We aim to inspire pupils to develop a love of music and to introduce them to a broad repertoire of music, ranging from pieces in the western classical tradition, to the most current popular music, as well as a wide variety of world music. We intend to help the children grow into curious, confident and reflective learners and to provide them with a foundation that will equip them for further musical studies. We would also like to see this extend to the teachers who do not currently have a musical background, ensuring they feel confident to deliver a quality music curriculum.

 Class Teachers deliver music lessons across the school using the Sing Up program. We have chosen Sing Up as it offers a coherently planned sequence of lessons, which ensure progressive coverage of the skills required by the National Curriculum. The skills are based around the four pillars of music: singing; listening; composing and performing/instrumental performance. Where applicable, there are also opportunities to make cross-curricular links with our broader curriculum and core subject areas. The curriculum progression is linear throughout the program which will enable children to gradually build up their skills as they move through from Year 3 to Year 6.  Our plan is to provide a universal provision of music education throughout the school, which will enable our children to develop their love of music and build their musical skills and knowledge. We want music in the school to be creative, collaborative, celebratory and challenging in line with the expectations of the Model Music Curriculum. The children sing every week, and we use our sung collective worship sessions both as opportunities to further the Christian values of the school as well as to learn inspiring and uplifting songs such as ’Power in Me’ and ‘Build it High.’ We also aim to use our weekly singing sessions to continue to embed those skills taught in music lessons, focusing especially on rhythm, pitch and active listening to each other.

Subject Implementation

The Music curriculum ensures that children in all year groups are singing, listening to and playing music with opportunities built in to lessons to both perform and evaluate. This is embedded in the classroom through the structure of the Sing Up scheme of work as well as the weekly singing assemblies and teaching from specialist music teachers available when children are in Year 4. The elements of music are taught in the classroom so that children are able to use the language of music to analyse it, understand how it is made and played and able to express their appreciation of it. Children also receive regular exposure to notation and stave music in lessons and in singing assemblies through the Sing Up scheme. Through weekly lessons, children learn key aspects of music including how to compose and perform their own works. Their building knowledge of these key aspects enables them to develop their understanding when listening to, playing or analysing a piece of music. At the end of each unit there are opportunities for students to perform a rehearsed piece or a group composition, and all students are expected to contribute to the finished piece. Throughout the year, all children also perform a variety of songs at our regular church services, in front of parents. Each year group also has a chance to perform a staged play once a year and there are also opportunities to participate in the school choir, recorder or percussion groups.

As well as exposure to music from a variety of ccultures and countries across the world through the curriculum, we also use Musician of the Month to look in detail at a huge variety of composers and  artists, with children listening to different pieces every day as they come in and out of Collective Worship. Teachers can also then refer to this scheme throughout the year and tie in different artists with the unit they are studying, where relevant.

The Sing Up progression map, focusing on the skills being covered in each year group will allow us to see the progress and mastery of skills taking place across the school. There are 2 key assessment units per year for teachers to be able to see the growth in musical understanding and skill set.

Subject Impact

At Brackley Junior School, our overriding aim for our children’s musical education, is to have fostered a love and appreciation of music through their experiences in their music lessons, singing assemblies and opportunities to perform. They will have had the opportunity to play a range of musical instruments, both following musical notation and inventing their own compositions. They will have had a term of instrumental lessons, affording them chances to play together as a class and learn from a specialist teacher. They will also be able to confidently use a range of musical vocabulary to discuss the music they listen to and play.

 Throughout their time at BJS, students have yearly opportunities to perform to each other, to parents and the wider community thorough regular church service songs and year group plays. 

We work hard to ensure that all children can contribute to performances, supporting and scaffolding where needed. Some children will find their greatest successes or most memorable occasions in participating in musical performances and finding the courage to perform and be creative in front of peers and parents. We believe that music, creativity and performance are powerful tools in allowing children to be brave, confident and able to develop a strong sense of self..

Our goal is that children leave BJS with a greater understanding of the incredible music from different communities and cultures and how that complements music from all over the world. They can appreciate that music is something to be celebrated and something that brings people together, regardless of background.