming.
• Giving our children visual resources that can be used both independently or with teacher support.
• We have selected a scheme that uses colourful, child-friendly images and visual learning hooks for newly introduced information wherever possible. It also provides a familiar visual format to guide children through their learning.
• We prioritise in-depth understanding above the urge to speed through activities. We use routine, clarity and attention to detail.
• Provide individual copies of sheet music when playing tuned instruments, this is provided with coloured overlays for children who require this.
• Lessons include a mixture of auditory, visual and kinaesthetic experiences

Music in the EYFS

At Langrish, our musical learning begins in the EYFS. Songs and rhymes are used throughout the day to support learning in a range of curriculum areas. In addition to this, our Reception children have a dedicated music time once a week. This consists of:

• Exploring a variety of different genres
• Exploring pulse, rhythm and pitch
• Humming, tapping and clapping to a beat
• Creating their own music using instruments and their voices
• Opportunities to experiment with different instruments
• Performing as part of each lesson
• Using their bodies to find the rhythm
• Musical games
• The chance to explore glockenspiels and play in time with different songs

Pupil Voice