Music
Miss Ali is the music coordinator at Milton Park Primary School.
MUSIC Planning Toolkit.pptxMusic at Milton Park Primary School
Aims and Vision
At Milton Park, we aim to promote and encourage a culture of expression and creativity through dramatic arts. We aim to engage and inspire children with the wealth and diversity of music accessible in the world today, foster a curiosity in their own performance ability and develop critical and expressive listeners and composers.
Music is such a universal language that it allows children of all abilities and backgrounds to share one voice and its broad appeal and range makes it compatible for so many cross-curricular and cross-phase possibilities that allows us to explore learning as we intend; together.
How we teach Music
At Milton Park, music is taught in regular, weekly sessions by the children’s class teachers. We follow the Kapow scheme of learning. Each year group have a specific programme of study each half-term which will be explored through using a variety of practical and digital resources. This might include, but not be limited to, musical instruments or laptops, iPads and computers.
Music is also taught peripatetically through our association with external agencies such as Rocksteady. Representatives hold weekly rehearsal sessions with children who enrol with them and provide them with performance opportunities in front of the whole school to develop their musicality and performance confidence.
Additionally, we encourage learning through weekly singing assemblies during which we engage in practising songs for enjoyment or for other special purposes; such as special hymns or performances at local events or special occasions.
Finally, children in every year group are given opportunities throughout the year to engage with enrichment performances at the end of each academic term. Early Years and Key Stage 1 children perform first in the annual Nativity performance, whilst Lower Key Stage 2 prepare during the Spring term for an Easter performance and Years 5 and 6 are given the opportunity to organise and perform their own event at the end of the summer term.
What does learning look like in Music?
During a music lesson, at Milton Park we believe that learning is fundamentally a practical and collaborative process. In a lesson exploring the characteristics of different instruments, you will see children handling and playing them in small groups; creating their own short, rhythmic or melodic compositions before performing them to the rest of the group. Another lesson focussed on timbre (texture), for example, might be explored by listening to a variety of different pieces of music to hear the difference rather than just being told. In short, music lessons are not the quietest environments, nor should they be. The process of developing their imagination and creativity is a noisy one and one we encourage, within reason, to ensure they are building up their knowledge, skills and understanding.
In a lot of our music lessons, we expect a certain amount of independent learning from the children where they learn by listening and doing. Teachers may observe a group or individual and record their performance or discussion using digital journaling software such as Seesaw. Some learning, such as composition or notation for those older children may be recorded in project books for future reference.
Additionally, learning may be presented in the form of a short performance during assembly or during more official events in front of parents and visitors. At Milton Park, we believe that creating a real musical culture will give us more opportunity to share the successes and talents of our children with the community and allow them the opportunity to ‘shine’.
Ukulele
Piano-1.movOne of our talented pupils playing piano
