Intent

The National Curriculum for music aims to ensure that all pupils:
• Perform, listen to, review and evaluate music
• Are taught to sing, create and compose music
• Understand and explore how music is created, produced and communicated.

At St. Andrew the Apostle our intention is that children gain a firm understanding of what music is through listening, singing, playing, evaluating, analysing, and composing across a wide variety of historical periods, styles, traditions, and musical genres. By teaching the National Curriculum, we aim for our pupils will learn that music is a universal language that embodies one of the highest forms of creativity. We encourage children to participate in a variety of musical experiences through which we aim to build up the confidence of all children.  Our objective at St. Andrew’s is to develop a curiosity for the subject, as well as an understanding and acceptance of the validity and importance of all types of music, and an unbiased respect for the role that music may play in any person’s life. We are committed to ensuring children understand the value and importance of music in the wider community, and are able to use their musical skills, knowledge, and experiences to involve themselves in music, in a variety of different contexts.

Implementation

Music lesson will engage and inspire pupils to develop a love of music and develop their talent as musicians, and as a result, increase their self-confidence, creativity and sense of success. As pupils progress, they will develop a critical engagement with music, allowing them to compose, and to listen with refinement. The Charanga scheme of work is used from Nursery to Year 6 to ensure a wide exposure to different genres of music, with lots of practical opportunities to explore and develop as musicians and singers.

The school also has whole class ensemble teaching in Years 3, 4, 5 and 6 where children are taught a specific musical instrument for a school year. These lessons incorporate teaching musical notation, singing, as well as learning to play an instrument.  Opportunities are taken to perform in class, in whole assemblies and also to parents and the wider community. Additional opportunities are offered in music, such as the KS2 choir which perform at assemblies in school and at events in the local community. By employing a specialist music teacher to deliver part of the music curriculum, we are ensuring that our pupils are receiving high quality lessons and that staff receive music CPD.

Impact

Whilst in school, children have access to a varied programme, which allows students to discover areas of strength, as well as areas they might like to improve upon. The integral nature of music and the learner creates an enormously rich palette from which a student may access fundamental abilities such as: achievement, self-confidence, interaction with and awareness of others, and self-reflection. Music lessons will also support the understanding of culture and history, both in relation to pupils individually, as well as ethnicities from across the world. Children are able to enjoy music, in as many ways as they choose- either as listener, creator or performer.  They have an understanding of how to further develop skills less known to them and apply the to their future learning.