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At Danegrove Primary School we strive to fully embed Music and Dance in every aspect of school life and our aspiration is that every child adopts a lifelong love of these subjects.

Music is taught by our music teacher across the school in the Music room. Weekly lessons are lively and interactive and aim to foster a passion for music in children of all abilities. Talented musical pupils are recognised quickly and they are encouraged to build on their skills. Weekly music lessons aim to help all the children flourish other areas of learning. Planning is based on the extensive Charanga resource which encompasses all of the key curriculum objectives for Music while providing up to date music of all genres which the children find engaging and stimulating.

It is our vision that Music lessons give the opportunity for children to become real musicians. The children participate in singing, tuned and untuned percussion work, composition, and listening to live and recorded music.  We also welcome visitors into school whenever possible so the children can listen to live music. Over the last year we have held African drumming workshops, Ukulele experts and visits from The English Pocket Opera Company, all of which the children thoroughly enjoy, coming away enthused about the interactive musical experience.

All children are taught the skills to be able to compose using musical instruments. When the children are ready, musical notation is taught and children are taught correct musical terminology e.g. rhythm, melody, pitch, dynamics. It is our aspiration that all children will be able to read and understand music notation by the time they leave Danegrove Primary School. Singing is a key element in lessons and assemblies, they are taught how to warm up their voices, recognising the rhythm, pitch and temp, and build up a repertoire of songs.

Peripatetic teachers come to the school and children have the opportunity to take up woodwind, string, brass or guitar tuition. Our school orchestra meets weekly and performs regularly assemblies and school events. Recorder group lessons are offered to all children from Year 2 onwards. We have a school choir, Glee Club, which meet each week and perform as a choir at whole school events such as our fantastic May fair, the Christmas Fair. They also attend charity events and visit local community centres such as Friends in Need in East Barnet. The Glee Club take part in the yearly Barnet Schools Music Festival, while Year 2 prepare each year for the Infant Music Festival.

We build on the musical horizons of each child and we strongly believe that children should be given the opportunity to share their musical skills at different events both in and outside school. It is our aim that each child becomes a confident performer, however we take each child are their own speed and we support children who are less confident and encourage them to flourish.

Through dance lessons, children are taught the fundamental movement skills of agility, balance and coordination with a focus on individual challenge, posture, flexibility and control. As children move through the school the challenge becomes greater, allowing children to develop their movement and creativity skills, leading to increased self-confidence.

At Danegrove, we believe in enhancing our curriculum as much as possible with movement, as research shows how beneficial music and movement sessions can be in developing the whole child, positively impacting upon language, mathematical thinking and brain development skills.

We have a strong ethos across the school to celebrate all of children’s achievements and desire to work harder and develop skills across all areas of physical development.