Music

Intent

At Christ Church we aim for all pupils to enjoy music lessons and experiences and to see themselves as young musicians. We aim for pupils to be able to express themselves in different ways and through a variety of instruments (and voices). This may be in the form of listening and appraising pieces of music, through participating in musical activities (games, singing etc.) to performing and sharing their creations. Through our delivery of music lessons, we hope for all pupils to enhance their confidence in themselves (those with both extrovert and introvert personalities). We see music as an opportunity for all to be able to succeed, regardless of other academic achievements. We provide pupils with the opportunity to experience a variety of music genres through different time periods and across different cultures: in doing so we hope to provide them with a wider knowledge base and musical experiences to be able to find styles they relish. Pupils are also shown the process behind developing and composing music to improvise with their own ideas: starting with writing their own music notes to performing it.

We hope that by the end of pupils’ time at Christ Church they have a passion for music and want to have the confidence to learn more about specific instruments from both a practical and theoretical side. Hopefully some pupils take this further and enhance their skills by taking up music as an extra-curricular activity and hobby.

Implementation

Music is taught every week in every year group from Year R through to Year 6. At Christ Church we follow Charanga in every group. Charanga Original Scheme is used for Year R and the model music curriculum is used for Year 1 - 6. It provides teachers with week-by-week lesson support for each year group in the school. The scheme supports all the requirements of the National Curriculum.

Structure of lessons:

Each term pupils cover a new unit of work. Each unit of work comprises of strands of musical learning which correspond with the National Curriculum for music:

1. Listening and Appraising
2. Musical Activities
   1. Warm-up Games
   2. Optional Flexible Games
   3. Singing
   4. Playing instruments
   5. Improvisation
   6. Composition
3. Performing

Within each unit of work, Charanga enables children to understand musical concepts through a repetition-based approach to learning. Pupils embed their learning about the musical concept through different musical activities, which enables a more secure, deeper learning and mastery of musical skills. 

Progression:

Each unit of work focuses on different musical activities, which focus on different dimensions, skills and vocabulary.  The strands of musical learning, presented within the lesson plans and the on-screen resources, are part of the learning spiral. Over time, children develop new musical skills and concepts, and re-visit established musical skills and concepts to consolidate previous learning.

Extra-curricular opportunities:

Pupils are given the opportunity to attend music clubs after school every term. This includes hand bells, choir and guitar club. Some of these clubs also offer trips as experiences and opportunities to perform e.g. Young Voices, Church services and the Festival of Remembrance.

Piano lessons are also offered by an external provider but held in school hours for our pupils.

Within the school year we provide other opportunities for external visitors to come in and share their knowledge and skills with our pupils either through workshops or performances.

Impact

Outcomes in music are reviewed through staff and pupil voice as well as drop-ins in lessons. This ensures that there progression occurring in lessons across year groups as well as over the course of the year within year groups. Vocabulary and skills are a main focal point of these reviews. CPD sessions, largely in the form of staff meetings, are used to address any general areas for development, to feed into tweaks for lesson delivery. Specific CPD is provided on a one-to-basis as and when required. Staff reflect on their own teaching and this also feeds into CPD sessions as necessary. Sharing expertise and seeking advice with external colleagues and professionals is also conducted throughout the year. This also informs CPD sessions.

With regards to enthusiasm with music, clubs are well attended by a range of ages and abilities.