Intent

At Hannah More we offer a music curriculum that equips all children with the knowledge and skills they need to start their journey as a confident musician. Our curriculum meets the formal requirements of the National Curriculum and allows children to build their musical skills during their time at primary school. Oracy is embedded throughout the teaching of music and is recognised as a way to improve musicianship by scaffolding discussions and helping children to express their opinions.   

At Hannah More, we inspire children to develop as musicians by introducing them to past and current musical heroes from all backgrounds and cultures. We invite local musicians into school to introduce children to different instruments and to give them experiences of live music, which helps to build the children’s cultural capital.

Implementation

At Hannah More we deliver an engaging curriculum through a variety of different sessions. Music is taught through class lessons, key stage singing assemblies, instrument lessons, preparation of songs for class performances, carefully selected music played during assemblies and extra curriculum activities.

To successfully teach music lessons, teachers are provided with music planning documents that have been carefully written by the music leader who is an experienced musician. The lessons form part of a music enquiry which is taught during one term each year. During this term, year groups learn about the inter-related dimensions of music. Children revise what they learnt in previously year groups and build upon this.  Throughout the music enquiry, year groups work towards completing a composition which they perform to each other and evaluate at the end.  This enquiry culminates in the children producing and performing a play.  Part of the preparation for this is learning a collection of songs, which are sung in ensemble and taught with a focus on diction, pitch and dynamics.

Some Key Stage 2 classes have whole class instrument lessons provided by ‘Bristol Plays Music’ (Bristol Beacon). These sessions enhance learning from the enquiry lessons whilst giving children the experience of playing a tuned instrument. Children learn to work as an ensemble which develops both their listening and collaborative skills.

In addition to classroom-based lessons, children also attend singing assemblies. Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 attend separate singing assemblies which allow children to develop key singing skills which are specific for their key stages and learn songs which are appropriately challenging.  Children have the opportunity to perform the songs they have learnt to all teachers, parents and other key stages during Friday assembly.

Music is played during the beginning and end of assemblies. The Music played in assembly is carefully selected by either musical characteristics or inspirational musicians. The music is accompanied by a live recording of musicians playing the music. During Singing assemblies, the music leader talks about the composer, instruments played and any other key learning. Children are exposed to a wide variety of music of different genres and music from around the world.

Extra-curriculum activities are provided for children to develop and consolidate musical skills. Activities include Key Stage 1 and 2 choirs, recorder club, ukulele club and a music club for the Early Years which introduces children to instruments and how music is created.

During EYFS, pupils explore music through a combination of child initiated and adult directed activities including musical activities related to stories that they are currently reading. Children have the opportunities to explore the different dimensions of music using non-tuned percussive instruments. The musical activities also aims to develop children’s listening skills.

Mid-way through the year, children are taught musical games that they can then play during their independent learning time to continue exploring the different dimensions of music.

Towards the end of the year, children complete series activities which explores timbre, rhythm and beat through body percussion.

Throughout the year children develop their musicianship through learning rhymes and singing songs.

Impact

Music lessons at Hannah More give pupils the key skills needed to learn an instrument and to become musician. Children leave Hannah More Primary school with the ability to listen to music and understand how it has been composed and to compose and perform their own music. Children also leave Hannah More school with the ability to work in a team, to collaborate on a project and to reflect, evaluate and improve. Children also leave school with the understanding that music can be used as a way to promote their own mental health. Some children may find that music is the medium through which they can express themselves and use to support their own mindfulness.

We have been awarded the Music Mark. See Certificate

Intent

At Hannah More we offer a high-quality geography curriculum that helps pupils gain a coherent understanding of the world we live in.  Geography lessons help to provoke thoughts and provide answers to questions about natural and human aspects of the world. At Hannah More, children are encouraged to develop a greater understanding and knowledge of the world, increasingly using their prior knowledge to make links and solve problems.

The Geography curriculum enables children to develop knowledge and skills that are transferrable to other curriculum areas. At Hannah More our intent, when teaching geography, is to inspire the children to have a curiosity and fascination about the world and people within it; to promote the children’s interest and understanding of diverse places, people, resources and natural and human environments, together with a deep understanding of the Earth’s key physical and human processes.  Discussion is a key part of lessons and Oracy skills are embedded within lessons to support the children in sharing their opinions.

Within Geography, opportunities exist for children of all ages to experience learning beyond the classroom. This allows them to enrich their knowledge by visiting places they may not normally consider or places of geographical interest within the local area.  Not only do these visits contribute towards enriching the curriculum, but they also support our children in developing their own cultural capital.

Implementation

At Hannah More, Geography is taught throughout 2 or 3 enquiries in each year group.  The lessons can be stand alone or mixed with other subjects such as Science or History.   We cover the National Curriculum, supported by a clear skills and knowledge progression. This ensures that skills and knowledge are built on each year and sequenced appropriately to maximise learning for all children.

In geography lessons teachers to use a variety of teaching methods and recognise different learning styles. This may be using physical maps and atlases, using online mapping tools or looking at photos and pictures to stimulate learning and discussion.  The curriculum is planned and taught taking into consideration the needs of all pupils based on their relative starting point. It is important that children develop the skills of a geographer by fully immersing them in all areas of the subject.

The local area is well utilised to achieve desired outcomes, with opportunities for learning outside the classroom embedded in practice. School trips and fieldwork are provided to give first hand experiences, which enhance children’s understanding of the world.

In addition to the enquiries, during arts week each year group conducts an in depth study of a different continent, therefore covering all 6 inhabited continents by the end of Year 6.   With knowledge of the physical and human aspects of that continent, children then go on to create a variety of art, design, music and drama outcomes.

During EYFS, pupils explore the world around them through a combination of child initiated and adult directed activities.

They have the opportunities to:

• Explore and observe features of the natural environment
• Explore materials such as sand, water, shells and rocks
• Discuss the weather and seasonal changes
• Play with small world resources such as train tracks and city blocks and manipulate these as they wish
• Explore the local environment – looking at maps and following basic directions

Impact

As a school we evaluate the impact of our wider curriculum through:

• Lesson observations
• Pupil voice
• Book scrutiny

At Hannah More Primary School, our curriculum enables children to gain a broad and balanced understanding of the key geographical skills and knowledge of their local, regional and global environments. The curriculum supports children in developing their understanding of both the physical and human geography around the world.  By the end of Year 6 children have a secure and varied knowledge about the world around them and are curious to always find out more.

We assess the children’s work in Geography while observing them working during lessons.  Questioning is used to form part of the teacher assessment. Evidence is collected in pupils exercise books and the class floor book which acts as a ‘snapshot’ of the learning that takes place.  We also use pupil voice as a tool to develop the future teaching and learning of Geography.