Music

Subject Leaders

Anisha Jethwa

My name is Anisha Jethwa, and I teach the children in Year 2. I have been at Mayflower for 25 years. I enjoy yoga and tai chi and I love spending time with my family and friends and travelling. I have only recently become one of the Music Leaders at Mayflower. We have introduced a music scheme using Kapow, which can be taught from year 1 all the way through to the end of 6. We are looking forward to enhancing musical skills and creativity.

Ama Mckenley Ballantyne

My name is Ama McKenley-Ballantyne and I am the Deputy Head Teacher. I started at Mayflower in 2022 having previously worked for eight years as a senior leader in two Leicester schools. I have been teaching for over 12 years and I am passionate about the importance of education for everyone. Outside of school, I love to bake, read fantasy books, and play with my two children. I feel very lucky to live in such a diverse city full of incredible art, food and culture.

Intent, Implementation and Impact

As Music Leaders, we will work hard to ensure that the Music National Curriculum is effectively taught to all of the children at Mayflower Primary School. Through good quality resources and the Kapow scheme of work, teachers are able to deliver engaging lessons with a clear focus on developing the skills, knowledge and understanding that are needed in order to become confident performers, composers, and listeners. All teachers have videos, which they can access to develop their subject knowledge and ongoing CPD.

Click here for more information

Assessment

Assessment in music takes place during lessons through feedback provided by staff. As per our feedback and marking policy, this is most effective during the lesson. Children will also RAG rate their own learning at the end of each lesson against the Question for the Session. Formal assessments are made at the end of each term, and these are submitted to the Head Teacher, determining attainment, progress, and the overall impact of the syllabus on all our children. They are measured against age-related expectations across the syllabus, using a 4-point system, as follows:

Working below Key Stage
Working Towards Age-Related Expectations
Working at Age-Related Expectations
Working at the Greater Depth Standard

Differentiation helps all teachers to ensure that the children’s needs are being met through lesson content that is matched to their needs. Adaptations are also made to ensure that our SEND children can gain access to all lessons, with a strong focus on disciplinary and substantive knowledge, as opposed to the literacy and numeracy skills we may expect of them to access it. In this way, low outcomes in literacy and numeracy do not have to equate to low outcomes in music.

Golden Threads and Curriculum Enrichment

Music supports the 3-Golden Threads in many different ways, and we recognise the contribution it makes to the development of children’s character and worldview. The global goals provide a framework for the love, care and compassion we show to the planet and each other. Our curriculum introduces children to music from all around the world and across generations, teaching children to respect and appreciate the music of all traditions and communities.

Social Justice is about fairness in society and music has been used as a form of protest throughout history. By understanding different musical traditions, our children will learn more about people who have protested against decisions that were preceived as unfair at the time. As they become leaders of change, music can be an aloquent expression of how they feel about some of the big decisions that are being taken by leaders around the world.

Outdoor learning is promoted through specialist music teachers teaching the ukulele and recorders to our year 3 and year 2 pupils. We also have weekly singing lesson all of which enrich the delivery of the music curriculum at Mayflower Primary School.

The Journey of the Child

Through carefully planned and progressive lessons that reference prior learning and prepare children for future learning, we can chart a child’s journey through our school from Year 1 their entry in the Orchard all the way through to the end of Year 6. Please tap on the following link to see how our children experience music at Mayflower, and how this links together, helping them to develop and build upon prior skills: Click here for more Information

Curriculum in Action

Talking about the curriculum is far less effective than actually seeing it in action. We love to capture our children’s engagement with music, both in the classroom and with specialist teachers. For more information, please tap on the following link:

Music development plan summary

Please see below for our music development summary for 2024-25.