Music

At Orgill, we value the joy that music can bring to our children’s lives and we believe that we can improve mental wellbeing through developing a deep love for music. We aim to fully immerse children in the world of music by allowing them to appreciate and experience different styles and genres of music. We want to equip children with the skills they need to improvise and compose within different styles of music, providing opportunities to develop these skills in each unit of work. Children leave Orgill with a thorough understanding of the inter-related dimensions and history of music, ready to continue their musical journey in secondary school.  

We follow the Kapow Primary music scheme; block teaching is used in Key Stage 1 and Lower Key Stage 2 where appropriate. Music is taught once a week during alternate half terms in Key Stage 2. Musical concepts are taught through the spiral curriculum model, revisiting the same musical concepts through different musical activities. We aim to enable a secure, deep understanding and mastery of musical skills through the exploration of different musical styles, past and present, from around the world. We see the teaching of music as part of the music spiral, over time, children develop skills and re-visit past concepts as progress shifts within the spiral. Children become conversant with musical terminology as they progress through the school, deepening their understanding of the inter-related dimensions of music. Our teaching focuses on building the confidence of our children and exposing them to musical instruments as early as possible. Children are given the opportunity to listen, copy, improvise, compose and perform primarily using glockenspiels and recorders, and are exposed to a variety of other percussion instruments.  

We offer a wide range of extra-curricular activities for our children with the aim of providing as much exposure and choice as possible. Children in Early Years and Key Stage 1 are able to join our singing club focusing on developing confidence and building upon their repertoire of music through familiar songs. In Key Stage 2, children can join our thriving choir where they are given the opportunity to compete in local music festivals and experience performing as part of the world’s largest choir at the Young Voices concerts. Children are given the opportunity to develop their musical skills further by joining instrument clubs where they can perform in groups. Our music curriculum is incredibly broad and is accessible to all, teachers are experienced in tailoring lessons for the needs of all pupils as well as having access to specialised SEND resources where this is necessary.