INTENT

At Drake, we are building a culture where music is for everyone. We want to ensure that music is a joyful, engaging and inclusive experience that enables every child to develop their musical potential and develop an appreciation of the value of music that is deeply personal to them. We want children to have a curiosity for the subject and a respect for the role that music may play in any person’s life. We want our children to see themselves reflected in the musicians and composers we listen to and to encounter inspirational and aspirational musical role models that reflect the world: past, present and future, in all its diversity.
We intend to inspire musicians of the future and create a passion for music in all our children that will stay with them for a lifetime.

IMPLEMENTATION

There are 6 strands to our implementation of that intent.

1. An ambitious and engaging music curriculum, taught through weekly music lessons
2. Listening to music and learning about composers and musicians
3. Weekly singing assemblies
4. Music clubs, ensembles and instrument lessons
5. Regular opportunities to perform
6. Planned inspirational and aspirational musical experiences

1. An ambitious and engaging music curriculum - taught through weekly music lessons

The expectations for children leaving primary school are high. We expect our y6s to be able to read and notate music, play instruments with some fluency and musicality, critically analyse music, improvise and compose music, and have an understanding of Music history. To ensure this happens, we have a clear progression of knowledge, skills and understanding mapped out from Reception through to KS2.
Music is taught in weekly lessons. In Reception and KS1 we use a music scheme called Charanga which provides teachers with lesson plans and fun, engaging whiteboard resources to accompany every lesson. The Scheme supports all the requirements of the national curriculum with the interrelated dimensions of music are woven through every unit giving the opportunity to embed knowledge, understanding and skills. In KS2, we have a team of Musicians in Residence from the Norfolk Music Hub, providing high quality and authentic learning opportunities for all our pupils. Children continue to have weekly lessons taught either taught by one of our Musicians, or a Charanga unit taught by their Class Teacher.

2. Listening to music and learning about composers and musicians

We all know that reading to children and talking about books is crucial to their development as writers. The same is true for music. If we want our children to be rounded musicians and discerning listeners and to appreciate the value of all music types, then we need to give them as wide and varied a diet of music as possible. We also need to give them the knowledge and vocabulary to unpick that music in order to be able to understand what they are hearing and to apply it to their own music making.
We approach listening to music in 4 key ways:

• As a school we also look at a classical composer each month through the BBC’s Ten Pieces project. This allows the whole school to share in the process of learning about a great composer, a piece of their music and their place in history. 
• Charanga has listening opportunities built into each unit.
• Each half term, listening opportunities are linked to all our assemblies and to the school values
• Teachers are encouraged to play music linked to learning and to children’s interests.

As part of our work on diversity and social justice, we have been looking carefully at representation in the music we listen to, making sure that the children have the opportunity to see themselves reflected in the musicians we study. Pupils have opportunities to listen to, review and evaluate music across a range of historical periods, genres, styles and traditions, including the music of other faiths and cultures - with value being placed on their diversity.

3. Weekly singing assemblies

Everyone sings at Drake.  We have weekly Key Stage singing assemblies which are an opportunity to appreciate the value and joy of collective singing as well as developing singing skills and part singing. Songs are selected for their musical value as well as linking in with our school values and assembly themes.

4.  Music clubs, ensembles and instrument lessons

At Drake, children with a flair or an interest in music have the opportunity to progress to the next level of learning through instrument tuition or a club.
We offer lessons in a wide range of instruments taught by our music team. Last year we had excellent uptake for music lessons, with 23% of eligible pupils taking lessons.
The expertise amongst our music team means we can also offer a large range of music clubs and ensembles. Pupil voice is collected to make sure the clubs we offer matches their interests.

Prior to lockdown we had also launched a string ensemble, a woodwind ensemble and a beginner’s orchestra and we look forward to a time when we can relaunch these and add in further ensembles working towards our ambition of having a full school orchestra.

5. Regular opportunities to perform

Pupils have termly opportunities to showcase their skills to an audience.
These are planned into our progression with audiences getting wider as children progress through the school starting with class assemblies in Reception through to our Year 6s performing at the Norfolk Show each year on the Norfolk Music Hub’s stage (once that can resume).
Pupils have an opportunity to help shape our concerts and the Pupil Arts Council are involved in planning and delivering some of our school musical events.

6. Planned inspirational and aspirational musical experiences

To inspire our future musicians we expose them to aspirational and inspirational opportunities. As restrictions lift we look forward to being able to invite musicians and bands back into school to perform. We also look forward to participating in more musical projects providing opportunities for our children to perform with children from other schools and musicians, at local and national events.

IMPACT

We expect to see:

• all children making progress with their learning, with most children working at, or above, their expected level for music
• a high uptake of extra-curricular opportunities by pupils
• positive parental engagement such as attending concerts
• music forming part of our pupils’ daily lives
• children and parents talking positively about music and that children are proud of their progress
• all of our children accessing music lessons
• all children able to play a musical instrument with some musicality by the time they leave Drake
• children developing and using the language of a musician

We monitor the impact of our music provision by:

• assessing and monitoring the progress of children against our progression map.
• monitoring the uptake of extra curricular opportunities -  adapting as necessary to make sure they are inclusive, exciting and inviting.
• collecting ongoing feedback from parents, pupils and from our School Arts Council
• monitoring how well we are embedding musical experiences across the curriculum – supporting teachers as necessary to find links within their topics.
• monitor the diversity of musical experiences our pupils receive with our Social Justice Team.
• use Learning Walks to check on visibility of music in the school and to talk to children about their learning and how they feel about music.
• observe lessons to look at how questioning is used to extend children’s thinking and to see the language and vocabulary children are using.