Music at St’ Thomas’
Music is a valued part of the curriculum at St Thomas’ C of E Primary School. We believe wholeheartedly that music has the power to change lives. The National Plan for Music Education sits at the heart of our curriculum.
Music is a universal language that enables the expression of one of the highest forms of creativity and connection. It celebrates inclusion, diversity, and unity by exploring the similarities and differences between places, societies, and people from various backgrounds, cultures, heritages and eras. Music and singing holds a central place in worship at St Thomas’, making it an essential component of our daily life and community. A high-quality music education should inspire and engage students, helping them to develop a deep love for music and refine their talents as musicians. This not only boosts their self-confidence, wellbeing and creativity but can instil a profound sense of accomplishment, fellowship and community spirit. As students grow, they should cultivate a discerning appreciation for a rich variety of genres and cultural styles, enabling them to listen and discuss pieces thoughtfully with interest and curiosity, and express their creativity through composition.
The National Plan for Music Education sits at the heart of our curriculum.
Music gives children and young people an opportunity to express themselves, to explore their creativity, to work hard at something, persevere and shine. These experiences and achievements stay with them and shape their lives. Music is a cornerstone of the broad and balanced education that every child should receive. It touches hearts and minds, it celebrates and challenges, and it connects us and moves us. National Plan for Music Education June 2022
Intent: Our vision for Music
As we believe that high quality music education will inspire a long-lasting love of music through developing their musical skills and knowledge, our intent in music is for our children:
- To listen to, review and perform a wide range of music.
- To learn to sing and use their voices.
- To develop an understanding of musical related terminology used within all musical genres: the elements of pitch, timbre, dynamics, structure, tempo, texture, graphic scores and musical notation.
- To have the opportunity to learn a musical instrument.
Implementation: How we plan for, and teach Music
Our music curriculum enables children to sing, listen, play, perform and evaluate through classroom activities, assemblies, concerts and performances and the learning of instruments. Children will also be given the opportunity to lead or participate in ‘Singing Playground’ activities throughout the week.
- Children will be given opportunities to access a wide range of musical genres from a variety of cultures, past and present.
- Children will be confident about talking and evaluating this music, using musical vocabulary, recognising that different music appeals to different people.
- Children will be given the opportunity to learn a musical instrument.
All children throughout Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 will use glockenspiels as a tuned instrument. Key stage 2 children are also given the opportunity learn a different musical instrument to develop their musical skills. This is provided through Accent (the Warrington and Halton Music Hub).
Y3: Recorders
Y4: Recorders
Y5: Ukulele
Y6: Guitar
- Children are given the opportunity to develop their confidence in performance through a variety of concerts and performances.
In addition to classroom performance opportunities:
- Children in Key Stage One will perform in a concert with other schools from Warrington.
- Children in Key Stage Two, who learn musical instruments, will perform to the rest of the school and parents, or to a wider audience, such as in concerts or church services.
- Children in Years 5 and 6, who choose to sing in the school choir, will rehearse regularly and perform at concerts, church services and community events throughout the school year.
- Key Stage One children will participate in a concert involving schools throughout Warrington.
- Key Stage Two children will perform an end of year musical production to parents, children, staff and governors.
- Children will develop confidence as musicians.
To support this development of skills and knowledge, children will participate in weekly, inclusive music sessions across the year, which are clearly sequenced across all year groups. These may be linked to topics and other areas of the curriculum or taught as stand-alone lessons. All music topics and lessons can be identified on each Year Group’s Long-Term Plans and outcomes for each year group found in the Curriculum Map.
All of these lessons will be based around the following schemes:
The Charanga scheme of work: a clear sequence of lessons, lesson objectives and outlines, along with the resources needed to teach them; this will enable all members of staff (including non-specialists) to deliver well-planned quality lessons, with appropriate differentiation.
BBC Ten Pieces: providing an opportunity for the children to delve into classical music. Building on their acquired skills, these lessons give them the opportunity to realise their creative potential through aiming towards a class composition. In Years 2 to 6, this will be facilitated by a member of The Halle orchestra.
Year 1 Music and Movement lessons (provided by Accent Music): developing their skills and knowledge of musical elements through performance and creative dance and movement.
Instrument Tuition (Years 4 to 6): giving the children opportunities to put into practice the skills and knowledge they have developed, including their use of using musical notation, to further develop their musicianship.
Royal Opera House Sing and Create (Years 4 and 5):
This experience:
- combines singing and drama to build pupils' self-expression, creative collaboration, performance confidence, voice, movement, and memory skills.
- An understanding of opera as an artform.
- Expressive singing and an awareness of technique
- An understanding of staging and movement
- Reflective practice through performance evaluation
The children will have the opportunity to:
- Play and perform in solo and ensemble contexts, using their voices and playing musical instruments with increasing accuracy, fluency, control and expression.
- Appreciate and understand a wide range of high-quality live and recorded music drawn from different traditions and from great composers and musicians
- Develop an understanding of the history of music
- Sing a broad range of songs from an extended repertoire with a sense of ensemble and performance
Music and EYFS
The EYFS framework is organised across seven areas of learning rather than subject areas. Music can be found within various areas of learning.
For example:
- Communication and Language
- Physical Development
- Expressive Arts and Design.
- Mathematics
Children can use different instruments and beaters, as well as a variety of objects such as spoons, pots and pans all encourage a love of Music.
This development of knowledge and understanding does not happen in isolation without simultaneously and symbiotically developing other areas of learning. EYFS access resources in Charanga land BBC Ten Pieces to support their learning of Nursery rhymes, stories and songs.
Impact: How we evaluate learning in Music
Our musical curriculum ensures that:
- Children enjoy participating in musical activities as a listener, a creator and a performer.
- Children develop an understanding of culture and history and how it relates to them as individuals and the wider world.
- Children are confident to share and perform their musical skills and understanding in assemblies and concerts.
- Children are able to play various instruments which in turn supports their understanding when listening, playing or analysing music.
At St Thomas’, in music, we ensure that the children are involved in any evaluation, dialogue and decision making about the quality of their development as a musician and any improvements they need to make. By playing an active role in these discussions and decision-making processes, children will not only expand their knowledge of the vocabulary and elements of music, but they will be able to talk confidently about their learning journey and develop the skills, confidence and passion to improve.
Clear assessment of children’s knowledge and skills enables teachers to build upon previously taught content and ensures lessons challenge and support appropriately.
Children’s progress will be monitored through both formative and summative assessment opportunities and assessment will be undertaken in various forms, including the following:
- Talking to pupils and asking questions
- Discussing pupils’ performances, participation and learning
- Observing and listening to practice and performance opportunities,
- Pupils’ self-evaluation of their work
This enables teachers to build upon previously taught content and ensures lessons challenge and support appropriately. Opportunities and tasks will be differentiated to allow those children working at greater depth, or having extra tuition in music, to progress further.
Pupils should leave St Thomas’ Primary School with a love of music and be inspired and confident, as young musicians to develop their learning at Key Stage 3 and beyond