“Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything.”
(Plato)

Music has the potential to make a significant contribution to children’s development, increasing confidence and self-esteem, developing leadership, promoting team working, concentration and problem-solving skills, and developing identity and improving social cohesion within the school and wider community.  It is a universal language that embodies one of the highest forms of creativity. A high-quality music education engages and inspires pupils to develop a love of music and their talent as musicians, and so increase their self-confidence, creativity and sense of achievement.  As pupils progress, they develop a critical engagement with music, allowing them to compose, and to listen with discrimination to the best in the musical canon.

Music is an integral and well-resourced part of life at Woodstock Primary. Music lessons are fun and inspiring, engaging the children with songs, lyrics and movement. We want children to feel able and reflective and expressive, developing their own appreciation of music with the opportunities we provide as a school.  All children are actively encouraged and given the opportunity to learn to play a musical instrument whether it be within music lessons, or within the weekly Years 3 & 4 music and ukulele delivered by a visiting music specialist.  Musical opportunities in school include weekly class music lessons, weekly singing Collective Worship, school choir and taking part in Young Voices.  Further children have opportunity to take part in a variety of performances both within and beyond school including singing at community events and national events such as those promoted by the Oxfordshire Music Service.

We use the Local Authority Music Service recommended scheme of work for music, ‘Charanga,’ to ensure the statutory requirements of the National Curriculum are met in full.  Charanga’s philosophy of music education is based on the principle that it should be fun and engaging for all concerned, and that every child is a born musician. We believe that music is like magic and that it has a role to play in every aspect of all our lives, wherever and whoever we are.  Our music curriculum sets out a clearly sequenced and ambitious approach to music teaching and provides a roadmap to introduce pupils to the delights and disciplines of music, helping them to appreciate and understand the works of the musical giants of the past, while also equipping them with the technical skills and creativity to compose and perform. Having the opportunity to study and explore music is not a privilege; it is a vital part of our broad and ambitious curriculum - ensuring every child develops a life-long love of music and musical performance. 

Assessment in Music: Assessment is ongoing and informs future teaching building a picture of the child’s attainment and progress over time. There are also ‘check-in’ points throughout, and at the end of each unit against the objectives being taught. This gives teachers the information that they need to build a holistic picture of each individual child and enables them to plan further support and opportunities for retrieval; direct teaching and/or adaptation in future units. The subject leader monitors pupil outcomes to identify trends and patterns that inform future curriculum alterations and CPD opportunities.