LEVEL F IN MUSIC

Pupils at Level F should be stimulated and challenged to achieve their full potential in music and also to increase the amount of responsibility they take for their own learning. Care should also be taken to reinforce work which has been covered at earlier levels. Information provided at Level F should be considered as an extension to advice given about Levels A-E and should be read within the same context.

The content of programmes of study at Level F should relate directly to attainment targets and to the general statements made about programmes at this level. However, it is important to recognise that these general statements are intended as a stimulus rather than a substitute for innovative planning by the teacher.

Classroom tasks should be designed to increase the opportunities for pupils to develop a clear understanding of how music works, through playing and evaluating music. Pupils should be given regular and frequent opportunities to practise performing skills in group and solo contexts, with increasing focus on developing specialist performing skills, usually on two instruments which may include the voice. The skills and conceptual knowledge pupils acquire through playing and listening to music and exploring sound should then be applied regularly in creating and designing tasks.

Teachers will need to consider how best they can organise pupils to ensure that, given the breadth of attainment within a class, all pupils are challenged and stimulated by the tasks they are set. With an emphasis placed on the centrality of the group performance as a vehicle for the delivery of the core concepts, teachers should seek to provide a range of instrumental/vocal parts well matched to pupils' chosen instruments and to their individual skill levels. This approach will provide a sound basis for meeting individual needs, while providing appropriate scope for the teacher to teach the full range of core concepts leading to a knowledge of how music works. At all times teachers should seek to maximise the amount of time they spend in direct teaching interactions with groups and individuals.

Assessing pupils' progress in music at Level F

Progression to Level F in music involves in particular developing pupils' ability to take responsibility for their own learning and to work with greater independence. Assessment at this level should take account of these features and involve pupils in recording and evaluating their own work. Pupils should therefore be encouraged to keep their own record of the tasks and processes they have encountered, for example, by keeping a course log. The record might contain dates, targets, self-assessment comments and teachers' remarks, including 'next steps'.

The criteria for making judgements about successful attainment in particular strands should be based on the attainment targets and programmes of study for each of the three attainment outcomes: using materials, techniques, skills and media; expressing feelings, ideas, thoughts and solutions; and evaluating and appreciating.

For using materials, techniques, skills and media, the demands of the instrument and the nature of the task should be taken into account. Through performing, pupils should show that they can interpret music, realising the composer's intentions, maintaining the flow of the