Crook Log Primary School

Intent

Design and Technology is an inspiring, rigorous and practical subject which has a vital role in contributing to a balanced curriculum and creating the problem solvers of the future. It is a subject that encourages children to ‘learn to think’ creatively to solve practical problems both as individuals and through teamwork. At Crook Log Primary School, our aim is to encourage children to use their creativity and imagination to design and make products that solve real and relevant problems within a variety of contexts, considering their own and others’ needs, wants and values. We aim to, wherever possible, link work to other disciplines such as mathematics, science, computing and art. The children are also given opportunities to explore, reflect upon and evaluate past and present design technology and are encouraged to become problem solvers in their own right.

Implementation

Music teaching at Crook Log delivers the requirements of the National Curriculum through use of the ‘Music Express’ scheme of work. Teachers follow the suggested scheme of work, although adaptations are made to suit the children in each class. Music lessons are broken down into half-termly units and an emphasis is placed on musical vocabulary, allowing children to talk about pieces of music using the correct terminology. Each unit of work has an on-going musical learning focus and lessons focus on developing skills such as:

· Exploring sound

· Pitch

· Beats

· Performance

· Structure

· Composition

Notation

Listening

We have a UKS2 choir, where children have the opportunity to use their voices and perform in a group or solo, in front of different audiences. They are then invited to the O2 Arena to participate in a choir of over 6000 children during the Young Voices concert.  As a school we also put on a summer concert, Christmas concert, Christmas and Year 6 leavers productions and provide opportunities to perform in the community i.e. Carol singing at Danson House.

Peripatetic lessons are available to children and are taught by specialist music teachers, to offer children the possibility to extend their musical ability.

Impact

Our music Curriculum is planned to demonstrate progression and build on and embed current skills. We focus on progression of knowledge and skills in the different musical components and teaching of vocabulary also forms part of the units of work. If children are achieving the knowledge and skills in lessons, then they are deemed to be making good or better progress.

In order to meet the aims of the National Curriculum, KS1 children will 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 inter-related dimensions of music.

And children in KS2 will 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.