Psalm 81

Sing for joy to God our strength; shout aloud to the God of Jacob!

Begin the music, strike the timbrel, play the melodious harp and lyre.

INTENT:

Music and singing is an integral part of life at St Michael’s School. We believe strongly that music can offer unique opportunities to each and every one of our children. We aim to inspire pupils with a love of music through the exploration of their voices and a wide range of instruments; composing and performing. Prayer and praise is an important part of this musical journey. 

Through our music curriculum at St Michael’s we aim to provide our pupils with a range of musical opportunities and a grounding in the early basics of musical knowledge and skills. These will include singing, listening, appraising, composing and performing. Through this, the pupils will begin to develop an understanding of the place of music in their own and the wider community as well as important occasions in their own lives. We want to make music a joyful and rewarding experience and it is our hope that children’s enjoyment of music remains with them for life.

 

IMPLEMENTATION:

The music curriculum is taught through key concepts from Year One to Year 6. Our curriculum, Charanga, helps to focus learning and ensure a knowledge rich education.  It ensures that we avoid teaching a broad overview with shallow engagement in knowledge and understanding. By learning specific things, children encounter a broad range of knowledge whilst amassing a specific body of knowledge. This is taught to be remembered, stored in long-term memory and built on. 

Music lessons across St Michael’s engage and inspire pupils to develop a love of music and increase their self-confidence, creativity and sense of achievement. The curriculum draws on a range of high quality resources. 

Music is an essential part of learning in the Foundation Stage as it is incorporated in everyday learning. The musical aspects of the children’s work relate to the objectives set out in the early learning goals (ELGs). We ensure that the key foundational knowledge required for our KS1 music curriculum is fed into our Early Years environment and learning activities. 

In KS1, the children are taught to use their voices expressively and creatively by singing songs, speaking chants and rhymes. They begin to play tuned and untuned instruments with appropriate control, following a conductor’s instructions in some instances. They explore the inter-related dimensions of music and start to listen with concentration and understanding to a range of high quality music. They will have the opportunity to compose by experimenting with and combining instrumental and vocal sounds. 

In KS2, pupils are taught to sing and play musically with increasing confidence, accuracy, fluency and expression. All lessons are practical, with all children learning through a range of tuned percussion, recorders and ukulele.  In upper KS2, children begin to compose using Garage Band. 

 

IMPACT:

As children progress through St Michael’s they will know more and remember more about music.  They will also be more confident when expressing themselves musically. Music has a high profile in our school community. Our school is full of singing. Our performances foster parental engagement and support.  We believe that participation in music develops a sense of wellbeing, belonging, community and team work. It promotes listening and develops concentration.