The school values all aspects of the curriculum and plans carefully to ensure that all children have a wide and varied curriculum as part of our 'explore, excite, excel' school vision.

This includes a comprehensive Music, Dance and Drama curriculum.

Music

Our music lessons are based on the Charanga scheme of learning and are adapted by teachers to meet the needs, interests and skills of our classes. Charanga allows children to be exposed to a range of  music to excite and engage them before finding a variety of ways to respond to them. This includes examples such as singing, percussion & tuned instruments.

At Blagdon our aim is to make music fun, accessible and an enjoyable learning experience. Children are encouraged to participate in a variety of musical experiences through which we aim to build up the confidence of all children. Through singing songs, children learn about the structure and organisation of music. We teach them to listen to and appreciate different forms of music. Children develop descriptive skills in music lessons when learning about how music can represent feelings and emotions. The children learn how to work with others to compose music and perform for an audience.

We ensure that every family is aware of the opportunity for their child to learn an instrument with North Somerset specialist music teachers. We encourage children to perform at school in front of an audience in Golden Assembly and in concerts. Children take part in a range of musical experiences such as weekly singing assemblies, the Christmas Nativity, the end of year Summer Show, whole class instrumental lessons and experiencing live music from visiting musicians and attending concerts.

Key features of our class music lessons at Blagdon

The national curriculum for music aims 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

The Charanga scheme supports all the requirements of the National Curriculum. It is an integrated, practical, exploratory, child-led approach to musical learning.

The learning within the Charanga scheme is based on: listening and appraising; musical activities — creating and exploring; and singing and performing.

Extensive research has shown the undeniably positive impact singing has on emotional, physical and mental well-being. This is the reason why singing features so highly in our music curriculum and is such an uplifting and beneficial thing to do.

If learning an instrument is an area of particular interest, our children can also access individual music lessons from the West of England Music and Arts which parents are charged for.

We have recently been given the Music Mark Award in recognition of our work in championing and supporting access to music for all children and young people.

Drama & Dance

Children take part in a wide range of annual performances to parents including a Reception & KS1 Nativity and KS2 summer performance or play. Each class will perform once a year as they develop their dance and drama skills. Events include, but are not limited to, Harvest, Remembrance, Christmas & Easter. This gives our children the opportunity to develop self-confidence in front of an audience of varying sizes and for a range of events.

KS2 take part in the annual 'Dance Their Socks Off' event at the Weston Playhouse and perform in front of a large audience of parents and carers from across the Churchill School cluster. We work with staff from Churchill Academy to perfect our songs and dances.