At Paddox Primary School, the intention of the music curriculum 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 all traditions and communities.
Children will develop the musical skills of singing, playing tuned and untuned instruments, improvising and composing music, and listening and responding to music. They will develop an understanding of the history and cultural context of the music that they listen to and learn how music can be written down. In line with our school values, our music 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.
Performance is a key element of our music curriculum. We provide a wealth of opportunities for children to perform to an audience, through curriculum lessons and enrichment activities.
Our aim is to ensure each child develops a curiosity, love and passion for music for life.
Every child at Paddox, from Reception to Year 6, participates in an hour’s music lesson each fortnight. These lessons fully cover the National Curriculum programme of study and the non-statutory Model Music Curriculum.
Music lessons are sequenced, planned and taught following the ‘Kapow’ scheme of work. Kapow Primary’s Music scheme takes a holistic approach to music, in which the individual strands
below are woven together to create engaging and enriching learning experiences:
● Listening and evaluating
● Creating sound
● Notation
● Improvising and composing
● Performing
Each five-lesson unit combines these strands within a cross-curricular topic designed to 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 untuned instruments accurately and with control. They will learn to recognise, demonstrate 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.
In addition to whole-class music lessons, all children in the school attend a weekly singing assembly where children are given the opportunity to listen and learn to sing a variety of songs covering a wide range of musical styles.
Alongside our music curriculum lessons, we provide high-quality extra-curricular opportunities to engage in music, including: LKS2 and UKS2 choirs, Young Voices Concert, Annual Federation Concert at the Temple Speech Rooms, Seasonal concerts and events (Harvest assemblies, Christmas carols, Summer performances).
We also offer peripatetic music lessons to all children in Key Stage 2 through Warwickshire County Music Service and children can currently undertake lessons in guitar, violin, keyboard and woodwind.
At Paddox Primary School, music is assessed at regular intervals throughout the academic year using teacher judgement. Children’s key skills, outlined by the National Curriculum, are assessed through observation, using an assessment tracker, as working below, working at and working above age related expectations. These assessments inform future planning and support of individual children to develop their skills further.
The expectation is that pupils should leave primary 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 following the Kapow Primary Music scheme of work is that children will:
✓ Be confident performers, composers and listeners and will be able to express themselves
musically at and beyond school.
✓ Show 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 various 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.