Music

Curriculum music

Our school aims to provide an ambitious, rigorous and relevant music curriculum and inspires creativity and excellence in music. Pupils will foster a love of music by providing opportunities for pupils to engage with a wide range of historical periods, genres, styles and traditions, including the works of the great composers and musicians.  

Our music curriculum both engages and connects to other learning through thematic study but is not limited to thematic study alone, ensuring that music education is delivered as a connected, yet at times, discrete entity through a Focus Day provision.   

The E3L curriculum values music as one of the highest forms of creativity and provides opportunities for in depth, specialist teaching provision to equip pupils with the musical skills to become successful musicians.  The curriculum has been informed by the model music curriculum.  

In EYFS, music is an integral part of the E3L themes covered during the year and as part of the specific area, Expressive Arts: Being Imaginative.  We relate the skill aspects of musicianship to the objectives set out in the Early Learning Goals (ELGs). Music is also used effectively to contributes to a pupil’s personal and social development.  Singing and basic rhythm skills are incorporated to support mathematical ability and to enrich knowledge and understanding of the world through cultural diversity. 

We encourage pupils to learn to play a musical instrument by providing opportunities within and beyond the music curriculum to support pupils’ creativity and musical thinking. Opportunities are provided for pupils to create and compose music, to sing and learn to use their voices, to explore how music is created, produced and communicated and to harness technology in the creation of music.  Pupils are supported by organisations such as the CBSO, Birmingham Conservatoire and Sandwell SIPs.

Pupils are excited by their learning in music and develop a sense of self-confidence through composition and performance.  They will develop an appreciation for a wide range of music and are able to offer their opinions about different musical styles.  

Pupils demonstrate a high level of creativity, musical skill, knowledge and understanding through the creation of high-quality outcomes, including performance. As part of the music provision, pupils in years Reception, Years 1 through to 6 (all pupils) receive whole class instrumental tuition provided by Sandwell SIPs.  

Pupils make connections in their learning, both within music and with learning from other subject areas, such as history. They use these connections to support their understanding of music genre, composition and performance as well as to support their understanding of society, culture and change over time.  

Pupils have a sound understanding of musical concepts, dimensions, composition and broad range of musical skill. They use their musical understanding to create, compose, evaluate and communicate and perform music.  Our curriculum aims to remove barriers to learning for pupils with SEND. With support, and curriculum adaptations, SEND pupils are able to express themselves and take an active part in musical sessions. Scaffolding techniques and a variety of AfL strategies are adopted so that all pupils, including those with SEND can progress and flourish. 

Their musical knowledge is developed through our use of key pieces of music which support all of our E3L themes and are in both whole class and whole school situations.  

Co-curricular music

As part of the co-curricular music and linked to our core curriculum offer, our school has focus days which run from Year 1 to Year 6 which links to the E3L theme being taught.  The day where the curriculum is collapsed, and music is taught by a music specialist.  This supports the coverage of the MMC and deepens pupils understanding of the music curriculum.   Our focus day provision is supported and delivered by a primary music specialist to deepen and enhance the pupils’ knowledge and skills of music. 

Throughout the school there are other musical opportunities that are given to the pupils. 

Pupils take part in musical instrument lessons outside of the classroom for example  

Small group Brass tuition for Key stage 2 pupils, which is fully funded by the school.  

Pupils take part in choral activities that lead to performance including Young Voices, Choir club, Sing concerts, Theatre trips and Sandwell school’s annual Litchfield Cathedral, all of which are provided free to all participating pupils.  

For those pupils who are considered gifted and talented, our school seeks help and support to further develop them from CBSO, Sandwell SIPs and SCBSO.  This support has included small group tuition, recommendations to SCBSO and inductions to Sandwell Music Tuition.

Musical experiences

Pupils are given many opportunities to have musical experiences including singing assemblies that take place on a weekly basis.  In these sessions, both staff and students are encouraged to develop a love of singing and understand the mental wellbeing benefits to singing in a large group.  

Pupils participate in end of Key Stage performances.  These include nativities at the end of EYFS and Key Stage 1, Singing concerts, Instrumental concerts, and musical performances and the end of Key Stage 2.  Pupils participate in choral activities around Christmas including carol concerts and weekly musical showcases in our family Praise assembly. In these performances, pupils get a chance to experience performing to a larger audience and performing both individually and in groups. 

In school, free concerts are shown.  These are provided to our school by partnership providers including the CBSO and SIPs music.  Pupils also have the opportunity to perform in their own repertoire project that is supported and lead by musicians from the CBSO.  Their musical performances are recorded and shared wider than just the school community.  Examples of this include performances linked to Holst’s Planets Suite, Classical singing visitor, Live Orchestra assembly and Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition.  

Through our partnership with SIPs music, we have the opportunity to work with experts from conductive music to develop an understanding of how music can be incorporated into a range of STEM activities, including engagement in the Music Beyond Imagination project for Key stage 2 and Conductive Music use science, computing, and technology to make music for Key stage 1.  

Through a partnership with the Birmingham Conservatoire, our pupils are offered visits to watch performances given by the musical students of the conservatoire and a range of fun musical activities inspired by the Kodály approach to musical learning in the classroom. These musical activities use singing, singing games and chanting rhymes along with movement and each session is held in the classroom with the children and their teachers. 

Through a partnership with the CBSO we have engaged in the repertoire project The Planets Creative Project for year 5 which provides 2 x whole day art workshops and 3 x half-day music workshops. Year 4 also participates in a Musical Arts Project in the Spring term.

In the future

The following are where music will be further development in the subsequent years to follow: 

• Increase the small group instrumental session to incorporate the following year groups: Year 2 and Year 3  

• Develop a whole school love of listening to music by incorporating not only key pieces of music, but also staff favourites and a wider variety of cultural music. 

• Use music as a way of providing mental wellbeing support to both pupils and staff 

• Give further opportunities to those pupils who are deemed to be gifted and talented 

• Provide staff CPD so that music teaching is stronger and therefore pupils can develop and progress and a faster pace.  

Further information

Holyhead Primary Academy is part of the Shireland Collegiate Academy Trust, which recognises the intrinsic value of music education and the enormous creative, personal, and academic benefits that engagement with music can develop. In particular, we acknowledge that all pupils regardless of background are entitled to a rigorous and rich Music education that inspires the next generation of musicians and music-lovers and exposes all to a wealth of cultural capital. We are committed to developing our provision across all primary and secondary phases in line with the latest curriculum guidance and with the support of specialist practitioners both within and without the trust.