Music
Intent
At Ladysmith Junior School we value and celebrate music in all of its forms, viewing it as a universal language that embodies the highest form of creativity. We follow the National Curriculum to structure and shape our teaching of music. As such, we hold the aim of this document that a high-quality music education should engage and inspire pupils to develop a love of music and their talent as musicians, and so increase their self-confidence, creativity and sense of achievement. Through our curriculum we teach children to:
- Perform, listen to, review and evaluate music across a range of historical periods, genres, styles and traditions, including the works of the great composers and musicians.
- Learn to sing and to use their voices, to create and compose music on their own and with others.
- Learn a musical instrument and use musical technology appropriately.
- Understand and explore how music is created, produced and communicated, including through the interrelated dimensions: pitch, duration, dynamics, tempo, timbre, texture, structure and appropriate musical notations.
In line with the National Plan for Music Education, the school produces a yearly Music Development Plan to further support the development of musical education. This can be found below.
What do music lessons look like at Ladysmith Juniors?
We use our progression map to make sure that our lessons build year on year and lesson on lesson enabling children to systematically develop their musical knowledge, understanding and skills. Each unit of study comprises learning within the three main strands of the curriculum: listen and appraise; musical activities; share and perform. Our lessons utilise the Charanga Musical School scheme, which is a practical, exploratory approach to musical learning and teachers are also able to access specialist support through the Devon and Torbay Music Education Hub.
We have also sequenced the learning of a new, musical instrument in each year group. This will give every child the chance to experience four instruments over the course of their time at Ladysmith Juniors.
Our curriculum is further enriched through the wide range of peripatetic tuition that we offer, our thriving choir and termly musical performances in which children are able to showcase their talents. All children attend weekly singing assemblies, where they are taught to perform songs covering a range of musical genres.