MUSIC

Music is a unique way of communicating that can change the way pupils feel, think and act. It gives vast opportunity for personal expression and has the potential to play a valuable role in personal development. It has the power to connect different cultures, abilities and generations. Teaching and learning in Music enables pupils to better understand the world they in inhabit. Participating in musical experiences can be a wonderfully creative and enjoyable activity and can help children feel part of a community. It can also be a highly academic subject. At Ashperton Primary Academy we provide purposeful opportunities for all children to create, play, perform and enjoy music as well as develop the skills, vocabulary and understanding to allow them to appreciate and analyse a wide variety of musical forms.

At Ashperton Primary Academy we aim to inspire our pupils to develop a love for Music. We seek to harness their creativity and curiosity in the world around them as they develop new skills, learn about other cultures and experience the sense of community that Music can achieve. Our Music curriculum, which includes and extends beyond the National Curriculum, is ambitious for all pupils. It seeks to be knowledge-rich, equipping children with technical vocabulary and understanding which they can use when composing, performing and analysing both independently and collaboratively. It strives to contribute to pupils’ wider personal development, supporting them as they learn a wide range of transferable skills including perseverance, collaborating with others, positive attitudes, speaking respectfully about other cultures, performance etiquette and a better understanding of how they learn new skills (mega-cognition). We aim to share with pupils our passion for Music, showing our own enjoyment for the subject, supporting them in learning to enjoy it also and signposting them to opportunities at home and in the local community for them to explore Music further.

Like the National Curriculum, our Music Curriculum aims to ensure that all pupil:

• 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.

In addition to this, we seek to help pupils:

• explore how sounds are made and develop their knowledge of the range of musical instruments used in music making across the world.
• learn, in a basic way, the western staff notation system commonly used for notation, giving them a foundational knowledge with which they can go on to explore music further independently in their spare time.
• find genres/performers/composers which they enjoy and inspire them.
• broaden the repertoire of music they enjoy beyond that which they are commonly exposed to in popular culture – finding new styles/pieces/performers which they would not otherwise commonly explore. 
• develop their creativity, imagination and their ability to express themselves.
• develop the courage and confidence to perform, solo and in an ensemble, to audiences.
• develop social and listening skills, through learning to play, compose and perform collaboratively with others.
• recognise the value in shared experiences that develop a sense of community and achievement.

We have an excellent range of instruments in school which we use in Music lessons including,

• a well-stocked percussion cupboard with a wide range of instruments including drums, hand-held untuned instruments and xylophones
• a class set of ocarinas 
• a class set of recorders
• a class set of keyboards 
• an excellent electric piano, regularly used for individual piano lessons

Peripatetic Music Teachers

We currently have 2 peripatetic Music Teachers who are accredited teachers of Encore Music Service offering 1:1 and small group instrument lessons within school for pupils wanting lessons in addition to our Music Curriculum.

Duncan Cresswell offers piano and a range of string instruments. Please see letter below for further details on how to book with him.

Charlotte Webb offers oboe, clarinet and recorder. Please see letter from below for further details on how to book with her.