Music
Music is a large part of daily life at Longwood with our pupils singing as a whole school and within their key stage. We believe that music has value as an academic subject which lies in its contribution to enjoyment and enrichment for all. Each week we explore a different genre of music and encourage our learners to express their opinions freely on aspects they liked or disliked and why.
Our pupils are given many opportunities to sing and explore instruments across the school with an organised progression of skills which are revisited frequently. Our learners' musical journey is evidenced in our year group music books as well as on our secure platform to share our experiences with our parents and local community. Throughout Key Stage 2, our pupils are expected to start composing more structured pieces of music - often in groups. This encourages improved social and listening skills in addition to the many musical skills that are taught. We work alongside Entrust to enhance our in-school provision. Through tuition from Entrust, we provide 20 cornets and 10 trombones for our learners to use in curriculum lessons, with the year 5 class enjoying weekly music lessons. The focus of our class music lessons is on developing the seven common musical elements: tempo, dynamics, pitch, structure, texture, timbre and duration.
Many of our pupils are encouraged to participate in professional lessons to gain recognised qualifications. They also have the opportunity to perform at our termly concerts to celebrate their achievements. We have offered Entrust one-to-one tuition to pupils who responded particularly well to whole class instrumental lessons. We regularly signpost families to the Entrust Support Services for opportunities within the local authority https://entrustmusic.co.uk/
Performing is important at Longwood as we believe that pupils who learn music at any level learn self-discipline, expression through sound, fine motor skills, problem solving skills, cooperation and collaboration with others and ignite their creative and critical minds. At Longwood we understand the joy music can bring to our learners. Each class is given the opportunity to perform a musical recital, poetry performance and a song based extended performance across the school year. Longwood believes that singing is the golden thread in all music lessons and in the wider extra curriculum. A mixture of traditional hymns and modern songs are taught and sung collectively during this time. We have a timetable whereby songs are repeated to build pupil confidence and knowledge of songs. Pupils at Longwood gain a lot of enjoyment from this approach. These performance opportunities include an audience such as parents, Governors and members of the local community, including the Church. This further embeds our strong relationships and brings the joy of music to as many people as possible. Learners from Longwood visit the local care homes and sing to the residents throughout the year as well as our annual outdoor carol concert which takes place in our forest school area around a camp fire. Through our curriculum inside the classroom and musical opportunities outside the classroom we embed the national curriculum to support our learners in releasing their musical potential.
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