Music

The practical and engaging Music curriculum at Jesse Gray has been designed to give each child a broad and balanced musical experience and shows good progression in knowledge and skills from FS2 to Year 6. Through it, we aim to foster an understanding and respect for different musical traditions from around the world and across different eras, styles and opinions. Our intention is to develop the skills, knowledge and understanding that our children need in order to become confident performers, composers and listeners. Through Music, our curriculum helps children develop such transferable skills as team-working, leadership, creative thinking, problem-solving, presentation and decision-making.

Music at Jesse Gray is taught by a Music Specialist Teacher, who delivers weekly timetabled sessions for all classes, using a one-year cycle of topics, which cover all the key musical skills of performance, composition, listening and appraising. Differentiation is used to ensure our curriculum is challenging to pupils of all musical abilities and to ensure that all children can access, enjoy and reach their individual musical potential. The curriculum is regularly monitored, reviewed and refreshed. Lessons take place in our very well-resourced Music Room.

Jesse Gray also offers instrumental tuition from Year 3 with our peripatetic staff on a wide range of string, brass and woodwind instruments, as well as drum kit. Our enrichment activities include key stage 1 recorder groups, key stage 2 choir, staff choir and orchestra, which all rehearse weekly at lunchtimes, as well as trips, joint ventures with other local schools and visits from professional musicians. Many of our musicians are also members of orchestras, choirs and bands within the community. There are many performance opportunities at Jesse Gray, including: our FS2 and KS1 Christmas productions, Christmas outdoor sing along, recorder group concerts, two instrumental concerts, Choir concert, Year 6 production, individual performances in assemblies and class concerts.

The impact of our Music curriculum is constantly monitored through both formative and summative assessment opportunities.  By the end of Year 6, our pupils will have been taught the necessary skills and knowledge for them to succeed in their secondary education and to be able to enjoy and appreciate music throughout their lives.