Music Curriculum at St Eanswythe’s

Rationale and National Curriculum Coverage

“Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything.” – Plato

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At St Eanswythe’s we believe that every child has the right to a quality music education – both for music as a subject in its own right and for the skills, developed through music, that have a hugely positive impact on many areas of life and learning.

Basic Provision:

Singing forms the core part of what we do. Every week all children take part in a whole class music lesson. These sessions comprise elements of performance, composition, listening and appraising, and notation, all taught through songs, singing games as well as instrumental exploration. We take a creative, comprehensive approach to teaching music, making many links with other curriculum subjects.

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Every St Eanswythe’s child has opportunities to play a variety of musical instruments. KS1 children learn skills of handling a wide range of classroom percussion. KS2 children, in addition to furthering their percussion handling skills, all learn to play tuned instruments: Years 3 and 4 all learn to play the Glockenspiel, Year 5 play the Djembe and Year 6 learn the Recorder. Year 4 also 

Routes for Progression:

Every child displaying a particular musical aptitude or desire to further develop their musicianship beyond the classroom is encouraged to engage with our extra-curricular music options:

Peripatetic lessons are currently offered for violin, singing, piano, flute and guitar. If a child is keen to play an instrument not offered then we will do our utmost to source a suitable teacher. 

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Ensemble opportunities in the form of KS1 Choir, KS2 Singing Group, and Rock Steady are also available for children to sign up to. There are no auditions for these groups but there is an expectation of regular commitment to rehearsals as well as dedication to extra practise at home.

Intent:

At St Eanswythe’s School the intention of our music curriculum is, first and foremost, to help children feel musical, and to develop a life-long love of music. We focus on developing the skills, knowledge and understanding that children need in order to become confident performers, listeners and composers. Our curriculum aims to teach children about music from all around the world and across generations, teaching them  to respect and appreciate the music of all traditions and communities. 

Throughout their musical journey at St Eanswythe’s children develop the musical skills of singing, playing tuned and untuned instruments, improvising and composing music, and listening and responding to music.

Our music curriculum also helps children develop the transferable skills of:

• Team working

• Leadership

• Creative thinking

• Problem solving

• Decision making

• Presentation and Performance Skills

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These skills are vital to children’ development as learners and have a wider application in their general lives outside and beyond our school.

Implementation:

We follow a broad and balanced Music curriculum that builds on previous learning and provides both support and challenge for learners.

We follow a programme that ensures progression of skills and covers all aspects of the NC.

All classes receive a weekly music session delivered by a specialist music teacher.

All children in Year 4, in addition to their weekly curriculum music session, receive a weekly whole class instrumental lesson on the violin.

Years 3 and 4 play the Glockenspiels. Children in Year 5 all learn to play the Djembe. Year 6 learn to play the Recorder.

All children have opportunities to perform in a variety of contexts including assemblies, school services and plays at Harvest / Christmas / Easter etc, as well as dedicated music concerts and showcases.

All children have the opportunity to further their musical interest through access to a comprehensive instrumental peripatetic programme as well as enrichment opportunities such as Choir, Rock Band, Music Club and by involvement in projects such as Young Voices at the O2 and workshops with our resident ensemble The Sacconi Quartet.

Impact:

​Our children will enjoy and value Music and know why they are doing things, not just how. 

Our children will understand and appreciate the value of music in the context of their personal wellbeing and the creative and cultural industries and their many career opportunities.

Our children will leave St Eanswythe’s with a range of musical and transferable skills that will enable them to succeed in their secondary education and to be able to enjoy and appreciate music throughout their lives.

The expected impact of our music programme is that children will be:

• Confident performers, composers and listeners and will be able to express themselves musically at and beyond school.

• Show an appreciation and respect for a wide range of musical styles from around the world and understand how music is influenced by the wider cultural, social and historical contexts in which it is developed.

• Understand the ways in which music can be written down in order to support composing and performing activities.

• Demonstrate and articulate an enthusiasm for music and be able to identify their own musical preferences.

• Meet the end of Key Stage expectations outlined in the NC for Music.

Musical progress will be shown, through these outcomes, in records (video) of the process leading to them, looking at work, observing them in lessons and talking with them about what they know.

Children’s personal development in creativity, independence, judgement and self-reflection will be seen in them being able to talk confidently about their work, and sharing their work with others.