Music
Music Mark 2024-2025
Totley All Saints have been awarded the Music Mark 2024-2025. This is in recognition for our inclusive, accessible and high quality music education across the school. See our certificate below:
INTENT – Our Vision for Music:
At our school, we know that music is a universal language that embodies one of the highest forms of creativity. A high-quality musical education will 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. As children progress through the curriculum, they will develop a critical engagement with music, allowing them to perform, compose, and to listen with discrimination to the best in the musical canon. We are committed to children developing a lifelong appreciation of all genres of music and experience the positive affect music can have, underpinned by professional live music experiences to engage and inspire.
Our Curriculum reflects the ethos and aims of the school as well as the context from which our children derive. This means that our curriculum provides the necessary building blocks to develop the necessary Musical knowledge and skills, whilst also promoting British Values, healthy lifestyles and mental well-being, plus excellent behaviour and attitudes. It is underpinned with a large emphasis on SMSC development, a strong practical outworking for others in line with our Christian ethos, whilst also building character and readiness for the next stages of education and the learning journey beyond.
Totley All Saints Music Development Plan
Aims of the National Curriculum in Music:
The national curriculum for music aims to ensure that 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 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.
To find out more information about the National Curriculum for this subject and others, please click here.
Learning Experience: What is the breadth of experience provided for our children?
- Quality First teaching: variety of teaching styles, varied stimulus, specialist piano, guitar, woodwind teachers.
- Quality Resources: Charanga (online & interactive scheme of work), Sheffield Music Hub WOPS (cornets) & Sheffield Music Hub Music Leader (Mathew Knowles)
- Visits: Live Music, Music in the Round, performances at the Crucible Theatre, Halle Orchestra children’s concert at the Sheffield City Hall
- Visitors: Music in the Round musicians. Sheffield Music Hub live music experiences.
- Experiences: Performing musically, regularly in the community and in productions at school.
- Inclusive school choir taught by experienced musician.
Resources: What resources are used to support the teaching & learning of this subject?
- Extensive range of tuned and un-tuned percussion instruments.
- Complete Sparkyard interactive music scheme allowing children to access all aspects of the music curriculum through singing and instrumental playing with a clear and concise progression framework.
- Sheffield Music Hub WOPS (cornets) taught by the Sheffield Music Hub Music Leader (Mathew Knowles).
Links with other Subject Areas: What links are made between this & other subject areas?
Links are made with other subject areas wherever possible and music skills are often taught alongside drama and through assembly time and rehearsal for regular school productions.
IMPACT of our Music Curriculum:
We aim for our teaching of Music to have a great impact on the lives of our children not only creatively, but also in laying the foundations for social mobility through the promotion of British Values and SMSC and getting them ready for the next stages of their education. Our curriculum is designed in order to ensure that every year group has the opportunity to learn a musical instrument and read musical notation. In doing so, children leave Totley All Saints equipped with the ability to read musical notation and use subject specific vocabulary.
Readiness for Next Stage of Education: How does this subject prepare our children for the next stage of their educational journey at secondary school & beyond?
We endeavour to ensure that the sequence of content enables our children to progress whilst they are with us, but also to provide the building blocks necessary to build on at secondary school and their learning journey beyond. Underlying all of this is our emphasis on Learning Culture which provides the underlying principles of attitude, resilience and character.
Promotion of Social Mobility: How does this subject promote social mobility?
Our aim is that no child is disadvantaged by their background situation and that, as a school, we provide everything that a child needs so that there are not gaps in learning. As a result, we ensure that children have a broad range of curriculum and cultural experiences, access to a wide variety of musical experiences, multiple opportunities to perform as well as listen and appraise.
Promotion of British Values & SMSC: How does this subject promote British Values & SMSC?
Through our rich and varied curriculum, we ensure that our children are well equipped for life in modern Britain and, through subject linkage have an excellent understanding of Democracy, the Rule of Law, Responsibility & Liberty, Mutual Respect plus Tolerance of those of different faiths and beliefs. Our Curriculum is driven by SMSC Development and, as a result, pupils thrive – enjoying their lives, learning and want to make a difference for others.
Assessment: How is Music assessed?
- Teacher assessment
- Observation
- Self & peer assessment
Monitoring & Evaluation: How do we know we have been successful?
- Lesson observations
- Results / Data Analysis
- Discussions
Long Term Memory: How music impacts on long term memory?
- Listening to music
- Revision & recapping
- Repeated recall
- Curriculum Mats
- Learning Journal
- Quizzes
