Music
Our music curriculum aims to build a strong and rich musical culture within our school, one in which pupils can thrive.
We are committed to ensuring children understand the value and importance of music in the wider community and are able to use their musical skills, knowledge, and experiences to involve themselves in music in a variety of different contexts.
Music in lessons:
Our music curriculum has been purposefully built around the principles of evidence-led practice. This is to ensure that there is a focus on high-quality development of children as musicians. The curriculum is carefully designed to build pupils’ musical knowledge and develop their competency and confidence as musicians. Each block of work includes the study of significant musicians and musical works, with the intention of exposing pupils to a wide range of music that will inspire them and connect them to the world around them. Core areas of study include singing, listening and appraising, composing and improvising and instrumental performance. These are built cumulatively throughout the curriculum to ensure that all pupils develop their engagement with, and knowledge of, music over time. This includes a focus on learning to play a range of instruments confidently. Our music curriculum has a strong emphasis on the language that pupils need to explore their own musicality. This is carefully and deliberately planned so that pupils revisit and embed this knowledge over time. Clear structures and learning routines underpin the curiculum.
Music lessons take place in all classes every week for an hour's lesson.
Music beyond the classroom:
Outside of what is taught in lessons, the school offers instrumental tuition in piano and guitar under the tutelage of our peripatetic music teachers.
All children take part in our weekly singing practice and children in Key Stage 2 have the opportunity to join the school choir and take part in special performances. Singing takes place in collective worship every day and year groups, along with the school choir, have the opportunity to perform songs that they have learnt in church and at local events.
One of the highlights of the year for our children in Key Stage 2 is the opportunity to take part in ‘Young Voices’. In the academic year 2023 - 2024, over 40 of our pupils travelled down to the Manchester Arena and performed with up to 9000 other young voices in a choir made up of children from all over the North West of England. ‘Young Voices’ gave the children the chance to perform in a large venue, work alongside professional musicians and experience the fun and exhilaration that performing in a large, musical ensemble can bring. The school will be participating in ‘Young Voices again in early 2025.
We are also fortunate to have developed a link with ‘Lake District Music’; an organisation that brings an array of talented musicians to our doorstep. During the summer term 2024, our pupils were able to interview, and listen to, a brass quintet during their rehearsals for a performance in our neighbouring parish church. They also attended a live performance by a professional string quartet.
Music Development Plan