Music

At Lakey Lane the Music Curriculum intends for its pupils to confidently develop their skills in the various elements of music through an exposure to different genres and different instruments that pose a real purpose and focus for their musical journey. We believe music is a powerful and universal form of communication that can inspire, engage and enhance quality of life. Music enables creative expression, reflection and emotional development. It instils our pupils with the confidence to be creative, allows them to connect to others and appreciate the world around them.

Lakey intends to:

• Provide a variety of opportunities for its pupils to experience, invent, experiment and develop skills using a variety of musical elements.
• Use the subject specific language of music to reflect and evaluate their own work and that of others.
• To know how composing music has contributed, shaped and reflected our history.  

We aim to deliver our curriculum through 3 key drivers and our 6 school values which underpin our children’s learning

Respect— To understand that we need to be respectful when others are performing and to respect each others musical ability. Children will develop an understanding of the complexity of music across British and World wide history as well as the cultural diversity of music in modern Britain and the wider world. The children will celebrate these differences.

Ambition— To be able to give every child an opportunity to show off their musical ability. We want our chn, no matter their background, to have high hopes musically for the future.

Self-belief— To develop self- confidence in music when we are performing and to recognise that all children are an important part of our musical journey here at Lakey Lane. Children will be given opportunities to explore the music of different communities, cultures and traditions.

Community— To develop our children’s awareness and appreciation of music in the wider community. Children will be given opportunities to explore, listen to and perform music from different cultures and traditions. To encourage every child to have equal opportunities within music.

Kindness— To care about each other when we are performing and to create a safe space in which we feel comfortable performing.

Curiosity — To use music as a springboard for discussion, generating opinions and sharing ideas. To understand and explore how music created, produced and communicated.

Implementation

Early Years

It is in Early Years that the children begin their music journey at Lakey Lane. They have the opportunity to be able to explore sounds using the percussion instruments and children are encouraged to sing nursery rhymes as a group. At Christmas, the Reception classes put on a Christmas carol concert for the parents where they have learnt some songs and simple actions to perform. 

The children are introduced to simple musical vocabulary such as; loud, soft, quiet and beat. 

Key Stage 1

National Curriculum Outcomes:

Pupils should be taught to:

• Use their voices expressively and creatively by singing songs and speaking chants and rhymes.
• Play tuned and untuned instruments musically.
• Listen with concentration and understanding to a range of high-quality live and recorded music.
• Experiment with, create, select and combine sounds using the interrelated dimensions of music. 

In year 1 & 2, the teaching of Music is implemented as part of the topic curriculum alongside stand-alone lessons using the musical toolkit; Charanga. Pupils will be given opportunities to listen to different genres of music and begin to develop an awareness of the key elements of music - pulse, rhythm, tempo, texture and pitch in order to produce a final piece of music. Charanga is split into units to be taught throughout the year based on the National Curriculum statements. It provides a clear breakdown of the lesson including lesson plans and it gives teachers clear guidance on how music should be taught. Charanga is a great tool to use because it offers consistency across the school.

In the Summer term of year 1, the children learn some songs and simple actions and they go and perform these to the elderly at the local church. This is an event that is thoroughly enjoyed by the children and the audience. It also enables any children who lack confidence in music to try and overcome these fears from an early age. 

For the Christmas Nativity in year 2, the children begin learning some Christmas songs after October half term where a singing teacher from the Birmingham Music Service comes in and assists them in learning the songs as well as implementing those key elements of music. 

Key Stage 2

National Curriculum Outcomes:

Pupils should be taught to:

• Play and perform in solo and ensemble contexts, using their voices and playing musical instruments with increasing accuracy, fluency, control and expression. 
• Improvise and compose music for a range of purposes using the inter-related dimensions of music.
• Listen with attention to detail and recall sounds with increasing aural memory.
• Use and understand staff and other musical notations.
• Appreciate and understand a wide range of high-quality live and recorded music drawn from different traditions and from great composers and musicians.
• Develop an understanding of the history of music. 

As the children move up the school, they are exposed to more opportunities to learn an instrument or perform in front of their peers. Charanga is still the main teaching tool used during music lessons. Children are shown music from different genres and music by different composers so that when they leave us, they should have a good understanding of how music has changed over time. Charanga also offers the opportunity to perform as part of a group as well as a solo performance. It introduces the children to writing simple pieces of music which the children enjoy doing and then performing. 

In Key Stage 2, children are given the opportunity to expand their musical experiences outside of the key music lessons by being taught by a peripatetic specialist recorder and steel pan teacher. Pupils can begin learning the recorder in year 3 and they can continue to learn this up to year 6. During this time, the teacher may put them forward to do an exam depending on their level of skills. 

A weekly lunchtime choir club is also available to children from years 3-6 where we learn a variety of songs and then we perform these in school as well as out in the local area. The children are also given the chance to perform at the Symphony Hall each year as part of a Gala concert involving several other schools in Birmingham. This is something that the children love doing and a memory they will remember for years to come. 

Years 5 & 6 pupils can also go out weekly as part of a large group to learn the steel pans. This is quite a unique experience for our pupils and they show a real passion to perform. 

Every year, we hold 2 music assemblies; one at Christmas and one at the end of the school year where the pupils are given the opportunity to perform in front of the parents and their peers. It is a good way for the children and staff here at Lakey Lane to recognise the skills that have been built on from the previous year.