Guiseley Primary School

Music

Our curriculum

We have recently updated and redesigned our music curriculum using Sing Up! This is a brand new and fantastic classroom music programme and library of resources which enables us to deliver a creative and engaging curriculum. Sing Up meets the requirements of the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage and the National Curriculum for Music, and uses suggested approaches of the Model Music Curriculum.

Children follow this curriculum in Nursery, Reception and Key Stage One before moving on for a year of whole class recorder learning in Year 3 and whole class ukulele learning in Year 4, which are taught by specialist teachers from Art Forms, the Leeds Schools Music Hub. They then return to the Sing Up! curriculum for their learning in Years 5 and 6, where the children build on the skills they have gained from playing tuned instruments, to compose and perform. The curriculum provides many opportunities to play instruments in the classroom as well as use music technology (for example Garage Band on the ipads) to compose and produce music.

Children from Year 4 are offered the opportunity to play a woodwind instrument taught by our Art Forms teacher, Mr Johnson. They are able to hire their instrument from Art Forms and they also have the opportunity to play in the school orchestra from Year 5. They are also offered the opportunity of small group ukulele lessons following on from their whole class lessons in Year 4.

There are weekly singing assemblies for Reception and Key Stage One and for Key Stage Two. Children practise and learn a range of whole school songs as well as enjoying some other fun and engaging songs. A number of favourite whole school songs are Power in Me, Something Inside so Strong, Count on Me, Sing (Take That), and How Far I'll Go (Moana).

The Phase One choir and Phase Two choir have practice sessions each Thursday morning before school. The choir also love to get out of school performing and have been asked to perform for the elderly at a number of local care homes as well as other events such as the Guiseley Lantern Parade and the Guiseley Christmas Lights Switch-on.

We also take up as many opportunities as possible to take children out of school to singing and music events offered in Leeds. Most recently, we took a group of children to perform at Leeds Arena for the Leeds Youth Music Festival. It was a wonderful experience for the children who represented the school wonderfully.

Here is just a small overview of music experiences that Guiseley Primary School has been involved in over the last year:

Guiseley's Got Talent (a VERY popular event in school!)
Harvest Festival where the whole school sing songs we have all practised
Music Week in school included Y3 recorder concert, Y4 ukulele concert, Woodwind small group performances and choir concert
Every child is involved in a nativity productions or a carol concert
Choirs perform songs in assemblies every half term, at the Christmas fair and for several local care homes
Y5 and 6 went to see Guiseley School perform the musicals 'Six' and 'High School Musical' followed by 'Sister Act'
Choir performed songs at the Guiseley Lantern Parade
Group of children sang at the Leeds Youth Music Festival at Leeds Arena
Some children sang as part of the Winter Voices concert at Pudsey Civic Hall organised by Art Forms which we are doing again this year
Guiseley High School Soul Band performed to us live in school!