Music at Thames

At Thames Primary Academy, all pupils have access to an inclusive music curriculum which aims to engage our whole community and promote a love of music. They are exposed to a wide variety of musical and cultural traditions to promote the development of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. We explicitly teach pupils the key areas of music: dynamics, rhythm, melody, pitch and tempo. This helps them to think critically about what they are listening to and develop their evaluation skills – explaining their opinions clearly and concisely. Through performing on vocals, percussion and tuned instruments, pupils develop their self-confidence and they see the power of communication through the media of music. They are able to develop their creativity using the key skills they have identified in the work of others to inspire their own work.  In lessons, pupils are introduced to the key vocabulary needed to discuss music and listen carefully and considerately to the views of others. Through exploring playing a range of instruments they will be exposed to the possibilities available to them should they decide to pursue taking on the commitment of learning an instrument.  They will develop the resilience needed to keep going when introduced to a challenging new concept and we will commit to encouraging regular practice.  Our aim for all pupils is that they can discuss their opinions around music, listen to the opinions of others and show their unique talents through performance and composition. Research has found that music has the power to increase memory and retention as well as maximising learning capabilities. Music can trigger emotions, memories and thoughts which can often lead to a positive effect on our mental well-being.  

The implementation of the music curriculum is sequential, building on the prior skills and knowledge of pupils systematically to develop a long-term change in memory.

Alongside the taught lessons,  we strive to thread music through our daily school life, increasing exposure to a broad range of genres. There is a weekly focus on a specific genre, with specially selected music for pupils to listen to when entering classrooms and assemblies. The music focus board provides information and questions to stimulate discussion and opinion. We endeavour to invite musicians into school to perform for the children and to share their own musical journey, which we hope may inspire our pupils to be musicians of the future. Our ‘singing assemblies’ facilitate the collective singing experience and allow for each class or year group to perform songs from their music lessons for the whole school to enjoy. The school year is peppered with performances from various year groups, creating a real sense of pride when showcasing to parents and the wider local community. 

Early Years Foundation Stage

In the Early Years, pupils are introduced to music, rhyme and song through familiar works including nursery rhyme and song. They sing together, including with actions, on a daily basis, developing a love of music and a basic understanding of beat and melody. They explore playing untuned percussion instruments and they experience performing for an audience.

Key Stage One

During this key stage, children are introduced to all the key elements of music. They begin to study important works in the musical canon, with a focus on storytelling and expression through music. They use Charanga to recognise and respond to steady beats, sing and repeat simple melodies and to begin to play simple rhythms on instruments such as glockenspiel and percussion. Alongside this, they listen to a wide variety of classical and folk music and sing in groups and individually. Their self-expression is promoted through Charanga’s library of songs, and the opportunity for simple improvisation.

Key Stage Two

As children progress through the school, they have the opportunity to play a wider variety of instruments, with recorders being taught in Year 3, cornets in Year 4 and ukuleles in Years 5 and 6. Alongside learning how to play instruments, pupils work on reading and writing music notation on a standard stave. This allows them to better discuss and understand the complexities of the music they are listening to – especially in pitch, tempo and dynamics. Over their time in Key Stage Two, the children come to understand the wide variety of reasons music has been composed, including the spiritual and religious elements of music. Wherever possible, any connections to History and Geography are highlighted in order to strengthen schemas through making links. Pupils are introduced to music from different cultures and traditions to better discuss the similarities and differences of known works. Alongside this, pupils continue to use Charanga to better their understanding of the key elements of music and to question how music makes them feel and why. 

During their time at Thames Primary Academy, learners are introduced to a wide variety of musical styles and opportunities for innovation and creativity. They have time for self-reflection to consider their areas of strength and areas to improve. The integral nature of music and the learner creates an enormously rich palette from which a child may access fundamental abilities such as: achievement, self-confidence, interaction with and awareness of others and self-reflection.

Pupils will be asked to retrieve their growing knowledge of music on a regular basis with weekly quizzes that give pupils the chance to recall the information they have learned. The use of video recording will play an important part in gathering evidence to demonstrate the growing musical capabilities of each child, both when singing and performing and when playing an instrument.