Music Statement of Intent
At St. Mary’s R.C Primary it is our intent that we make music an enjoyable learning experience which is also an opportunity for personal expression. We encourage children to participate in a variety of musical experiences through which we aim to build up the confidence of all children. Our teaching focuses on developing the children’s ability to understand rhythm and follow a beat. Through singing songs, children learn about the structure and organisation of music. We teach them to listen and to appreciate different forms of music. Children develop descriptive language skills in music lessons when learning about how music can represent different feelings, emotions and narratives. We also teach technical vocabulary such as volume, pitch, beat and rhythm and encourage children to discuss music using these terms. We aim to also teach children that music reflects our culture and society and so the teaching and learning of music enables children to better understand the world they live in. Besides being a creative and enjoyable activity, music can be a highly academic and demanding subject. It is also important in helping children feel part of a community.
At St Mary’s RC Primary School, the aims of music teaching are to enable children to:
• know and understand how sounds are made and then organised into musical structures;
• know how music is made through a variety of instruments;
• know how music is composed and written down;
• know how music is influenced by the time, place and purpose for which it was written;
• develop the interrelated skills of performing, composing and appreciating music;
• enjoy and appreciate a wide variety of musical styles;
• make and quantify judgements about the quality of music;
Music Statement of Implementation
At St. Mary’s, the Charanga scheme of work is used from Year 1 – 6 to ensure a wide exposure to different genres of music, with lots of practical opportunities to explore and develop as musicians and singers. Our music curriculum ensures students sing, listen, play, perform and evaluate. The elements of music are taught in the classroom lessons 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. In the classroom children learn how to play an instrument and to read basic music notation. They also learn how to compose focussing on different dimensions of music, which in turn feeds their understanding when listening, playing, or analysing music. Composing or performing using body percussion and vocal sounds is also part of the curriculum, which develops the understanding of musical elements without the added complexity of an instrument. As well as classroom activities, children are also given opportunities to sing in assemblies, in the school choir, learn how to play other instruments (in KS2) and take part in performances.
