Intent:
At Appletree Gardens the teaching of Music has many benefits such as increasing self confidence, encouraging creativity, working as part of a group and giving children a sense of achievement. It can also help in developing literacy and numeracy skills ( e.g reading the words of songs, spotting rhyming patterns, understanding syllables, counting and rhythm). We aim to immerse children in what we call our Appletree curriculum which fosters development based on our children's needs and their voice. We also aim to…
- engage and inspire children to develop a love of music, through listening, appraising, composing and learning instruments.
- support and develop children's talent as musicians
- give children opportunities to listen to a rich and varied range of genres and talk about their preferences and
- introduce children to the works of composers and musicians.
Implementation:
We follow the Musical Development Matters in the Early Years and the National Curriculum programmes of study for Key Stages 1 and 2, supported by the use of 'Charanga’ and 'Sing up' which provide music for performances and lesson plans covering a range of topics and curriculum areas.
As well as exploring music in lessons children have the opportunity to perform in Christmas concerts and join in singing in assemblies where we celebrate key events such as Harvest, Christmas and Easter and learn songs related to our topic. Children are given the opportunity to learn the Ukulele at the end of Year 2 and this continues into Year 3. We also have visiting instrumental teachers who offer lessons such as keyboard and guitar and Rock Steady which offers rock music tuition.
The older children may wish to join our school choir and as part of the North Tyneside Music hub they will have opportunities to perform as a larger group at venues such as the Whitley Playhouse and other community venues (local care homes, North Shields Christmas market). In 2024 we hope to be involved in The Whitley Bay Parade, Mouth of the Tyne (samba band) and will continue to be involved in the North Tyneside Dance Festival.