Welcome to Music

Image

At Ark Blacklands, we intend to provide a music curriculum which will enable each child to reach their full potential in music, encourage children to enjoy singing, composing and performing and provide children with the opportunity to perform in front of an audience both within and outside of school. We also intend to provide children with an understanding of the history of music and the creation of songs.

Image

Children’s exploration with music begins in Reception where they begin to develop knowledge of sound, songs, music and instruments from the very beginning of the year.

Our KS1 and KS2 music curriculum is bespoke, where teachers plan their own units of work modelled around the Model Music Curriculum (MMC), drawing on external resources, for example, ‘Charanga’. Through music lessons, children learn to work both independently and as part of a group, ensuring skills of resilience and teamwork are promoted. In addition to regular music lessons, children are exposed to a ‘Listening Calendar’ in assemblies and other areas of the curriculum, which widens their musical knowledge and is specifically designed to relate to important yearly events and seasons.

Singing and playing: Singing is at the very heart of our music curriculum, allowing pupils to improve their pitch, notation and timing skills on a regular basis. In addition, all children in Year 3 and 4 learn the Recorder in and in Year 5 and 6 the Ukulele. We also offer pupils the opportunity to access music tuition from specialist peripatetic teachers in a range of other instruments, including violin, keyboard and guitar. From Year 4 upwards, pupils are also offered the opportunity to sing in the school choir, allowing them to widen and build upon their singing skills learnt in class.

As children progress through the school, they will explore how music has developed throughout history, exploring both classical and modern composers. This enables our children to develop a greater understanding of how music is created. Not only do they listen to and appraise the songs of these composers, but they also learn about their lives and their music styling choices. Our chosen composers have been compiled from a shortlist recommended in the MMC.

At Ark Blacklands, we pride ourselves on providing pupils with many different opportunities to perform. Every pupil performs to parents at least once a year at Christmas time. In addition to this, pupils can perform to each other many times over the course of the school year such as at Harvest, Year 6 Graduation and other parental engagement events. These performance events are an opportunity for assessment of skills, both in singing and instrumental performance. Choir pupils are often given the chance to perform in assemblies as well as at important school events such as fetes, at local care homes and once a year I stage at London’s Barbican centre with the Ark Schools Mass Choir. Pupils who receive private lessons through our peripatetic teachers are also given the opportunity to play in assemblies at least once a year. As a result, music plays a prominent role in our day-to-day community at Ark Blacklands.

Our Music offer is also complimented by Ark Music Week which takes place in the final summer term every year. ARK Music Week allows students to fully immerse themselves in a musician or musical band over the course of a whole week and encourages links to other subjects such as English, Art and Reading.

Children in in Reception develop knowledge of sound, songs, music and instruments from the very beginning of the year and throughout their time in Reception. They have continual access to musical instruments where they can explore and distinguish the different sounds (timbre) that musical instruments make and how they can be played differently to create a new sound or dynamic. They use songs, music and dance as a way of expressing themselves freely during their independent learning time but equally teachers use music throughout the curriculum. Children are also introduced to the concept of rhythm and beats during their weekly music sessions. Their knowledge of music and the experiences on offer throughout their Reception year, provides children with the confidence and knowledge to begin the next stage of their education in KS1.

All Reception subjects Next Reception Subject - Art and Design Technology

All Year 1 subjects Next Year 1 Subject - Art and Design Technology

All Year 2 subjects Next Year 2 Subject - Art and Design Technology

All Year 3 subjects Next Year 3 Subject - Art and Design Technology

All Year 4 subjects Next Year 4 Subject - Art and Design Technology

All Year 5 subjects Next Year 5 Subject - Art and Design Technology

All Year 6 subjects Next Year 6 Subject - Art and Design Technology