Music

Music at Archibald builds on the Early Years, where children sing every day through Rhyme Time, respond to music through movement and explore rhythm on percussion instruments. In Key Stage 1, pupils are taught weekly by specialist teachers from Tees Valley Music Service, learning to sing, find the pulse and play simple instruments. In Key Stage 2, class teachers follow the Charanga scheme, and every unit follows the same sequence: listen and appraise, explore the inter-related dimensions of music, sing, play, improvise, compose, then perform and share. Instrumental learning shows how the curriculum builds. Pupils play untuned percussion in the Early Years and Key Stage 1, then tuned boomwhackers in Year 3. In Year 4 they learn glockenspiel and taiko drumming, and in Year 5 ukulele with Tees Valley Music Service. By Year 6 they play fluently using wider note sets and more complex metres such as 5/4 and 6/8.

Pupils listen to and appraise music from a wide range of genres, styles and traditions, from reggae and soul to classroom jazz, rock and pop. They develop the vocabulary to describe pitch, duration, dynamics, tempo, timbre, texture and structure with growing precision. Notation is introduced progressively, from graphic notation to staff notation, and pupils use music technology such as GarageBand to compose their own pieces. Each year ends with a Reflect, Rewind and Replay unit that revisits and consolidates the year’s learning. Singing and performance are central: pupils perform together in class, in school and in the local community, and specialist teaching from Tees Valley Music Service gives them regular experience of live music. By the end of Year 6, pupils can sing and play with accuracy and expression, compose structured pieces using notation, and critically appraise music across styles.