At Mawnan School, we believe that Music is an essential part of our curriculum, fostering a love for learning, enhancing concentration, and promoting positive mental health. Through explicit music lessons, we aim to equip our students with the skills and knowledge to appreciate, create, and perform music.
Aligned with our school's ethos, "Using our God-Given Gifts to Let our Light Shine," our vision for Music is to provide a rich and diverse musical experience that celebrates cultural heritage and nurtures individual talents. We value the importance of music in fostering a sense of community, self-expression, and emotional well-being.
Our Music curriculum is designed to ensure progression and continuity from EYFS to key stage 1 then to key stage 2. Starting with foundational elements of composition, such as volume, rhythm, tempo, and pitch, students gradually develop their skills in composition and performance using voice, percussion, and tuned instruments. They are exposed to a wide range of classical, historical, and world music, encouraging their ability to listen critically, analyze, interpret, and appreciate different styles and genres.
Inclusivity lies at the heart of our Music curriculum. We embrace and cater to diverse learning needs and styles, providing differentiated instruction and ensuring accessibility for all students. By fostering a respectful and inclusive environment, we empower our students to share and express their thoughts and feelings through music.
Through Music, our students develop essential skills such as critical thinking, problem-solving, and collaboration. We believe that these skills are transferable and will benefit our students throughout their educational journey and beyond.
Our curriculum design is evidence-based, drawing on educational research and data to inform our choices in Music. We actively seek input from teachers, students, and the wider community, ensuring that our curriculum reflects the needs and aspirations of our stakeholders.
We are committed to regularly reviewing and adapting our Music curriculum to maintain its relevance and effectiveness. By continuously evaluating the impact of our curriculum, we strive to provide the best possible musical education for our students.
Through our Music curriculum, we aim to inspire a lifelong love for music, equip our students with valuable skills, and prepare them for the challenges and opportunities of the future.
Implementation
The Music Curriculum is mapped out from EYFS to seamlessly move throughout the school to the end of KS2. By working closely with Penryn College the Curriculum naturally progresses with the same skill based structure into KS3 to support the children with onward transition.
Each term the children learn about a different element of music starting with skills including but not exclusively: rules needed to play, such as leading/ following a conductor, starting and stopping, dynamics, tempo and pitch. The following term we learn about how we make our own music. This is where rhythm, melodic shape, texture, tonality and notation are explored. The final term looks at how we make music together. Concepts such as harmony, playing in ensembles and composition using the elements taught throughout the year are put into practice. Children are encouraged and championed to perform in concerts for the school and wider community, as a school collectively or choir, band or soloist. Wherever possible musical opportunities are welcomed to enhance our musical experiences such as taking part in Songfest, Penryn Partnership ensembles and performances, County Music Festivals or visiting musicians such as members of the Bournemouth Symphonic Orchestra.
Impact
The impact of nurturing the love of music at Mawnan School is that our children are confident and excited about the possibilities music can offer. They sing joyfully in collective worship and jump at every opportunity to show off their musical skills and talents through performance. They are articulate when discussing how music has moved or fascinated them and respectful when others are sharing their views. Their compositions evolve to be ever more sophisticated as they progress through the school and they are quick to find the pulse, beat or rhythm when exposed to a variety of music demonstrated by discreet toe tapping through to dance or even body percussion! Mawnan children leave us empowered and assured that they are equipped with skills that will enable them to learn further at KS3 as they progress onwards in their future learning journeys.