The National Curriculum (2012), states that children should, ‘have the opportunity to learn a musical instrument’. We have also used research from the Model Music Curriculum (DfE, 2021), and Ofsted’s Music Research Review (2021) to further develop and inform our Whole Class Ensemble Tuition (WCET).

As set out in the National Curriculum, our WCET ensures that pupils are able to:

• play and perform in solo and ensemble contexts, ... playing musical instruments with increasing accuracy, fluency, control and expression
• listen with attention to detail and recall sounds with increasing aural memory
• use and understand staff and other musical notations

At Ivington, we value the importance of learning to play an instrument and view it as an essential skill. In KS2, every child will get the opportunity to play the recorder. Our vision is that every child will leave our school with the skills to read music and perform with confidence in their own musical abilities.

In Year 3 and 4, children will learn the same songs in Year A and Year B. In years 5 and 6, children will build on this foundational knowledge, deepening their understanding of notes and performance, again learning the same songs in Year A and Year B.

This cyclical approach will allow children to build on skills learnt in previous years and gain greater confidence in reading staff notation, with time to repeat and develop key musical knowledge. They will be able to understand and apply many of the interrelated dimensions of music to their performances and develop into confident and enthusiastic musicians.

We will use ‘Music with Mr Grey’ as the basis of our lessons, which supports teaching through instructional videos (using a follow along approach) and sheet music. In the Summer term, classes will practice performance pieces, such as ‘Hot Cross Buns’. This is not a prescribed part of the programme, however staff will need to ensure that a log of songs is kept so that repetition does not occur.

Children will receive a numbered instrument to use for the duration of KS2.