The teaching of music at Laurel Avenue Community Primary, is designed to aid teachers to help pupils build a music schema within their long-term memories. Rather than memorising isolated facts, building a strong musical schema enables pupils to organise knowledge in a meaningful way.
As a school we map
• Breadth of study - the topics the pupils will study
• Threshold concepts - the big ideas in music that pupils will explore through every topic (perform, compose, transcribe and describe music).
• Milestones - the goals that pupils should reach to show they are meeting the expectations of the curriculum.
Milestones are the goals that pupils are aiming for; through developing a strong schema based on knowledge, vocabulary and tasks pupils progress through the milestones.
Discrete music lessons occur once a week with the aid of the online music platform Charanga. Music in EYFS is explored through independent learning opportunities and regular singing aids learning in class. Pupils in KS2 have opportunities to work with peripatetic music teacher (clarinets). Pupils in EYFS and KS1 particpate in weekly singing lessons, and pupils in KS2 who form the school choir take part in weekly lessons with a singing teacher from Pimlico opera. As well as this, all our staff participate in the teaching of wider music coverage, such as our Big Play for Make Music Day and annual EYFS, KS1 and KS2 productions.
Pupils with SEND are given full access to the music curriculum.