Intent
At Eastry Church of England school, we strive to give the children an exciting and well-rounded musical education, where all children are able to express themselves as individuals in a truly creative and unique way. Children are given the tools and resources to convey their learning using different techniques and styles gaining confidence in their studies whilst developing their musical knowledge.
By exposing the children to not only the basics of music, but also a range of musical genres and experiences, music at Eastry paves the way for children to learn, grow and develop their musical ability at a tempo and pace relevant to them.
Children are taught about music from across the globe in terms of traditions, cultures and popular music to understand that music stretches across all countries, evoking a sense of pride, responsibility and belonging whilst also understanding the personal and emotional impact music can have.
Music Curriculum
We follow the National Curriculum (2014); providing a broad and balanced curriculum and ensuring the progressive development of musical concepts, knowledge and skills.
The Curriculum aims are to ensure that all pupils:
perform, listen to, review and evaluate music across a range of historical periods, genres, styles and traditions, including the works of the great composers and musicians
learn to sing and to use their voices, to create and compose music on their own and with others, have the opportunity to learn a musical instrument, use technology appropriately and have the opportunity to progress to the next level of musical excellence
understand and explore how music is created, produced and communicated, including through the interrelated dimensions: pitch, duration, dynamics, tempo, timbre, texture, structure and appropriate musical notations.
Implementation
What do we teach? What does this look like?
Music teaching at Eastry delivers the requirements of the National curriculum through ‘Sparkyard’, an ‘innovative and skills-based curriculum’. Sparkyard uses a skills-based approach where key musical concepts and themes are developed and revisited across the year groups, building on knowledge and understanding at every stage. Teachers follow the suggested scheme of work, although there is flexibility with in the scheme for adjustments and adaptations to be made for individual classes.
Singing together as a whole school is highly respected and we take pride in regularly singing together as a community. The children have a weekly, whole school singing practise from year 1 to year 6 with EYFS joining part way through the year. Performances include Harvest service, Christingle, Nativities (EYFS, YEAR 1 and 2), Christingle, Founders’ day and Leaver’s Service to name a few.
In EYFS, along-side Sparkyard, play based learning, interspersed with teacher-led activities allow the children to explore making sounds, basic beats and rhythms and understanding what happens when a sound is made with any materials. By its very nature, music covers a range of areas across the EYFS framework. Such as:
• personal, social and emotional development.
• communication and language.
• physical development.
• understanding the world.
• expressive arts and design.
• mathematics.
• literacy.
Children use rhymes and chants to begin learning the basics of counting and mathematics as well as the alphabet in literacy. Alongside this, music allows the children to express themselves with regards to emotional development, communication, their understanding of the world and also development of their motor skills and physical progression.
From infants to yr 6, children are given many opportunities to play instruments as a whole class activity. In year 2, we supplement Spark yard with the introduction of instrumental learning and children are given a term of Ocarina tuition. They learn how to hold and blow a wind instrument as well as read and play notation. This is developed further in year 3 as the children progress on to the recorder. In Year 4, the children are given the wonderful opportunity to learn the ukulele, neatly introducing them to a stringed instrument.
From September 2026, In year 5, we have the opportunity to learn the violin with weekly lessons delivered by a Music specialist teacher. This is in partnership with Kent music and gives the children a fantastic opportunity and memorable experience.
Impact
Whilst following the music curriculum in Eastry, children work towards gaining all of the essential skills and knowledge to ensure that when they leave, they will be confident, enthusiastic individuals who are fully immersed and understanding of all aspects of music. In turn, pupils will have a solid basis of music learning on which to further build a lifelong passion for music.
Extra Curricula Music
There is a Singing club, which is open to KS1 and KS2. This group rehearse weekly, focusing on singing in unison, developing harmony and giving solo opportunities. They assist in whole school singing practice and also perform at a variety of school events throughout the year.
In the Future
In the future, we seek to provide weekly instrumental lessons and possibly more variety of extra-curricular provision.
We would also welcome the opportunity to bring live music to our school too, whether this be visiting professional musicians or secondary school children sharing their performances.
