VISION

Every child will leave Witheridge Academy with a solid foundation in musical skills and a love of music.

IMPACT

At Witheridge Academy, music is creative and enjoyable, as well as academic and demanding.  Children will be taught a love and understanding of music through the following eight main strands;

• Performance
• Pulse and rhythm
• Singing
• Composition
• Notation
• Listening
• Music appreciation
• Significant people

IMPLEMENTATION

Teaching and Learning

All children receive an outstanding weekly music lesson; these lessons are either taught by a music specialist or heavily guided by one depending on age.  All children are taught to play an instrument as part of their whole class music lesson for at least one term every year. Children are also taught to read basic staff notation. 

Music teaching at Witheridge also allows children to build their futures by preparing them for secondary school music - they are challenged to use notation and composition at a young age. The teaching of music helps to build children’s confidence through performance and the practical nature of the subject.

There are also musical opportunities for children as afterschool clubs, when they are being run by teachers.

Singing

Singing is central to music in our school. It may be used as a warm-up to start the weekly music lesson or it may be integral to the topic. Children are taught singing in a weekly whole school singing assembly, with singing occasionally included in other assemblies throughout the week. Singing plays an important role in school events throughout the year including Christmas plays, Year 6 productions, Harvest festivals, Christmas concerts and Easter services.

Additional Instrument teaching

We currently have a peripatetic teacher who offers children the opportunity to learn an instrument in a one to one or small group lesson paid for by guardians. Instrument lessons happen on a weekly basis, children have the opportunity to learn the piano or guitar. We also offer a reduction in cost to those children who are pupil premium.

Children also are offered the chance to be part of a Rocksteady band. As part of this they will learn to play an instrument or sing as part of a band, and perform for parents, guardians and classmates. This gives them the vital musical skills needed to perform as a group, choose songs and make the band their own.

IMPACT

Children demonstrate their ability in music in a variety of different ways. The teacher assesses children’s work in music by making informal judgments as they observe them during lessons.  Children are also encouraged to make judgments about how they can improve their own work. At the end of a unit of work, the teacher makes a summary judgment about the work of each pupil which is recorded on Curriculum Maestro and fed into end of year reports.