Music Curriculum

Music is 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.

National Curriculum 2014

Curriculum Intent

At St Patrick's Catholic Primary our music curriculum 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

Curriculum Implementation

Our teaching and implementation of the Music Curriculum is based on the National Curriculum, ensuring a well-structured approach to the subject.

We follow the units on the Charanga Musical School Scheme, which provides teachers with week-by-week lesson support for each year group in the school. It provides lesson plans, assessment, clear progression, and engaging and exciting whiteboard resources to support every lesson. The Scheme supports all the requirements of the national curriculum.

Performance opportunities and music workshops are routinely planned to enhance the teaching of music. Recent opportunities have included the year 2 children performing at Telford Sings and a community project of Joseph and his Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat.

We have 3 Rocksteady Bands, where the children rehearse each week building up to a performance at the end of each term.

The Choir take part in annual events such as Young Voices and carols at Southwater.
 

Below is on outline of our curriculum offer in Music from EYFS to Year 6.

EYFS

In the Early Years, we follow the Development Matters document. Within the strands of Expressive arts and design, the children listen and respond to what they have heard. They are provided performance opportunities for song, poems and dance.

To reach their Early Learning Goal, children must be able to match and pitch melodies and explore music in a variety of ways. Recently, the reception children have enjoyed following the ‘Let’s Move’ lessons on BBC, where they explore different types of music and express this through dance.

Curriculum Impact

Throughout each block of study, teachers carefully plan to embed and assess the children’s
knowledge using a range of formative assessment strategies. These include vocabulary assessments, use of knowledge organisers, self and peer assessment and end of unit performance. The impact of learning in Music is also measured by pupil interviews, staff meetings, annual reports to parents and learning walks. Assessment data is collected once a year and is analysed by the Music Lead.