Music Curriculum

We are proud and passionate about our music curriculum at Haydn. Music is a unique way of communicating which can inspire and motivate children. It is a vehicle for personal expression and it can play an important part in the personal development of people. Music often reflects the culture and society we live in, and so the teaching and learning of music can help children to understand the world they live in. As well as being a creative and enjoyable activity, music can also be a highly academic and demanding subject. It can also play an important part in helping children feel part of a community, when playing and performing within a large group and in the wider sense of the word. At Haydn we aim to provide opportunities for all children to create, play, perform and enjoy music, to develop the skills to appreciate a wide variety of musical styles, and to begin to make judgements about the quality of music.

At Haydn School we encourage children to participate in a variety of musical experiences. We aim to make music an enjoyable learning experience and to build up the confidence of all children. We aim to develop the children’s ability to sing in tune, in a variety of styles and with other people. Through singing songs, children learn about the structure and organisation of music as well as songs from other countries and cultures. We teach them to listen to and appreciate different forms of music. As children get older, we expect them to maintain their concentration for longer and to listen to more extended pieces of music. Children develop descriptive skills in music lessons when learning about how music can represent feelings and emotions and descriptions become more analytical as the children progress through KS2. Through having instrumental lessons and going to Area Band, the disciplined skills of recognising rhythm and pitch are developed to a more complex level. 

We recognise that there are children of widely different musical abilities in all classes, so we provide suitable learning opportunities for all children by matching the challenge of the task to the ability of the child. We achieve this in a variety of ways by:

• setting common tasks which are open-ended and can have a variety of responses
• having extension activities for children who are more able
• grouping children so that more musically experienced children can support less able children
• providing resources to support less able children
• using classroom assistants to support the work of individuals or groups of children

Additional music teaching

In years 5 and 6 children are offered the opportunity to learn to play a musical instrument with peripatetic music teachers. Parents who want their children to participate in the scheme pay for music lessons and hire of their instruments on a termly basis. Pupil premium children get these lessons free of charge.These 30 minute lessons are normally taught in small groups. This is in addition to the normal music teaching of the school and takes place during lessons from which children are withdrawn. The usual number of children who choose to learn an instrument learn is well above 60%. Children who are learning an instrument are given the opportunity to perform on a regular basis in 'performance assemblies' as well as an end of year concert for parents.

Some of our children progress well enough to be able to be entered into a practical exam (ABRSM or Trinity ) 

The government scheme ‘Whole Class Ensemble’ has been adopted at Haydn.  In this scheme, every child in Year 4 learns a stringed instrument. They are taught on weekly rolling by a member of staff from the Music Support services. The music specialist in school supports the learning in these lessons.

Extra-curricular Music: Opportunities in school

At Haydn we want to provide a variety of enrichment activities and strive to involve as many children as possible in extra – curricular musical activities. There is a Singing Club which is open to years 4,5 and 6 (we prefer the more informal name ‘singing club’ rather than choir as there are no auditions and anyone who enjoys singing is welcome). The primary aim of singing club is to enable children to enjoy singing and performing together. The children have the opportunity to perform on a regular basis within school assemblies as well as performing to parents.

Area Band takes place every week and children in yrs 5 and 6 are encouraged to come. During this academic year (2023 - 2024) there have been 20 children participating in this. Each year we take a group of approximately 20 year 5 children to ‘Band Camp’. This is a residential visit where the children take part in a variety of musical activities and games which help them to learn to read music in preparation for joining ‘Area Band’. There are also extra opportunities throughout the year eg: ‘Christmas in the City’ concert, ‘The Summer Sing’, ‘Halle Orchestra’ concert, ‘The Great Orchestra experiment’.

Performances

Every year group has the opportunity to do a performance once a term:

• Autumn term: All Key Stage 1 children perform in a variety of Christmas concerts: F1 and F2 do a short Christmas performance, Year 1 sing Christmas songs around the tree and Year 2 perform a short musical which ties in to the Christmas story.
• Area Band take part in the 'Christmas in the City' performance at Nottingham  Albert  Hall.
• KS2 singing club perform to parents as well as being involved in the ‘Christmas in the City’ concert
• Spring Term: Year 5 rehearse for and perform a production which supports their involvement in the Shakespeare Project. Year 4 take part in the ‘Great Orchestra Experiment’
• Area band take part in the 'Spring Spectacular' at Nottingham Albert Hall
• Summer term: Year 3 perform to parents showcasing the work they have been doing learning to play the ukulele. 
• Year 4 take part in a concert for parents showcasing the work they have done on their stringed instruments throughout the year.
• Year 6 rehearse and perform their production which is a celebration of their time at Haydn
• Summer Concert – all children who have instrumental lessons perform in the Summer Concert.
• Halle Orchestra – children who learn an instrument have the opportunity to rehearse and perform alongside the Halle Orchestra
• Summer Sing – children who are in KS2 Singing Club are invited to take part in this initiative run by the Nottingham Music Hub, as well as doing a performance for parents.

We also support children’s links with musical events taking place in the wider community by offering places and tickets for any other performances or events throughout the year. We also advertise opportunities for children to participate in musical activities across the region, particularly in regard to the musical activities available to them through the Nottingham Music Hub (please see their website for further details).