Music

Leader: Mrs Wilson

At Greenfields we provide a broad, balanced and progressive music curriculum which is taught as a discrete subject linking to our school values- be brave and be bold. We aim for our music provision to be embedded and exceed the national curriculum and to support our pupils to realise their music potential.

The primary music national curriculum for KS1 and KS2 covers the following:

Singing
Playing tuned and untuned instruments
Listening to recorded and live music
Composing and improvising
Understanding music history
Understanding notation

It tells us teaching music in primary school requires facilitating children to “perform, listen to, review and evaluate music across a range of historical periods, musical genres, styles and traditions, including the works of the great composers and musicians”. However, at Greenfields we want it to be more than this. We want to create future musicians, empower our children to understand and talk about music and teach all children to learn how to play an instrument, understand and read notation and compose their own music before they leave primary school. We recognise that our children are the future of music and teach in innovative ways to capture their interests and recognise their potential in becoming a musician, including the use of music technology.

High quality school music education consists of three distinct, but interlinked areas of provision;

As soon as our children start with us at Greenfields, Music is high on our agenda. We strive to deliver high-quality music provision for all pupils in the three areas of curriculum, co-curricular and enrichment, and against the following key features:

Timetable discrete curriculum music sessions
Clear, music progression through our carefully planned out music curriculum starting in our Early Years
Access to lessons across a range of instruments
A school choir with opportunities to perform outside of school hours
A school band
Our fully equip music room
Termly school performances
Opportunities for our children to enjoy live music

Singing really is an integral part of our school day. Each week we gather as a whole school for a singing assembly with songs which match the season or theme we are learning about. The children learn alongside each other and perform at half termly assemblies. In the Autumn term the children have three four opportunities to perform including; harvest festival, remembrance day service, carol singing in our local church and Christmas performances.

We work closely with a North Tyneside Music Hub tutor who this year is developing our music offer by teaching after school ukulele club. Our Hub tutor also hosts ‘Band Club’ which is an after school opportunity for inspired musicians to come along and create something special. This offer is for children in Key Stage 1 and 2.

This year our Muddy Bairns (Early Years) are working with Ashleigh Lowes, a vocalist and community musician. We are taking part in an Early Years Music project, with North Tyneside Music Education Hub, and our 2-year old’s group. We believe that nurturing a love of music and music making in a child’s formative years will help to support their overall development and their musical development in the future, as well as positively impacting their wider mental and physical well-being, whilst having lots of fun. As part of the project, we like to involve our families, including inviting them along to our ‘Families Make Some Noise’ session. Our families can join us and make some music with your little ones, play some games, learn some new songs and sing some of the classics.

Your child may come home talking about their learning. Here are our musical terms and definitions;

Greenfields Music Development Plan Reviewing Tool Download

Look at some of the opportunities our children have already had this year;

Songs around the campfire at Dukeshouse Wood

Playing of the Bugle at the Remembrance Service

Seeing the Cold Stream Guards at Newcastle Cathedral

Each class performed a Harvest song at our Harvest Festival

In all of our Early Years Environments children have access to a range of instruments

In Muddy Bairns our 2 year olds enjoy weekly Rhythm Time sessions and in Nursery our children work with Piccolo.