Curriculum
Music at Spring Bank
Music plays an important part in life at Spring Bank. All classes have a weekly music lesson delivered by the class teacher or Music Co-ordinator. In addition to this, music is experienced across the school in many ways.
Singing
A wide variety of songs are sung enthusiastically in a whole school singing assembly every week, with some songs including actions, Makaton signs and percussion instruments. Singing can also be heard in many classes supporting every area of the curriculum from Science to History.
Listening
Children are exposed to a wide variety of musical styles through carefully selected assembly music which is played on the way into and out of assembly every day. This music is changed weekly and introduced by the Head teacher in Monday morning’s assembly.
After-school clubs
A variety of free after-school clubs are available at different times throughout the year. These have included:
Year 3 and 4 – glockenspiel, djembe and boomwhackers
Reception and Key Stage 1 – musical games and composing music for a story
Year 4, 5 and 6 – world music (with students from Leeds College of Music)
Years 1 – 6 – Christmas choir
Outside performances
In 2010/2011 all of Year 6 took part in a project with Little London Primary School using steel pans, djembes and other percussion to perform together. They had weekly sessions in school and this culminated in a performance at the National Festival of Music for Youth. We hope to continue this project in future years.
Some children from Years 5 and 6 are taking part in a Schools’ concert at Leeds Town Hall at Christmas this year as part of a choir.
Instrument lessons
From Year 3 or 4 children have the opportunity to learn instruments in small groups. At the moment we are able to offer guitar, trumpet, flute and clarinet lessons. These are provided by peripatetic teachers from Artforms and subsidised by the school although there is still a charge for lessons.
Last year, all children in Year 4 learnt world percussion for an hour a week as part of the Wider Opportunities scheme provided by Artforms.
Arts Award
Children in Year 6 are given the opportunity to work towards their Bronze Arts Award (a national level 1 qualification) to celebrate their experiences of the arts (not just music!) and we are fortunate that our music co-ordinator is a trained advisor.
Reading at home
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During Reception and beyond, our children learn to read using schemes such as Jolly Phonics, Rigby Star and Oxford Reading Tree.
As they travel on their journey to becoming independent and enthusiastic readers the children have access to a full range of exciting books.
All children are encouraged to take home a reading book to share with parents or to read on their own – for our fully independent readers these books may not adhere to a particular scheme and may be a book borrowed from our library.
Sharing Stories and Learning to Read
At Spring Bank we value parents’ involvement in their child’s reading. It is important for you to read regularly with your child, so that they may practise regularly the skills we teach them at school.
Here are some tips which may be helpful:
1. Choose a quiet time
Set aside a quiet time with no distractions. Ten to fifteen minutes is usually long enough.
2. Make reading enjoyable
Make reading an enjoyable experience. Sit with your child. Try not to pressurise if he or she is reluctant. If your child loses interest then do something else.
3. Maintain the flow
If your child mispronounces a word do not interrupt immediately. Instead allow opportunity for self-correction. It is better to tell a child some unknown words to maintain the flow rather than insisting on trying to build them all up from the sounds of the letters.
4. Sounding out
If your child does try to ‘sound out’ words, encourage the use of letter sounds rather than ‘alphabet names’. Encourage them to keep the sounds clipped short, without an ‘uhh’ at the end, as this helps with blending the sounds together.
e.g. ‘mmm – u- mmm’ makes ‘mum’, but ‘muh-u-muh’ makes ‘muhumuh’, which doesn’t make much sense!
Or ‘c – ah – t’ makes ‘cat’, but ‘cuh-ah-tuh’ only makes ‘cuhahtuh’ – nonsense!
5. Be positive
If your child says something nearly right to start with that is fine. Don’t say ‘No. That’s wrong,’ but instead say ‘Let’s read it together’ and point to the words as you say them. Boost your child’s confidence with constant praise for even the smallest achievement.
6. Visit the Library
Encourage your child to use the public library regularly.
7. Regular practice
Try to read with your child on most school days. ‘Little and often’ is better than longer sessions.
8. Communicate
Your child has a school reading diary. Try to write in it regularly with positive comments and any concerns. Your child will then know that you are interested in their progress and that you value reading.
9. Understanding
There is more to being a good reader than just being able to read the words accurately! Just as important is being able to understand what has been read. Talk to your child about the book; about the pictures, the characters, how they think the story will end, their favourite part. You will then be able to see how well they have understood and you will help them to develop good comprehension skills.
10. Favourite stories
Allow your child to re-read favourite stories, or hear you re-read them. Knowing a familiar book will help them notice more about the words on the page and they will start to recognise the patterns in new words and stories.
