| The following guidance may be helpful for music coordinators who want to review or create their own scheme of work.
Defining a key-stage plan
A key-stage plan for music:
- precedes the development of a scheme of work;
- takes account of the circumstances of the school and its aims and purposes;
- is a whole-school plan agreed by all staff;
- is based on the requirements for music for the appropriate key stage;
- sets out an agreed time allocation for music per year for each year group or mixed-age class;
- identifies the specific skills that need regular ongoing development, for example singing, listening;
- defines how time is to be used, for example in weekly sessions and/or short regular periods supported through more extended sessions;
- makes clear school priorities, for example PSHE.
Developing a scheme of work
When developing a scheme of work for music, teachers will need to make decisions about appropriate depth, breadth and balance.
Depth Teachers may find it helpful to:
- identify the key learning objectives for each programme of units, for example in the units for years 1 and 2;
- define the vocabulary that children are expected to understand and use in each unit - this will be directly related to the key learning objectives;
- define the broad outcomes expected of the majority of the class;
- differentiate outcomes by including expectations for those who may not make so much progress, but still achieve within the unit, and the expectations for those who may make more progress;
- plan the units so that the key learning objectives are revisited at least once during the programme.
Depth and balance It is important to check that there is an appropriate balance between:
- using the voice and playing instruments;
- developing disciplined skills (rhythmic and melodic skills), such as playing and singing with a sense of the pulse and pitch, and descriptive skills, such as creating music to portray animals or the weather;
- children creating and performing their own music, for example by adding sounds to a story, and performing and adapting the music of others, for example by singing songs;
- creating and performing music using aural memory and using symbols/notations;
- creating and performing music for/on tuned and untuned instruments;
- improvising skills, for example developing rhythmic and melodic material when performing, and more reflective composing skills, for example exploring, choosing, combining and developing musical ideas through a process of refining and improving. (In key stage 1 these two aspects of composing are less distinct.)
Breadth and balance Teachers should also look across the units and check that:
- the statutory requirements will be taught and the expectations reached by mapping the specific skills and areas of knowledge across the programme;
- the three interrelated skills of performing, composing and appraising are developed together in every unit of work;
- listening skills are developed and specific musical knowledge applied in every unit;
- there is a range of different starting points (stimuli) for the units that will help to motivate the class and enable the development of the key learning objectives, for example stories, poems, music, songs and themes such as the weather. (The starting points can change while the objective remains the same thereby providing a new stimulus for work to consolidate selected knowledge, skills and understanding);
- children are given opportunities to work individually, in groups of different sizes and as a class;
- the use of ICT is maximised, for example, by using:
- a tape recorder to record and play back children's work for analysis and evaluation;
- software to explore sounds and create simple compositions;
- software to investigate music from different times and cultures;
- the internet to collect information and to share work with others;
- children will experience a range of classical, folk, jazz and popular music taken from different times and cultures.
A simple way to ensure appropriate breadth of musical experiences and repertoire is to make sure that every pupil is helped to move from what is familiar to that which is unfamiliar. For example, many children listen to popular music extensively and this genre could be used as the starting point from which to investigate classical music, which may not be so familiar. In addition, teachers should consider providing opportunities for all children to:
- perform to different audiences including at whole-school events for parents;
- experience live music from professional musicians;
- develop their musical skills through specialist instrumental tuition;
- extend their interests and expertise through involvement in school, community and regional musical activities.
Evaluating key-stage plans and units
It is important to ask how far the school's current music key-stage plans and units:
- provide long- and medium-term plans that are clearly linked to the national curriculum programmes of study and levels descriptions;
- provide a secure basis from which teachers can plan lessons on a daily or weekly basis to meet the needs of all children in the class;
- identify what children are expected to learn and how children's learning might be assessed;
- provide sufficient depth and breadth and an appropriate balance of experiences to achieve expectations;
- show how other musical skills and experiences developed outside the classroom can support, enrich and be extended by the work in the classroom;
- ensure practical work is underpinned and extended by musical knowledge;
- highlight links between music and other subjects and broader educational aims such as PSHE.
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