Music

Curriculum Intent

 1. Curriculum Design

-     The ‘formal’ curriculum for Music at Chailey School is designed to be both practical and academic, accessible and yet challenging but most important of all a great stepping stone to the next stage of their music education.

-       Music is taught across a three-year Key Stage 3 and a two-year Key Stage 4.

-       All students are able to access the resources, learning and outcomes in Music through carefully planned projects which incorporate a range of structured and differentiated tasks that will help support students of all abilities to engage with the subject matter and prepare them for the next stage in their music education.

 2. Coherence and continuity

-     The intent of the curriculum in Music aligns with the overall curriculum intent of Chailey School

-     By the end of Key Stage 3, students are expected to show that they understand musical devices used in composition and performance and be able to relate them to their own work. They should also understand how music reflects place and time.

-     By the end of Key Stage 4, students who take the subject at GCSE level are expected to know that Music is most successful when there is an integrated approach to the skills of performing, composing and listening. They can use a wide a range of resources included Music Technology to give themselves a wide range of experiences of music from a wide variety of cultures and historical periods.

-     To achieve this, the curriculum in Music is planned in coherent sequences of lessons – knowledge, skills and understanding will be built on and applied in a cumulative manner

-     Assessment, testing of knowledge, skills and understanding, and effective feedback on this in will support this – further details of this can be found in the school’s and subject’s Feedback Policy.

 3. The ‘Informal’ curriculum

-     Music contributes [much] to the school’s ‘informal’ curriculum – the experience and opportunity for students in Music is not just about sets of exam results, very important though those may be.

-     Key opportunities for this in Music can be found in extracurricular lessons, in which over 250 students partake, or through one of the many ensembles run by Music Department staff throughout the week. Students can also be involved in any of the performances/classes/workshops put on throughout the year.

 4. Building character and values in the curriculum

-     All subjects at Chailey School contribute towards building the character and values of its young people and none more so than Music which encourages creative problem solving, helps develop concentration and provides an outlet for emotional expression. Music also improves self-discipline and provides a positive boost to a student’s self-esteem.