Music
Intent
At Kemball, our music curriculum intent is to engage and inspire our pupils to develop a life-long love of music. We will provide them with interesting and exciting musical experiences, activities and lessons to enable them to reach their potential, independence and to become a musician.
Our music education starts in the Early Years Foundation Stage and continues throughout the school. The pupils will develop their musical skills through practical hands-on experiences and fun learning opportunities to become confident performers, composers and listeners. Pupils will explore and listen to a wide range of music throughout history and from around the world, including music of their time and generation, to develop an awareness and appreciation of music in all its forms. They will learn to play a range of tuned and untuned percussion instruments and create their own compositions and improvisations. Pupils will use their skills and understanding to develop their ability, creativity and confidence to be musical both within and out of school.
Implementation
Music is an important part of Kemball School, valued as a subject and given as much importance as the rest of the curriculum.
Our music curriculum at Kemball is progressive and ambitious to ensure all pupils achieve their potential. We have a ‘can do’ attitude to music and all pupils achieve music making individually and within their group. Kemball has a music specialist who teaches all the pupils during the year and supports class staff to lead their own music sessions, so ensuring skills are delivered and taught weekly.
The music curriculum broadly follows the aims of the national curriculum, model music curriculum and national plan for music and sounds of intent, incorporating the strands below through topic-based learning activities and experiences:
- performing
- listening
- composition and improvisation
- the history of music
- the inter-related dimensions of music
Pupils across Multisensory, Engagement and Progression pathways have weekly music sessions, where pupils learn how to sing, play tuned and untuned percussion instruments, improvise, compose, and perform. Through these sessions, pupils learn to
- join in with songs and rhymes and enjoy singing for pleasure
- recognise, name and play familiar instruments with increasing accuracy and control,
- learn about the inter-related dimensions of music: pitch, tempo, dynamic, duration, texture, timbre and structure
- use their skills in improvisations and compositions.
Pupils are actively encouraged to explore and create within all sessions, fostering an inclusive atmosphere where everyone is valued and supported to achieve their potential. They are encouraged to use their preferred method of communication, such as signing, symbols and gestures as well as speech to take an active part in all sessions.
Pupils perform within their classes and to a wider audience through school music concerts, open to the wider school and parents. Pupils also take part in external projects and concerts led by outside agencies such as Music Share and Manchester Camerata whenever possible.
We invite external performers in to school, such as Key Strings and African drumming groups, to give the pupils extra experiences. Through a school wide cultural studies week in the summer term, pupils focus on traditional and modern music from the country we are studying. This involves listening to live music from visiting musicians and workshops to create their own music.
Pupils within the Functional pathway join in the music workshops and visiting performances. A weekly music session is offered to pupils from Year 9 to 11 as part of their curriculum for those with a specific interest and talent.
Impact
Pupils at Kemball enjoy music and are all musical in their own way. They listen to music, explore and experience music from other cultures and times, to develop their awareness, understanding and acceptance of the music enjoyed by others, as well as playing and creating their own music. Through music pupils achieve, develop self-confidence, interact with other and accept their opinions and skills. Our music curriculum encourages pupils to become musical and develop a love and enthusiasm for music that will stay with them throughout life.