Music
Our Vision and Aims for Music
Music is a universal language that embodies one of the highest forms of creativity. At Olive Hill, we aim to inspire pupils to develop a love of music, discover their talents as musicians and increase their self-confidence.
We follow the National Curriculum for music (2014) which aims to ensure that all pupils:
Perform, listen to, review and evaluate music across a range of historical periods, genres, styles and traditions, including the works of the great composers and musicians;
Learn to sing and to use their voices, to create and compose music on their own and with others, have the opportunity to learn a musical instrument, use technology appropriately and have the opportunity to progress to the next level of musical excellence;
Understand and explore how music is created, produced and communicated, including through the inter-related dimensions: pitch, duration, dynamics, tempo, timbre, texture, structure and appropriate musical notations.
Our music lessons are carefully planned to give children a broad and balanced curriculum which builds on knowledge, skills and understanding of music each year. Our performance-focussed topics give children the opportunities to explore music further by creating and composing their own music independently and with their peers, and showcase their learning to an audience.
There are many benefits of children learning a musical instrument. Some of the benefits include patience, responsibility, social skills, self-esteem and reading skills. At Olive Hill, children have the opportunity to learn different instruments, depending on their age. In year two, children will begin to learn to play the recorder. In key stage two, children can choose to learn a brass or woodwind instrument. Children in year five also take part in whole class teaching of guitars. Our musical concert at Christmas is a highlight as it gives the older children the opportunity to work towards a goal and showcase their talents individually or as part of an ensemble.
Singing is an important part of our music curriculum. Our weekly singing assemblies spread the joy of singing across the whole school. Through music, we have developed relationships with our community, providing our children with opportunities to share their love of singing with others.
At Olive Hill we aspire for our children to appreciate the joy of music and have the necessary skills to listen to, compose, perform and appraise musical pieces. We recognise that music plays an important role in helping children to feel part of a community and we aim for every child to flourish and grow in confidence.
