Music at Springfield
At Springfield Primary, we are passionate about the opportunities all children should have to experience and participate in musical activities. We aim to move children on to secondary school equipped with a love for performing and learning about music. Music is a practical, creative subject, which can be of benefit to all children in developing imagination, the ability to listen attentively and the ability to express personal thoughts and feelings.
In the early years, there is a strong emphasis on singing and rhyme. Music is incorporated into topics and phonics lessons. Children participate in a rhyme assembly every year where they learn 10 songs and rhymes and perform in front of parents. In Key Stage 1, we build on this and singing is continued and instruments are introduced. When children enter Key Stage 2 in year 3, they are taught by a specialist music teacher from Berkshire Maestros where they learn the recorder, glockenspiel, ukulele, samba drums alongside singing and composing.
Children from years 1-6 take part in a weekly singing assembly with the aim of being fun and to have a positive effect on mental health, lowering anxiety levels and building the ‘feel-good factor’. We learn secular and religious songs, accompanied and acapella, rounds, unison and action songs. In these assemblies, children also learn about musicians from around the world and through the ages. All children have the opportunity to learn an instrument through our peripatetic teachers (fee applicable).
Every child has the opportunity to perform annually. Foundation and Key Stage 1 perform at Christmas, Years 3 and 4 at Easter and Year 5 and 6 in the Summer. We encourage children to act, sing and dance, with many children volunteering for roles that include solo singing. In the past, we have performed Joseph, We Will Rock You, Oliver and Robin Hood to name but a few. To enhance and inspire the children, we offer the opportunity for children to experience a West End show. Children in Year 5 learn the steel pans with the support of Culture Mix. We also have a visiting music group, Bassistry Arts, which visit alternate years and are a great inspiration for many. There is a choir for children in years 3-6 where they are able to practise for a performance at The Hexagon with other local schools. This is always well-attended and a highlight of those children's year!
Modern Foreign Languages at Springfield
At Springfield, we believe that learning a foreign language is a doorway to other cultures. A high-quality languages education should foster pupils’ curiosity and deepen their understanding of the world. The teaching should enable pupils to express their ideas and thoughts in another language and to understand and respond to its speakers, both in speech and in writing. It should also provide opportunities for them to communicate for practical purposes, learn new ways of thinking and read great literature in the original language. Giving our children a strong foundation in a foreign language gives them the potential to take languages further at secondary school at beyond, equipping pupils to even study or work in other countries.
Aims
The national curriculum for languages aims to ensure that all pupils:
- Understand and respond to spoken and written language from a variety of authentic
sources.
- Speak with increasing confidence, fluency and spontaneity, finding ways of
communicating what they want to say, including through discussion and asking
questions, and continually improving the accuracy of their pronunciation and intonation.
- Can write at varying length, for different purposes and audiences, using the variety of
grammatical structures that they have learnt.
- Discover and develop an appreciation of a range of writing in the language studied.