What does Music at Frogwell offer our children?

Our intention is that children gain a firm understanding of what music is through listening, singing, playing, evaluating, analysing, and composing across a wide variety of historical periods, styles, traditions, and musical genres. Our aim is to develop a curiosity for the subject, as well as an understanding and acceptance of the validity and importance of all types of music. Through Charanga, our music curriculum ensures pupils sing, listen, play, perform and evaluate. These components are embedded in classroom activities, as well as the weekly singing assemblies, various concerts and performance and the learning of instruments.

What are the main aims of our Music curriculum?

The National Curriculum for music aims to ensure that all pupils - perform, listen to, review and evaluate music, be taught to sing, create and compose music and understand and explore how music is created, produced and communicated.

We are committed to ensuring children understand the value and importance of music in the wider community, and are able to use their musical skills, knowledge, and experiences to involve themselves in music, in a variety of different contexts.

The Model Music curriculum also enables children to develop an understanding of culture and history, both in relation to pupils individually, as well as ethnicities from across the world. Children are able to enjoy music, in as many ways as they choose- either as listener, creator or performer. Most important of all, Charanga aims for the pupils to become more confident, realising their potential or simply enjoying music more, in and out of school.

How is the teaching of Music organised?

The elements of music are taught in the weekly classroom lessons so that children are able to use some of the language of music to dissect it, and understand how it is made, played, appreciated and analysed. By following the Charanga scheme, the key knowledge and skills for each year are mapped to ensure progression between years.  This ensures that children develop their musical skills systematically, building their knowledge of music from one year to the next.

In the classroom pupils experience and learn how to play an instrument and experience all four main instrument groups of wind, strings, percussion and keyboards. In doing so, they are able to understand the different principle of each method of creating notes, as well as how to read basic music notation. They also learn how to compose, focussing on different dimensions of music. Composing or performing using body percussion and vocal sounds is also part of the curriculum, which develops the understanding of musical elements without the added complexity of an instrument.

Singing at Frogwell is supported further through Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 weekly practices. Throughout the year, the school, each Key Stage and individuals have opportunities to perform in school and within the local community. As a school, we are supported by Wiltshire Music Connect and its associates, who deliver peripatetic lessons and weekly Curriculum support across the school.