Music at Elham

Statement of Intent

At Elham Church of England Primary School, our intention is that our music curriculum will inspire pupils to develop a love of music, and an enthusiastic response to a high quality, music curriculum, that engages and supports all.

In their Music Education, we aim to teach children to develop the key skills of listening, singing, composing, improvising and performing - founded upon the National Curriculum for Music. Music lessons will uphold the fundamental skills of learning, endorsing good attitudes in lessons, whilst also being fun!

Music at Elham will make use of our beautiful, outdoor environment whenever possible. Music will nurture pupils to flourish and will endorse our school vision and values. Music will contribute to the well-being and nurture of pupils in our school. Music lessons will provide a forum for rich discussion and expression for all, honing speaking and listening skills, and widening vocabulary. Music, by its nature, will richly illustrate the importance of diversity, as pupils discover music from different cultures and periods in history.

Music at Elham will provide wider opportunities for peripatetic learning, community outreach, educational visits and trips, and links with local schools. Music at Elham will be a celebrated and highly valued feature of our school.

We use the Kapow Music Scheme to teach our lessons. 

The Kapow Primary Music scheme is designed to help pupils recognise themselves as musical and to nurture a lifelong love of music.

The scheme develops the skills, knowledge, and understanding needed to become confident performers, composers, and listeners. The curriculum introduces pupils to music from across the world, encouraging respect and appreciation for the music of all traditions and communities.

Pupils build musical skills through singing, playing tuned and untuned instruments, improvising, composing and listening and responding to music. They develop an understanding of the historical and cultural context of the music they encounter and learn how music can be notated.

The scheme also supports the development of transferable skills, including teamwork, leadership, creative thinking, problem-solving, decision-making and presentation and performance abilities. These skills are integral to pupils’ development as learners and have wide application in their lives beyond school.

Implementation

Pupils have weekly Music lessons lasting at least an hour.

The school hall also has a high-quality PA system for larger, musical events, such as visits from musicians, ensemble concerts and our regular school performances.

Music develops many social skills, such as teamwork, turn taking, respect and fellowship. Music plays a major role in our school celebrations and productions. 

We subscribe to Singup, an organisation that champions singing skills and it supports both specialist and non-specialist teachers of Music and singing clubs are run by teachers at various points in the year.

Impact

At Elham Primary School, children discover musical strengths and talents, as they each progress their key skills of singing, listening, performing, composing and improvising, throughout their time here. Pupils adopt the fundamental skills for learning, as supported in Music Lessons. Pupils  leave the school with confidence to offer their musical skills acquired here to their future schools, and into the wider world