Music at Hill View Primary Academy
Music is all around us. It connects us through people and places in our ever changing world. Music brings our Hill View community together, through singing, performing, playing instruments, composing and listening to musicians performing to develop our understanding of famous composers and the History Of Music. At Hill View, music enriches the learning experience of all our pupils and increases their self-confidence, creativity and sense of achievement.
Music Intent
Music is all around us. It connects us through people and places in our ever changing world. Music brings our Hill View community together through our ASCENT values, embedded in our bespoke Hill View curriculum and beyond. Our wide range of music experiences at Hill View include singing, performing, playing instruments, composing and listening to music and musicians performing to develop our understanding of the History of Music and the music of famous composers. At Hill View, music enriches the learning experience of all our pupils, celebrating difference and diversity, and increasing their self-confidence, creativity and sense of achievement.
Music Whole School Overview
Music Subject vocabulary and key knowledge.
Our music curriculum at Hill View enables our children to
- Enjoy making music with others in a variety of ways – including singing, composing and class instrumental projects
- Know and understand how sounds are made and organised into musical structures and through a variety of instruments
- Know how music is composed and written down using formal notation and graphic scores
- Know how music is influenced by the time, place, culture and purpose for which it was written, including the History of Music and the lives of the great composers
- Develop the interrelated skills of performing, composing, appraising and appreciating music
Entitlement and enrichment
All children at Hill View access the music curriculum
The music curriculum at Hill View is based on a progression of music skills and is organised in half termly units, including the key aspects of singing, playing, performing, composing and listening and appraising.
Hill View has developed close links with our local music hub, which through access to government funding is able to enhance our curriculum with access to instruments to hire, visits from musicians – eg The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra mini brass ensemble (Year 1) and experts with knowledge in music which we can use – eg African drumming workshops (Year 5)
Extracurricular music at Hill View includes the Year 5 and 6 choir – usually taking part in The Bournemouth School’s Music Association annual Pavilion Carol Festival, the Shining Stars club – for performing arts open to year 3 and 4 children, and a range of peripatetic instrumental tuition
Breadth and balance
EYFS
During the Foundation stage children sing songs, make music and dance and experiment with sounds and ways of changing them. They represent their own ideas, thoughts and feelings through music. Music is always practical, with action songs and games, using our wide range of untuned percussion instruments and beginning to develop a musical vocabulary using the characters from the Rhythmajigs music resource, along with many others.
KS1
During KS1 children listen carefully and respond physically to a wide range of music, songs and action games and chants. They play musical instruments and sing a variety of songs from memory, adding accompaniments and creating short compositions with increasing confidence, imagination and control. They explore and enjoy how sounds and silence can create moods and effects. Effective use of the Rhythmajigs resource, and Charanga, along with many other resources enables the children to develop their musical vocabulary.
In Year 2 all our children have the opportunity to learn to play the descant recorder as a whole class project, with the intention of learning the technique and fingering for notes to play a tune as a class.
KS2 – Years 3 and 4
During years 3 and 4 children listen carefully and respond to a wide range of live and recorded music, exploring the History of Music. They sing a wide variety of songs tunefully, with expression and in tune with others. They play a range of instruments, introducing formal staff notation. In both years there is a whole class instrument project – in year 3 ukulele’s and in year 4 clarinets, flutes or jumbie jams. Children compose their own music compositions in response to a variety of stimuli with increasing involvement, independence and creativity. They use graphic symbols, pictures and notation to record these. Opportunities to perform as a class are built into each music project.
KS2 – Years 5 and 6
During years 5 and 6 children listen carefully and respond to a wide range of live and recorded music, exploring the History of Music and the music of great composers. They sing a broad range of songs, observing pitch, phrasing and the appropriate style. They play a range of instruments, including keyboards, and use staff notation to support their playing. In both year there is a whole class instrument project – in year 5 samba and in year 6 samba or jumbie jams. Children improvise, play by ear and compose their own musical compositions in response to a variety of stimuli. They explore their thoughts and feelings through responding physically, intellectually and emotionally, using graphic symbols and formal notation. Opportunities to perform are built into each music project.
Organisation of lessons
All children at Hill View have a weekly class music lesson, lasting 30-40 minutes. This takes place in our well-equipped music room with a specialist music teacher. During the school year the children experience a wealth of musical experiences with their peers in these lessons and beyond.
Assessment
Children’s progress in music is shown reflecting on the National Curriculum against the music skills taught, based on a progressive year group skills assessment criteria relating to our music curriculum. This is then shown with termly assessment on Otrack, in line with the rest of the curriculum. The children are given a WTS (working towards), EXS (expected) or GDS (greater depth) teacher based judgement.
Resources
At Hill View we have a well-resourced music room, with a variety of general instruments available for all children in lessons (tuned and untuned percussion) and class sets of instruments for whole class projects (recorders, ukulele’s, samba kit)
A large TV screen linked to the computer enables interactive lessons, and access to performances and instrument resources.
Next steps:
Further develop our Music Learning Wall
Create a wide range of singing resources, accessible to all classes and for use in music lessons and assembly time.
Our school has been nominated by our local Music Service/Hub to become a Music Mark School.
Hill View Primary School Choir