St Michael's Primary, DA16

St Michael's C of E Primary School

'Loving learning, learning to love... A small school, part of God's big family.'

Music at St Michael's

Music at St Michael’s

The National Curriculum defines music as a universal language that embodies one of the highest forms of creativity. A high-quality music education should engage and inspire pupils to develop a love of music and their talent as musicians, and so increase their self-confidence, creativity and sense of achievement. As pupils progress, they should develop a critical engagement with music, allowing them to compose, and to listen with discrimination to the best in the musical canon.

 

Aims

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 inter-related dimensions: pitch, duration, dynamics, tempo, timbre, texture, structure and appropriate musical notations.

Intent

 

At St Michael’s we want our children to have a fun musical education, which inspires them and provides them with a firm understanding of what music is through listening, singing, playing, evaluating, analysing, and composing. We aim to introduce the children from EYFS to Year 6 to an increasing range of music from across a wide variety of historical periods, styles, traditions, and musical genres. We are committed to ensuring children understand the value and importance of music in the wider community, and can use their musical skills, knowledge, and experiences to involve themselves in music, in a variety of different contexts.

 

 

Implementation

  • At St Michael’s our music curriculum ensures children sing, listen, play, perform and evaluate. This is embedded in the classroom activities as well as the weekly Sung Worship; Hymns as part of Collective Worship, at church services and as part of the school’s celebration of Christian festivals; various concerts and performances; the learning of instruments and our school choir.
  • The elements of music are taught by a specialist music teacher so that children are able to use some of the language of music to dissect it, and understand how it is made, played, appreciated and analysed.
  • Key Stage 1 classes experience their music lessons collectively through singing sessions led by the specialist teacher with follow-up work in classrooms with their class teacher.
  • Key Stage 2 classes each have a weekly session of music per class.
  • As a school we use Charanga Music School Scheme which is an award-winning, modern-day resource for primary music which offers a complete scheme to teach the National Curriculum.
  • The learning within the Charanga Scheme is based on: Listening and Appraising; Musical Activities — creating and exploring; and Singing and Performing.
  • The school also has whole class ensemble teaching in Years 3 and 4 where children are taught a specific musical instrument for a school year. In Year 3, the pupils are currently learning the recorder, whereas in Year 4, children are taught the violin. These lessons incorporate teaching musical notation, singing, as well as learning to play an instrument.
  • The children’s experience of music is also deepened through a variety of enrichment opportunities including trips to see the London Symphony Orchestra and participation in the Young Voices performance at London’s O2 arena.

 

Impact

 

Children at St Michael’s show a deep love of music; an appreciation for the skills needed to learn an instrument and a passion for singing as a result of a carefully planned and passionately delivered curriculum. Throughout their time at St Michael’s children have access to a varied and engaging programme, which allows them to discover areas of strength, as well as areas they might like to improve upon. Our children enthusiastically talk about their music learning and the knowledge and skills they have acquired. In-school concerts and participation in wider opportunities show children performing competently and confidently.