Intent:

Music at Ashbourne Primary School brings joy, inclusion and self-expression to the fore.

Our work is underpinned by our vision and aims: ‘Nurturing aspiration through happy, creative learning’. Our PRAISE aims are at the heart of every lesson and our focus on the removal of barriers to learning is firmly embedded into all areas of the Music curriculum.

Our children love to sing and will learn the skills and confidence to sing and play together and express themselves freely. Participation is encouraged through direct teaching and extra-curricular choir, bands, performances and individual lessons. Special assemblies feature singing, listening to and learning about great composers.

All children will learn to play a variety of instruments: untuned and percussion, handbells, recorders and, in year 6, an orchestral instrument. Our choir, bands and players present several concerts each year, including a large musical production in the summer, and take their music out into the community.

The curriculum is planned and sequenced over a two-year period: KS1 (Y1 and Y2), LWK2 (Y3 and Y4) and UPKS2 (Y5 and Y6). To begin with, children develop their basic knowledge of musical concepts. In the second phase, children deepen their understanding and apply what they have learned. This is based on the principal that learning has only happened when processes and facts (knowledge) are in pupils’ long-term memory. This takes time and repetition. Planning the curriculum in this way, allows pupils to establish fundamental foundations into their memories before advancing and applying concepts across a range of tasks and topics.