Music

At St Joseph’s, we have designed a broad, balanced and progressive curriculum, that supports all the requirements of the National Curriculum. We pride ourselves on delivering an integrated, practical, exploratory and child-led approach to musical learning. Charanga is a scheme of learning we use to deliver our curriculum. The interrelated dimensions of music weave through the units to encourage the development of musical skills as the learning progresses through listening and appraising, differing musical activities (including creating and exploring) and performing. We aim to ensure all pupils:

 

•develop a love for music.

•acquire a range of musical skills, knowledge and understanding. This includes performing, listening and evaluating music across various historical periods, genres and styles.

•develop their vocal and instrumental skills.

•understand music notation

•explore how music is created and produced.

Charanga Musical School Units of Work enable children to understand musical concepts through a repetition based approach to learning. Learning about the same musical concept through different musical activities enables a more secure, deeper learning and mastery of musical skills. Over time, children can both develop new musical skills and concepts, and re-visit established musical skills and concepts. Repeating a musical skill doesn’t necessarily mean their progress is slowing down or their development is moving backwards! It's just shifting within the spiral. Mastery means both a deeper understanding of musical skills and concepts and learning something new.

From Reception to Year 6, the learning consists of six half-termly Units of Work. The final unit in each year - Reflect, Rewind and Replay - allows for revision and more extension activities.

Each unit, within the scheme. enables children to:

1.Listen and Appraise

2.Musical Activities include Games, Singing, Playing, Improvising and Composing 3.Perform/Share

 

All activities are based around a song.

1.Games embed the Interrelated Dimensions of Music through repetition

2.Singing is at the heart of all the musical learning

3.Playing instruments with the song to be learnt - tuned/un-tuned classroom percussion and an option to play any band instrument. A sound-before-symbol approach is used but scores are provided as an understanding of notation is introduced to the children

4.Improvising with the song using voices and instruments occurs in some Units of Work 5.Composing with the song using instruments occurs in some Units of Work

 

Children will be given the opportunity to share what has taken place during the lesson and work towards performing to an audience.

 

Children leave St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School as happy, confident musicians, who have the key skills and knowledge necessary for the next stage of their learning.

 

The impact of our music curriculum will be measured through:

• The subject lead ensures that the National Curriculum requirements are met

• Pupil outcomes are monitored through deep dives, where evidence is gathered in the following ways: pupil voice interviews, drop- ins, discussions with staff etc.

• Assessing children’s knowledge of key component learning as set out within schemes of work

• Assessing children’s understanding of key skills.

• Sharing good practice among staff

• The music lead identifies clear next steps, which are determined by a cycle of monitoring, evaluating and reviewing

• Monitoring of progress from year to year ensuring pupils remain ‘on track’ from their starting point