Music

Intent

At St George’s Catholic Primary School, we aim to inspire pupils to develop a love of music, to nurture their creativity and to give them the opportunities to develop their talent as musicians.

Our curriculum aims to provide pupils with a variety of musical experiences with the intention of giving them a sense of achievement and developing their confidence to perform to a range of audiences. During their time at St. George’s, they will listen to, appraise and reflect upon a range of musical genres, styles and traditions, including the works of the great composers and musicians.

They will be taught to sing with others; create and compose music; play a musical instrument and to use technology appropriately. They will also have the opportunity to continue to play the instruments taught to a more advanced level.

As children progress through the school, they will explore how music is created, produced and communicated through the interrelated dimensions of music: pitch, duration, dynamics, tempo, timbre, texture, structure and musical notation. 

Implementation

The Music Curriculum at St. George’s has been designed to cover all the knowledge and skills set out in the National Curriculum.

In EYFS, music is an integral part of the topic work covered during the year. In the Early Years, music contributes to a child’s development in the area of expressive arts and design.

From Reception to Year 6 children are taught music in half termly blocks although some aspects of music learning are ongoing throughout the year. We use Charanga (an on-line resource) to support our music teaching as it is a very clear and comprehensive scheme of work which covers all the National Curriculum requirements in a full and progressive way. The challenges are differentiated and allow all children to take part with extra support provided for children if necessary. Music is for all – this includes those children with SEND.

Instrumental learning (playing the recorder and glockenspiel) is taught explicitly and progressively using the Charanga units of work. However, the design of our KS2 curriculum ensures that we also provide the children with the opportunity to learn to play, compose and perform using a variety of other instruments (tuned and untuned). From Year 3 to Year 6, the children will spend three half terms each year learning to play instruments including recorder, boomwhacker, ukulele, violin and samba drums.

Across the school, the Charanga Listening Centre is used to encourage active listening to music from different genres and eras. This also provides music which is selected for use in a variety of lessons and activities to create, mood, atmosphere and to aid concentration.

Children throughout the school sing during assemblies and collective worship times.

A singing club is provided and children in years 3 to 6 are given the opportunity to join the school choir. The school choir is asked to perform in local retirement homes and they also sing carols in the community at Christmas time. Singing plays a prominent part in all school productions at Christmas, Easter and at the end of the school year. When available, we provide opportunities for children to take part in musical trips e.g. Bridgewater Hall to play with the Halle Orchestra.

Impact

Children at St George’s learn to work both independently and as part of a group, ensuring skills of resilience and teamwork are promoted in this subject. Children are enthused and engaged in a wide variety of music activities including extra-curricular clubs and the opportunity to play with the Sefton Youth Orchestra. Children perform confidently during performances and enjoy demonstrating what they have learned. The importance of music in Liverpool’s history and opportunities to perform outside of school, within our local environment ensure our children understand its significance and place within the wider world and that these excite and inspire children’s thirst for knowledge and participation in this subject.

Teachers assess children’s work by making judgements as they observe them during lessons. Additional evidence may be gained during school performances or other relevant events, and may be presented in the form of recordings or photographs.

Knowledge Organisers

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