Haveley Hey Community Music Blog

Welcome to the Music Page of Haveley Hey Community School!

http://www.teachertube.com/flvideo/52962.flv

Haveley Hey Community School

Music Statement Policy 2008-2009

  1. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES.

 Music is highly valued at the school, there is a weekly award given to an individual pupil who has showed outstanding effort in the lesson.

• To provide a range of quality musical experiences which create opportunities to learn and achieve.
• To nurture the child by encouraging composing, performing, listening and appraising their own and other composers music.
• To develop listening skills by exploring pitch, timbre, texture, structure, duration, dynamics and tempo.
• To ensure that children are given the opportunity to listen to music from other cultures and ensuring the differences are accepted and celebrated. Continuing discussions about ‘Music of the Week’ ensures this.
• To develop community awareness and the involvement of adults within the school.
• Staff and children to continue to work towards a positive outcome.                        
• To enhance their repertoire of songs.
• To continue to encourage children to play a variety of instruments and develop playing skills.
• To continue to encourage children to work co-operatively in groups and pairs.

 2. EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES.

 All children have access to and experience of music regardless of race, ability and gender. Music gives all children of ability an opportunity to express themselves other than in words. All are presented with images of both males and females playing music, and will experience music from around the world.

 All children, including those with SEN are encouraged to broaden their experiences of music. All are given an equal opportunity to play percussion and peripatetic instruments:

•  Tasks set will allow a variety of responses so that children of all abilities can participate.
• Tasks of increasing difficulty will allow more able children to progress to greater levels of challenge.

 3. TEACHING.

• Children in Foundation Stage experience music in groups of 15. Year 1, 2, 3 and 4 experience music as a whole class. Years 5 and 6 are split into groups of 15 children per group.
• The music lessons comprise of teacher directed activities and opportunities to compose in groups and pairs.
• Children are given the opportunity to play an instrument at each lesson.
• Children in Key Stage 1 have their weekly entitlement of 45 minutes.
• Children in Key stage 2 have their weekly entitlement of 60 minutes.
• Music is taught in the music room.
• Part of the music lesson is taught through a whole school music assembly once a week.
• All music lessons are taught by the music co-ordinator.
• All strategies and routines are implemented by the music co-ordinator.
• All children are encouraged to maintain eye contact and teamwork.
• There are 2 peripatetic music teachers who teach violin and steel pans.
• Every child in Key Stage 2 has ½ a term learning the recorder. This is taught during the weekly music lessons and continues each consecutive year until they leave in year 6.

 4. PLANNING.

•  ‘Music Express’ is taught throughout the school with regular references to ‘Music in the Classroom’.
• The Music Co-ordinator uses weekly planning sheets to record the lesson plan for each year group.
• All years are working at the appropriate level.

 5. ASSESSMENT.

 MUSIC ASSESSMENT AND PROGRESS RECORDS     2.7.08

Introduction

Music is a continuity that reaches each and every pupil through all years in our school.

Children are encouraged to perform, so that self esteem is raised and confidence gained. They are encouraged to be creative by composing and can develop teamwork by performing their compositions in groups. Listening to, being involved by making music and participating in a wide range of musical experiences enables them to form opinions about their musical likes and dislikes that enrich their own lives and futures and those of their families.

We therefore need to keep systematic records of the musical progress of each pupil.

 The Music Curriculum

The music curriculum in our school is based on the published scheme Music Express - A and C Black 2003.

In the Early Years and Foundation Stage it is organised into themes which follow the 6 areas of learning, Communication language and literacy, mathematical development, Knowledge and understanding the world, Creative development, Physical development and Personal, social and emotional development for each school year.

In other years the skills and levels are the starting points and links or themes with other curriculum learning in science, history, geography, design technology, art, MFL and physical education can be explored. Literacy, mathematics and ICT should apply across all other subjects including music.

We promote skills based learning. By the use of music skills set out by Focus Education and expressed in terms of I can…. The National Curriculum music skills guide our planned learning objectives, and for those pupils who are able to, gives them an Assessment for learning programme to self evaluate their own musical progress.

We believe that our pupils musical education should be motivational, interesting and engaging we need to plan highlights over the years to improve their general attitudes to music and school. It helps their concentration and generally improves their behaviour in the classroom, around the school and in the local community by giving pupils opportunities for performance musical goals on a regular basis and a feeling of pride and accomplishment. Pupils have the opportunity to play a recorder, steel drums, violin, dancing, singing solo and in groups. These focus points are planned into our music curriculum at key ages.

As a starting point the skills levels are:-

Level 1 - Nursery and Reception

Level 2 - Years 1 and 2

Level 3 - Years 3 and 4

Level 4 - Years 5 and 6

Level 5 -  For those pupils a who are musically outstanding in years 5 and 6

We realise that some children will be suited to grade below their year planned levels, while others are ready to be challenged at a higher level than our starting point.

 Assessment

We assess music progress on a four point scale:

A - Outstanding - well above average for age

B - Good - above the average for age

C - Satisfactory - average for age

D - Under performing - below average for age

Pupils are assessed by these grades in 5 areas:

Performing skills

Composing skills

Appraising skills

Listening and applying skills

Attitude to music, effort and application

We keep paper files with a single sheet of music records for each pupil.

The individual record sheet moves through the school with the pupil and so becomes a cumulative record of their musical progress during their time in the school

The individual sheet can then be passed on at transition.

There is also the opportunity for these records to be kept digitally, however with high pupil mobility with new pupils entering and leaving during the year, paper records as easier to maintain and handle.

The assessment pages for Nursery and Reception / Key Stage 1 can be printed on one side and Key Stage 2 records on the back

If pages are hole punched on both sides of the page then the appropriate page is upper most and always ready for comment to be added easily.

Files - 2

Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2

Assessment programme

 As our assessment process is individual we need to find quality time to make the assessments and spread them over the school year

In considering the school calendar, our music curriculum, highlights, performances, productions and the needs of transition the following programme is put in place:

6. SINGING.

 Singing is a key part of every lesson. It is taught in the classes through ‘Singaround’ sessions and practised in assemblies to all ages of primary learning. It is also used in SFA and Numeracy and at the end of the day.

7. RESOURCES

•  All music resources are stored in the music room.
• Key stage 2 non- tuned percussion instruments are sorted and stored in red boxes.
• Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1 instruments are sorted and stored in green and blue trays.
• All CD’s and books are stored in the music room.
• Xylophones, glockenspiels, metallophones, and keyboards are on display at the back of the classroom.
• All peripatetic instruments are stored in the music stock cupboard.

 8. INSTRUMENTAL TEACHING.

•  Recorder is taught from Year 2 for ½ a term during each year of the child’s’ school life as part of the music lesson and after school for beginners and experienced players.
• Steel pans are taught to each child in year 4, half termly for 30 minutes per week. Advanced Steel Pan lessons are taught to a large group of experienced children throughout the year for ½ an hour and they are known as the school steel band.
• Drum kit lessons take place after school on Mondays.
• Violin is taught to each child in year 5, half termly for 30 minutes per week.
• Advanced violin is taught to 6, talented children in Year 6, for 40 minutes per week.

 9. DISPLAY.

•  There are 2 boards designated for music display outside the music room in a separate corridor.
• Music co-ordinator is responsible for keeping it up to date.
• There are a number of display boards in the music room which display children’s work and a number of experiences shown using photographs. There are also posters showing the different instrumental families.

10. TRAINING.

• Head Teacher books the training arrangements.
• Co-ordinator tries to attend most co-ordinator meetings run by the Music Service.

11. EXTRA CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES.

•  Regular information comes from Manchester Music Service regarding extra-curricular activities.

 12. PERFORMANCE.

• Children perform as a whole class for class assemblies.
• Children perform songs with actions and instruments.
• Children are given opportunities to perform on the instrument they are learning.
• Children perform out of school at workshops.
• Years 4 and upwards regularly perform their compositions for other members of the class as part of their musical development.
• Children follow the Performance Code Of Conduct ( a concise set of rules, geared for performances and shows.)