‘Music is a universal language that embodies one of the highest forms of creativity.’

Purpose of study

Our high quality Music provision engages and inspires pupils to develop a love of music, as well as their talent as musicians. The Epiphany School Music curriculum aims to increase every child’s self-confidence, creativity and sense of achievement. As children progress from key stage 1 to 2, they will develop a critical engagement with music, allowing them to compose and to listen with discrimination to a wide range of musical genres.

Intent: What do we aspire for our children in Music at The Epiphany School?

Music is highly valued at The Epiphany School and is lived through our routines and daily practice. The Epiphany School Music curriculum is designed to ensure all pupils:

• 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; have the opportunity to learn a musical instrument; use technology appropriately in Music; and have the opportunity to progress to the next level of musical excellence.
• understand and explore how music is created, produced and communicated, including through the inter-related dimensions: pitch, duration, dynamics, tempo, timbre, texture, structure and appropriate musical notations.

Implementation: How do we deliver our Music curriculum?

At The Epiphany School, a specialist teacher delivers our high quality music curriculum to inspire pupils to develop a love of music. His deep understanding of the substantive and disciplinary knowledge of the subject enables excellence in music for all pupils.

Children in Year 2 to Year 6 engage in weekly music lessons led by our specialist teacher. Music sessions are protected to ensure pupils receive this regular high quality provision. Music in EYFS and Year 1 is delivered by class teachers in liaison with the specialist teacher following the Charanga scheme. Our Music provision often incorporates themes from subject specific learning across the wider curriculum such as looking at how sounds are made in Science, as well as supporting national events such as the Queen’s Jubilee celebrations.

Key stage 1 children are 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.

Key Stage 2 children are taught to sing and play with increasing confidence and control. They develop an understanding of musical composition, organising and manipulating ideas within musical structures and reproducing sounds from aural memory.

Children in Key Stage 2 are 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.

Music across the wider curriculum

The Epiphany School Music curriculum supports the Christian ethos of our school. The school comes together during collective worship each afternoon to sing hymns, often accompanied by our specialist Music teacher on the piano or one of our pupils.

All children at The Epiphany School have the opportunity to join and perform with the school choir. The choir enjoys quite a high profile throughout Bournemouth. The choir members gain experience in performing to wider audiences at local venues within the community such as local care homes and Boscombe Salvation Army Citadel, as well as at larger venues such as the Pavilion.

In addition to this, all children have the opportunity to learn a musical instrument with a peripatetic teacher. Piano, guitar, violin, flute, percussion, clarinet and mini bass are the instruments that are currently on offer. From this, regular ensembles, groups and bands are created when the children become more proficient musicians.

Impact: How do we know our curriculum is effective?

Assessment: Assessment will take place in line with the school’s assessment policy. The Teachers should assess pupils throughout teaching and plan subsequent teaching and learning in response to this. Assessment will take many forms including teacher observation, rich questioning and talking with pupils, as well as reviewing children’s performances and written work. Children are regularly assessed by their peripatetic teacher when ready for grading.

High quality outcomes: Pupils should be articulate and knowledgeable about their learning. Some outcomes will be presented in books and some will be performance based.

Monitoring: Monitoring activities may include pupil interviews, informal discussion with staff, examination of planning and learning walks in order to assess the effectiveness of the curriculum in meeting the intent.

Supporting documentation

• Long Term Curriculum Overviews