To view our Music framework click here
Intent:
At The Mendip School, our vision is to offer our pupils a music curriculum that encompasses a wide range of musical genres and activities to appeal to as diverse a musical background as possible. Our aim is to enable students to access music as a subject through performing, listening, movement, composition and improvisation; to offer opportunities and to remove barriers so that every student can experience and engage with music on a level that is appropriate for them.
Music offers young people the opportunity to explore their feelings and express themselves in a variety of ways. It is widely recognised that music has a positive impact on our mental health. It can boost self-esteem and confidence, lift our mood, improve concentration, and help us regulate and relax. It is also known to improve cognitive performance, memory and even aid sleep.
Within our music curriculum, we intend to:
Deliver an inclusive, broad and balanced music curriculum that encompasses all our students as far as KS3, and as a subject option from KS4. We will provide opportunities for students to listen to, perform, compose and record a wide range of music, and hope that in doing so, they benefit from the many positives music has to offer.
Implementation:
Music at the Mendip School lends itself to a cross curricular approach, and is integrated into the school day, particularly in Primary where children sing, sign, dance, and use rhyme and rhythm across several areas of learning.
The music curriculum is split into three main areas of teaching, although these will often cross over:
Singing & Performing.
Students will have opportunities to sing as part of a group and explore a range of musical instruments. As they progress, they will develop their performance skills, working towards a whole class or larger group performance in front of an audience.
Listening & Appraising.
Students will listen to and appraise a wide range of musical genres, and will be encouraged to share their favourite music and explain why they like it. As they progress, they will hone
their listening skills and expand their musical knowledge so that they can identify individual instruments, tempo, dynamics, texture and genre.
Creating & Exploring.
Students will have the opportunity to compose their own music, beginning by recreating sounds using their bodies and percussion instruments; creating sound stories; reading and creating graphic scores, and progressing to perform and record their own compositions using their voice, a range of musical instruments and technology.
There will be opportunities for students to enjoy live performances from visiting musicians, and we aim to provide opportunities for pupils to take part in performances both within The Mendip School, in the form of assemblies, end of term performances, in the school choir, and also out in the community.
We offer individual instrumental lessons for students to develop their skills with visiting peripatetic teachers from Rockademy. https://www.rockademy.co.uk/
At the Mendip School, we are fortunate enough to have our own Music Therapist on the staff who works on a 1:1 basis with individual pupils.
Impact:
Pupils of all abilities will be able to access music at a level appropriate to them.
Pupils will use music as a medium to help them with their mental health and wellbeing.
Pupils will feel free to explore their own musical tastes without judgement or constraint.
Pupils will be able to express themselves through music in whatever way is accessible to them as individuals.
Pupils will have the opportunity to extend their musical skills through group and individual lessons.