Intent, implementation, and impact Statement: 

Music at Bitterley CofE Primary School

At Bitterley, we encourage pupils ‘to be courageous, strong and do everything in love.’

The importance of understanding that each of us is rooted in love is not under-estimated at Bitterley.

‘Love always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.’  Corinthians 13:7 Trusting in love gives us the courage to be ourselves. Courage is from the Latin ‘coeur’ which means ‘To tell the story of who you are with your whole heart’. Our intention is for our pupils to leave Bitterley prepared for ‘Life in all its fullness’ and ready to tell their own stories.

Our Christian vision has driven us to create a bespoke curriculum for our pupils that pursues the acquisition of wisdom, knowledge and skills alongside educating for aspiration, dignity, and respect. It is also our intention to nurture a sense of community, so that all members of our school develop a deep sense of belonging, both locally and within the wider world. We believe that these attributes will support our pupils to live well together and flourish, as they move on to High School and beyond.

Our curriculum offer is therefore divided into three focus areas: ‘Courage, strength and love’:

Courageous – Living wholeheartedly. Using the knowledge and skills in our curriculum to choose our own path free from stereotyping; being curious, aspirational. Speaking out for those who do not have a voice. 

Strength – Having a growth mindset, developing resilience, being able to persevere to achieve our goals to create a confident well-rounded citizen in our diverse world.

Love – Embracing our neighbours, developing a greater awareness of the challenge’s others face in life and how we can make a difference in our school community, local community and further afield.  Through the curriculum we develop pupils understanding of challenges locally and globally. We teach pupils to listen with respect.

At Bitterley CofE Primary School, we believe that a carefully sequenced curriculum can empower our pupils and reduce social inequality, whilst providing the knowledge they need for the next stage of their education and beyond. We view our curriculum as a spiral: the mapped-out journey of concept building leading to a change in long term memory and an increase in knowledge. Through progressive concepts throughout the curriculum, the children will develop a deep and rich understanding, meaning that the knowledge and skills that are acquired are more likely to be remembered. Our curriculum sets out WHAT will be learned and WHEN it will be learned. We understand that cultural capital is the essential knowledge that children need to prepare them for their future success. Through our curriculum we provide different experiences and opportunities to support the accumulation of knowledge, behaviours, and skills that a child gains over time

At Bitterley Primary School we make music an enjoyable learning experience. The intention of the Kapow music scheme is first and foremost to help children to feel that they are musical, and to develop a life-long love of music. We focus on developing the skills, knowledge and understanding that children need in order to become confident performers, composers and listeners. Our curriculum introduces children to music from all around the world and across generations, teaching children to respect and appreciate the music of al traditions and communities.

Children will develop the musical skills of singing, playing tuned and unturned instruments, improving and composing music, and listening and responding to music. They will develop an understanding of music history and the cultural context of music that they listen to and learn how music can be written down. Through music, our curriculum helps children develop transferable skills such as team working, leadership, creative thinking, problem solving, decision making and presentation and performance skills. These skills are vital to children’s development as learners and have a wider application in their general lives outside and beyond school.

Kapow Primary music scheme of work enables pupils to meet the end of key stage attainment targets outlined on the national curriculum and the aims of the scheme align with those in the national curriculum.

Implementation:

Kapow Primary Music scheme takes a holistic approach to music, in which the individual strands are woven together to create engaging and enriching experiences:

• Performing
• Listening
• Composing
• History of music
• Inter-related dimensions of music

Each five-lesson unit combines these strands within a cross-curricular topic designed o capture pupils’ imagination and encourage them to explore music enthusiastically. Over the course of the scheme, children will be taught how to sing fluently and expressively, and play tuned and unturned instruments accurately and with control. They will learn to recognise and name the interrelated dimensions of music – pitch, duration, tempo, timbre, structure, texture and dynamics – and use these expressively in their own improvisations and compositions.

The instrumental scheme lessons complement the Kapow Primary scheme of work and allow lower key stage two pupils to develop expertise in using a tuned instrument for a minimum of one term as recommended by the model music curriculum.

Our national curriculum-mapping document shows which of our units cover each of the national curriculum attainment targets as well as each of the strands within it. Out progression of skills and knowledge shows the skills that are taught within each year group and how these skills develop year on year to ensure attainment targets are securely met by the end of each key stage.

The Kapow Primary scheme follows the spiral curriculum model where previous skills and knowledge and returned to a built on. Children progress in terms of tackling more complex tasks and doing more simpler tasks better, as well as developing understanding and knowledge of the history of music, staff and other musical notations, as well as the interrelated dimensions of music and more.

In each lesson, pupils will actively participate in musical activities drawn from a range of styles and traditions, developing their musical skills and their understanding of how music works. Lessons incorporate a range of teaching strategies from independent tasks, paired and group work as well as improvisation and teacher-led performances. Lessons are ‘hand on’ and incorporate movement and dance elements, as well as making cross curricular links with other areas of learning.

Differentiated guidance is available for every lesson to ensure that lessons can be accessed by all pupils and opportunities to stretch pupils’ learning as available when required.

Strong subject knowledge e is vital for staff to be able to deliver highly effective and robust music curriculum. Each unit of lessons includes multiple teacher videos to develop subject knowledge and support ongoing CPD, aiding teacher in their own acquisition of musical skills and knowledge.

Performance is at the heart of musical teaching and learning at Bitterley and all pupils participate in assembly performances. Pupils also take part in Harvest assemblies, singing assemblies and pupils from reception to year 6 perform at our annual Christmas productions. Pupils who are confident are also encouraged to perform in solo performances. Parents are invited to watch all of these performances whether at school or outside of school. Furthermore, pupils from reception to year 6 all attend our whole school pantomime at one of our local theatres to see first-hand how music performance can be engaging and fun.

Alongside our curriculum provision for music, pupils also have the opportunity to participate in additional 1:1 music teaching by being offered the opportunity to learn a musical instrument with peripatetic teachers. Our peripatetic music teaching is organised by the Local Education Authority’s Music for Life. Instruments include guitar and violin. Pupils that learn a musical instrument have the opportunity to sit examinations and perform at our termly concert sand assemblies.

At Bitterley music teaching provides our pupils with an understanding and appreciation for music. During assemblies and class lessons pupils study a variety of different composers and styles of music throughout each term to help broaden their appreciation and understanding of musical history.

Pupils also have the opportunity to join the school choir. The school choir is open to all children on a fortnightly basis, with the average number of pupils being in the range of 10-20. Pupils in the school choir meets during lunchtimes and focus on teamwork, singing in unison, developing harmony, solo performances and having fun! The school choir also have the opportunity to perform in school concerts and singing assemblies. Experiencing a range of music develops children’s wellbeing and cultural capital and we therefore strive for all children to have access to a range of musical opportunities.

Impact

Music enables children to develop an understanding of culture and history, both in relation to children individually, as well as ethnicities from across the world. Children are able to enjoy music in as many ways as they choose – either as listener, creator or performer. Children have the opportunity to discuss and share their own thoughts, opinions and ideas, acknowledging and respecting that these may vary and that this is positive. They can dissect music and comprehend its parts. They can sing and feel a pulse.

Our music Curriculum is high quality can be constantly monitored through both formative and summative assessment opportunities. Each lesson includes guidance to support teachers in assessing pupils against the learning objectives and at the end of each unit there is a performance element where teachers can make a summative assessment. Video recordings are uploaded to ensure progression across all year groups. Pupils should leave Bitterley School equipped with a range of skills to enable them to succeed in their secondary education and to be able to enjoy and appreciate music throughout their lives. The expected impact of the music curriculum is that children will:

• Be confident performers, composers and listeners and will be able to express themselves musically at and beyond school
• Sow an appreciation and respect for a wide range of musical styles from around the world and will understand how music is influenced by the wider cultural, social and historical contexts in which it is developed.
• Understand the ways in which music can be written down to support performing and composing activities
• Demonstrate and articulate an enthusiasm for music and be able to identify their own personal musical preferences
• Meet the end of key stage expectations outlined in the national curriculum for music.