Music

I am Katie Thompson, the Music Coordinator at Moston Lane Primary School. I am incredibly passionate about sharing the joy of music with our students. My love for music began at a young age, when my grandad taught me to play piano and guitar. Over the years, I’ve also taken up the cornet and developed a deep enjoyment for singing and performing. My goal is to instil a love of music in every child, helping them discover their own musical talents and fostering creativity and confidence through music.

Intent

At Moston Lane, we encourage our children to 'Be the Best they can Be'. Music is a vital part of our curriculum as it allows our children to do just that. We intend to engage and inspire pupils to develop a life-long love of music whilst celebrating musical talents. We aim to increase our pupils' self-confidence, creativity and sense of achievement by equipping them with the skills, knowledge and understanding needed to become confident performers, composers and listeners.

 Implementation

At Moston Lane, every child takes part in at least one hour of curriculum music each week. Our teaching follows the Kapow scheme of learning, ensuring progression from EYFS through to Year 6. Lessons are designed to cover all aspects of the National Curriculum, including listening to and evaluating a wide range of music, creating and exploring sound, learning and applying musical notation, and developing skills in improvising and composing. Children regularly perform by singing and playing instruments, both individually and in groups, with a focus on the inter-related dimensions of music such as pitch, duration, dynamics, tempo, timbre, texture, and structure. Whole-class instrumental teaching is a key part of our curriculum: pupils in Years 3, 4, and 5 learn the glockenspiel, building accuracy and fluency over three years. Specialist teaching through our partnership with One Education introduces pupils to violin and steel pans in KS2, broadening their instrumental experience and inspiring them to progress further.

We provide a rich programme of extra-curricular opportunities for pupils to develop their musical skills beyond the classroom. Our Key Stage 2 choir takes place during the Autumn Term, led by our Music Lead, Katie Thompson. This gives our children the chance to refine their singing, develop harmony work, and perform in different contexts. Performance opportunities include: Christmas fair, carol morning and assemblies for KS2 parents and carers.

Instrumental ensembles are being developed to encourage children to apply their learning from lessons in group performance. Small group tuition is available through visiting tutors, enabling children to make individual progress in performing, reading notation, and developing musicianship. Instrumental offers currently include violin and steel pans to pupils in Years 4-6, with additional instruments considered as demand grows. This takes place all year round and offers performance opportunities throughout the year to peers, parents and carers.

We actively promote our Local Music Centres, which offer a wide range of opportunities for young musicians, including ensemble participation, music tuition, instrument loans, and engaging weekend, after-school, or holiday activities. Pupils can also work towards recognised qualifications or awards outside of school through these programmes. To ensure families are aware of these valuable opportunities, we share information via our school App and display flyers throughout the school. Additionally, our specialist violin and steel pan teachers may personally encourage specific children to attend, particularly those showing strong potential and readiness to grow as gifted and talented musicians.

Impact

All children will have a deep understanding of the inter-related dimensions of music – pitch, duration (including pulse and rhythm), dynamics, tempo, timbre, texture, structure and musical notation. They will have developed these skills and become confident musicians who understand and enjoy using music to express themselves. All children will be aware of different styles of music and how these styles vary from each other. They will have a good understanding of musical history and some important composers.

As well as opportunities to perform both as soloists and in ensemble groups during lesson time, children take part in a range of events in front of their peers and families to celebrate their musical progression and achievements. In EYFS, pupils perform during National Nursery Rhyme Week and at the Christmas performance. In KS1, children present their Christmas Nativity to peers, parents and carers. In KS2, pupils participate in a Christmas Carol concert, performing for families and the school community. Additionally, Years 3, 4 and 5 each prepare a glockenspiel performance for their peers across the year, showcasing their progression in instrumental learning and notation skills.

Other opportunities for performance and shared celebration include weekly Collective Worship and Celebration assemblies where the school community sings collaboratively using our Sparkyard subscription. Theme and celebration songs also feature throughout the year, enriching our collective school experience. To broaden children’s listening and evaluative skills, ‘Musical Mondays’ provides every pupil with the chance to watch live performances from a variety of musicians, inspiring them to explore new styles, instruments, and traditions.

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Please follow the link below to view the policy:

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Below is the ‘Curriculum Map’ and 'Progression of Skills & Knowledge', which outlines the activities and skills that will be taught throughout the year:

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 Here you can find the 'Age Related Expectations' for each year group, which outlines what skills a child should be able to do at the end of each year. Children will be assessed against these expectations to see what they have achieved, and what they need to work on next.

Please follow the links to find out more about the expectations for your child:

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Music around our school

Musical Mondays!

Moston Lane love being involved in 'Musical Mondays! On the first Monday of every month, we have the opportunity to listen to and watch a live performance.

This month (November), we watched 'Filkin's Duo'. We joined them on a pirate adventure across the seven seas! Chris Roberts (Guitar) & Seth Bye (Fiddle & Accordion) weaved together intricate melodies from the folklore of their homes, Wales and Gloucestershire. Their music combined the traditional and the contemporary, blending fiddle, guitar, harmonium and mandolin with their close vocal harmonies. The children at Moston Lane had lots of fun! 

Year 5 Performance

Our Year 5 children have been lucky enough to work with Manchester Piccadilly Orchestra to create their own music. They even performed their end piece in front of Year 3 and Year 4

Express Yourself

As part of 'Dress to Express Yourself' Day for Children's Mental Health Week 2022, some children enjoyed listening to the song 'Express Yourself' and dancing to it!

Africa - Year 2

The children in Year 2 have been learning all about Africa in Music. They looked at African music and African drums before creating their own music.

Express Yourself Day 2021

For mental health week we celebrated Express Yourself day. We used the song ‘Express Yourself’ by Charles Wright and The Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band to express ourselves with our bodies! Watch the amazing videos below from Reception, Year 1 and Year 5. 

Christmas Sign Language

We have been busy learning different Christmas songs in sign language!

Please find your team below and click 'download' to view the video.

Sign Language

We have had lots of fun learning how to sign familiar songs in British Sign Language. Watch the videos of Year 1 and Year 4 below!

Moston Lane Carols by Candlelight 2019

Learning Links

• For more information on where to find your local music centres and if you are interested in your child learning to play a musical instrument, either independently or with a group, click here.
• There are also lots of music events and activities going on in the local area. To find out about general music activities in the city, click on the MyHub link below.