Our School Definition of Music:
Music is the study and performance of sound.
Intent Statement - Music
At St Joseph’s School, we are Musicians! We want to embed a love of music deep within our children which lasts a lifetime. We want them to have no limits to what their ambitions are and grow up wanting to be music producers, songwriters, composers or rockstars!
Our vision, at St Joseph’s, is to give children access to an engaging and fun music curriculum reflecting the world they live in now, but at the same time giving them access to musical styles throughout history.
At St Joseph’s, children are able to listen and appraise a variety of musical styles alongside performing pieces and creating their own compositions through the use of instruments and technology. In Year 4, children have whole class peripatetic music lessons where they are learning play the clarinet. Year 3, 5 and 6 have their lessons provided by The Hallam Diocesan Music Service where singing is at the core of the children’s learning of music.
The school has invested in the Charanga Scheme of Work to support the teaching and learning of music. The Charanga scheme ensures the progression of skills throughout each Key Stage.
Our aim is to ensure that all children continue to grow in confidence as they progress through the musical curriculum and become passionate in their responses to music. Added to this, we want children to become more independent learners within this area, reflect upon their learning and develop resilience within the musical world.
As a school, these are our aims:
Singing skills- A singing culture will be established and nurtured within the school. Weekly singing skills workshops are conducted weekly.
Instrumental skills - Children will be taught to sing a wide-ranging variety of songs and to use their voices expressively. They will have the opportunity to play both tuned and un-tuned instruments with increasing control during their time at St Joseph’s and will rehearse and perform with others, including performing in front of an audience.
Composing skills- Children will create Musical patterns and will be shown how to explore, select and organise musical ideas, recording these in a variety of ways, (e.g.: pictorial score, by means of a digital recorder, tape recorder or video or using notation).
Appraising skills- Children will be given the opportunity to explore and explain their own ideas and feelings about Music, using Music, dance, expressive language and Musical vocabulary. They will analyse and compare sounds and will become confident at suggesting improvements for their own work and that of others.
Listening and applying knowledge and understanding- Children will be given to opportunity to listen with concentration and to internalise and recall sounds with increasing Music Curriculum Statement aural memory. They will explore how time and place can influence the way music is created, performed and heard, that music is produced in different ways and is described through invented and standard notations.
Implementation Statement - Music
All children at St Joseph’s participate in regular weekly music lessons. Additional time may be put into the teaching of music when children learn and prepare songs to be performed during liturgies/whole school performances.
Resources: We have a range of music equipment and resources that can easily be moved around the school.
Impact Statement - Music
The impact of this Music curriculum will lead to outstanding progress over time across key stages relative to a child’s individual starting point and their progression of skills. Those children with a particular interest or aptitude in music will be supported and encouraged – the school will encourage them to play and perform in assemblies, liturgies and masses and share their achievements. Children will therefore be expected to leave St Joseph’s reaching at least age expected expectations for Music; being confident musicians. Our Music curriculum will foster a love and increasing enthusiasm for the subject amongst our children and encourage a life- long musical study.