Music

Music is a universal language that embodies one of the highest forms of creativity. A high quality music education engages and inspires 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 develop a critical engagement with music, allowing them to compose, and to listen with discrimination to the best in the musical canon.

Aims

Our Curriculum for Music aims to ensure that all pupils:

• Perform, listen to, review and evaluate music across a range of historical periods, genres, styles and traditions, including the works of the great composers and musicians

• Learn to sing and to use their voices, to create and compose music on their own and with others, have the opportunity to learn a musical instrument, use technology appropriately and have the opportunity to progress to the next level of musical excellence.

• Understand and explore how music is created, produced and communicated, including through the inter-related dimensions: pitch, duration, dynamics, tempo, timbre, texture, structure and appropriate musical notations.

Aims at Clerkenwell

The aims of music at Clerkenwell Parochial are for every pupil to:

• Develop an enjoyment of music by providing an opportunity to listen to a variety of music and play a variety of instruments, both individually and co-operatively.

• Develop and extend children’s musical skills, understanding and knowledge with reference to the Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum and National Curriculum guidelines.

• Develop children’s cultural and spiritual awareness by providing opportunities for listening and responding to different types of music.

• Give opportunities for the children to develop the quality of their singing:

- Children are provided with opportunities throughout the year to perform both in school and outside of school.

- From year 2 children are given opportunity to join our school choir which meets once a week before school. The choir performs within school and sometimes off-site.

Foundation Stage Aims

In the Foundation Stage, Music is stated in the expressive arts and design area of the Early Learning Goals Foundation Curriculum under the Exploring and using media and materials strand.

Children will:

• Enjoy joining in with dancing and ring games.

• Sing a few familiar songs.

• Begin to move rhythmically.

• Imitate movement in response to music.

• Tap out simple repeated rhythms.

• Explore and learn how sounds can be changed.

Planning

At Clerkenwell Parochial CE School, Music will be taught as both a discrete subject, and in a cross-curricular way when the opportunity presents itself.

• Staff are required to follow schemes of work to support their planning, these include Rastamouse Rocksteady Reggae a scheme followed by year 1 alone. This is a fully planned and resourced programme.

• Reception, Year 2, 3, 4 , 5 and 6 follow Charanga a scheme of work planned through the Musical School programme.

• There are 3 main resource areas: Units of Work, themed Topic songs and activities and instrumental Courses. The Units of Work are the main focal point for the music curriculum whilst the Topics and Courses provide a wealth of extension, enhancement and cross-curricular possibilities and experiences.

• In addition teaching staff are encouraged to use Sing Up as a valuable resource to support learning in different areas of the curriculum.

   

Additional music opportunities at CPS

At Clerkenwell we offer a range of ways that children can express themselves musically. These include:

• Weekly music assemblies held by professional Jazz musician Sam Chaplin.
• Piano and guitar tuition with Sam Birch, a visiting tutor.
• Choir held weekly before school. Children attending are also encouraged to perform at a range of local events in the wider community
• Termly musicians' performance assembly to showcase talent and inspire others.
• Singing in unison and solo in annual performance of musicals (Hairspray/Bugsy Malone/Oliver!) and in nativity and Easter performance assemblies.