Through our Christian ethos, we teach children to hear, understand and live the word of God, helping them to give back to the world as global citizens. As every child is uniquely created in God’s image, we nurture their individual development through a holistic approach to all aspects of life.

INTENT

Music is a universal language that embodies one of the highest forms of creativity. At St. Mary’s, we work with Sing Education to provide a high quality music education to 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 will develop a critical engagement with music, allowing them to compose, and to listen with discrimination to the best in the musical canon.

IMPLEMENTATION

Reception: The children will be introduced to the key musical elements of pitch and pulse and they will build upon these fundamental elements. They will explore sounds found in the world around them through listening to music and using their voices and percussion to recreate sounds. They will learn and revisit songs and rhymes.

Key Stage 1: In Year 1, the children will be introduced to some of the fundamental principles of music. They will be encouraged to think about the changes in the world around them during the autumn season, through songs and musical games. The elements of pulse and rhythm will be taught and reinforced together with the concept of pitch. Rhymes, songs and musical games based around an animal theme will be used to give the children more confidence when singing in a group and on their own. They will be taught to develop their improvisational skills. The children will combine sounds in the world around them with music from around the world.

Through songs, rhymes and musical games, Year 2 children will gain a deeper understanding of pitch, pulse and rhythm. They will discover and explore music from around the world. The children will use their musicianship skills learnt to create class ensemble pieces using the glockenspiel, un-tuned percussion and the singing voice.

Lower KS2: Year 3 children will build upon previous learning on the glockenspiel and knowledge of pitch, pulse and rhythm. They will explore the music of different countries every two weeks, learning about the culture and music of each country, learning a traditional song and in some cases using the native language. Through songs, chants and musical games, they will continue to develop their musicianship  skills. The children will explore music through active listening and bring together the musicianship skills learnt to create class ensemble pieces using the glockenspiel, un-tuned percussion and the singing voice. They will also learn about the different elements of musical theatre using core songs, drama and movement activities and repertoire from musical theatre. 

Music of different styles from around the world will be explored in Year 4. Previous learning on the glockenspiel and knowledge of pitch, pulse and rhythm will be built upon. They will deepen their skills and knowledge of standard musical notation using the glockenspiel. Through listening, discussion and improvisation the children will explore the concept of using music to enable them to describe an atmosphere, place or emotion.

Upper KS2: In Year 5, through rhythm games, songs and percussion activities, the children will reinforce their knowledge of pulse and rhythm. They will discover the use of rhythmic and melodic patterns, structure, instrumentation and dynamics in a variety of exciting orchestral pieces: Radetzky March (Strauss), The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (Morricone) and Hoedown (Copland). The children will deepen their knowledge of standard musical notation and apply this through improvisation and performance. They will build upon their musicianship skills developed so far, to create class ensemble performances of two pieces of popular music, using the glockenspiel, un-tuned percussion and the singing voice. There will be opportunities to explore the music of different countries (USA, Israel, Ghana, Kenya, Polynesia – Hawaii, New Zealand), learn about actions and instruments used, learn traditional songs and in some cases, use the native language. 

Year 6 children will explore music from around the world building upon previous learning developing knowledge of pitch, pulse and rhythm. The children will discover the use of rhythmic and melodic patterns, structure, instrumentation and dynamics in a variety of exciting orchestral pieces: Radetzky March (Strauss), The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (Morricone) and Hoedown (Copland). They will learn about the composition process and gain more experience of describing music and sounds. Musicianship skills gained in Year 5 will be built upon using listening activities, small group composition and improvisations.

IMPACT

By the end of Key Stage 1, the children will have been taught to:

• use their voices expressively and creatively by singing songs and speaking chants and rhymes;
• play tuned and untuned instruments musically;
• listen with concentration and understanding to a range of high-quality live and recorded music; and
• experiment with, create, select and combine sounds using the inter-related dimensions of music. 

By the end of Key stage 2, the children will have been taught to:

• sing and play musically with increasing confidence and control;
• develop an understanding of musical composition, organising and manipulating ideas within musical structures and reproducing sounds from aural memory;
• play and perform in solo and ensemble contexts, using their voices and playing musical instruments with increasing accuracy, fluency, control and expression;
• improvise and compose music for a range of purposes using the inter-related dimensions of music;
• listen with attention to detail and recall sounds with increasing aural memory;
• use and understand staff and other musical notations;
• appreciate and understand a wide range of high-quality live and recorded music drawn from different traditions and from great composers and musicians; and
• develop an understanding of the history of music.