Music

Music Curriculum: Intent

Our LHJS music curriculum intends to be fun, engaging and accessible to all of our pupils, enabling everyone to listen to, compose and perform music to their highest potential. Our diverse LHJS Music Curriculum is taught in line with National Curriculum (NC) and Model Music Curriculum (MMC) guidance, and deeply reflects our whole school curriculum intent to make learning captivating, empowering and uplifting. It enhances our belief that music plays a very important role in raising self-esteem, improving wellbeing and mental health, broadening horizons, developing transferable skills and promoting creativity. Our core school values are imbedded in our music curriculum and wider musical opportunities.

Implementation

Music lessons at LHJS are taught by a music subject specialist for one hour a week. We recognise singing as being the key to developing musicality and this is taught to all year groups in our class lessons and also as part of a whole school weekly assembly. Through each half term unit, children learn about the inter-related dimensions of music and are taught progressively to develop their singing, listening, composing, improvising and performing skills. Music technology deepens pupils’ understanding and manipulation of sound, from Year 5, and our bespoke KS2 curriculum uses carefully selected content from a range of schemes, including but not limited to SingUp, Kapow and Charanga.

Whole class instrumental skills are taught discretely, with ocarina/recorders introduced in Year 3 and Ukulele in Year 4, plus a full range of extra-curricular instrumental lessons offered to families. As pupils progress through the school, frequent opportunities to perform are planned for, with valued contributions from all pupils.

Impact

The structure of our music curriculum enables pupils to revisit and practise skills, developing, recalling and building on knowledge. As all lessons are taught by one specialist teacher, continuous ongoing assessment enables effective transitions throughout KS2 and by the end of Year 6, pupils: become confident performers and listeners, able to express themselves musically; meet and exceed NC music expectations, demonstrating and articulating an enthusiasm for music; understand some of the ways music can be written down to support performing and composing; and show an understanding, appreciation and respect for a wide range of musical styles and cultures. Extra curricular opportunities, including high quality performers visiting school, external trips to enrich and support our students and clubs, including choir and pop-up orchestra, provide further musical inspiration for our pupils.

Instrumental Music Lessons

In addition to our whole class weekly music lessons, we are incredibly proud of the dedicated visiting music teachers who teach our pupils at Linton Heights on a private basis. Parents can arrange lessons for their children to take place during the school day to learn a wide range of instruments. We have a Music Room where one-to-one and small group lessons take place and our pupils are encouraged and supported with their music, whether they are hoping to take formal music exams or just play for pleasure.

Our visiting music teachers currently offer lessons for: piano, guitar, recorder, flute, clarinet, violin, brass, singing and drums.

For more information and to apply for lessons please see the Forms page.