Music

Musical Showcases

St Bernadette's Music Showcase  2021 - 2022

St Bernadette's Music Showcase  2022 - 2023

Intent

Music is a unique way of communicating that can inspire and motivate children. It is a vehicle for personal expression, and it can play an important part in the personal development of people. Music reflects the culture and society we live in, and so the teaching and learning of music enable children to understand better the world that they live in. Besides being a creative and enjoyable activity, music can also be a highly academic and demanding subject. It also plays an important part in helping children to feel part of a community. We provide opportunities for all children to create, play, perform and enjoy music, to develop the skills, to appreciate a wide variety of musical forms, and to begin to make judgements about the quality of music.

The objectives of teaching music in our school are to enable children to:

• develop aesthetic sensitivity and creative ability in all pupils.
• foster pupils’ sensitivity to, and their understanding and enjoyment, of music through an active involvement in listening, composing and performing.
• explore how sounds are made, and can be organised into musical structures;
• provide the expression and development of individual skills and for sharing experience and cooperating with others; singing, playing, composing and listening can give individual and collective satisfaction.
• develop an awareness of musical traditions and developments in a variety of cultures and societies.
• be able to express ideas, thoughts and feelings through music.
• provide the opportunity to experience a feeling of fulfilment which derives from striving for the highest possible artistic and technical standard.

Implementation

The school uses the Charanga scheme o to enhance the delivery of the music curriculum. There are opportunities for children of all abilities to develop their skills and knowledge in each teaching unit, the progression planned into the scheme of work means that the children are increasingly challenged as they move through the school. The Charanga scheme of work links directly to the objectives in the 2014 National Curriculum and the Model Music Curriculum. Teachers in the Foundation Stage use the Music Development Matters document, published in 2018 to support their understanding of children’s early musical development.

We encourage cross-curricular links, ensuring that music is taught as a holistic part of the curriculum, where possible. The Musical Learning Focus from each Unit of Work progress to the expected Learning Outcomes for the end of year. Children will be able to demonstrate their learning as they work towards the end of Key Stage expectations.  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.  Each lesson has three elements comprising of listen and appraising, musical activities and perform and share. 

Each Key Stage also has weekly Hymn Practice which contributes to the spiritual development of the children and is preparation for singing together in school assemblies, masses and during collective worship.

During their time at St Bernadette's all children will have the opportunity to receive instrumental tuition from a specialist music teacher. Currently, tuition in ukuleles and keyboards is offered and classes participating will show off their skills in regular performances for parents and carers.

Composer Focus

Each term children learn about a great composer from history. This term children, are looking at Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart from the Classical Era.