Music at St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School
Intent, Implementation and Impact of our Music Curriculum
Music Subject Leader- Catherine Naylor
At its core, our Music Curriculum aims to give our pupils knowledge and skills:
- to know and understand how sounds are made and can be organised into musical structures
- to listen to and appraise different types of music
- to know how music is composed and written down
- to know how different styles of music can be influenced by the time, place, people and purpose for which it was written
The teaching and musical experiences we provide at St Joseph’s also aim to inspire and delight children; to give them a life-long love of Music and an appreciation of its value on a both a personal and a wider community level.
St Joseph’s uses the English National Curriculum as the basis for planning in conjunction with schemes of work provided by the Lancashire Music Service. A long term plan is in place which acknowledges the mixed-aged class structure of our school and ensures that the topics children study in Music build upon prior learning. Children learn to listen and appraise; compose and perform in timetabled Music lessons. A wide variety of resources are used; including material on world music from OXFAM and up-to-date resources such as ‘BBC Music Day’. In class, all children sing weekly and they learn to play a tuned musical instrument at some point during KS2. Our classroom teaching is applied and enhanced outside the classroom- children take part in whole-school singing; they can choose to learn the guitar, keyboard or a woodwind instrument with our peripatetic teachers. We also benefit from links with our local high school; a specialised Music teacher comes in to teach small groups; bringing a range of instruments and technology; from boomwhackers to ‘Garage Band’. Children have the opportunity to sing in our school choir- rehearsing at lunchtimes and performing for the benefit of the wider community, for example, by singing carols in an old people’s home each year. We continue to seek opportunities for children to experience live music- bringing in visitors or taking groups to perform at events such as the ‘Pendle Festival’.
By the end of Year 6, we hope that children will be prepared for the academic rigour of the Music curriculum at KS3. Music enriches lives and has a positive effect on mental health and well-being; we want each and every one of our children go on to enjoy Music in as many ways as they choose- as a listener, a composer or a performer.
Class 4 have been learning how to play the ukulele with Mr Cheetham from Fisher More.
With support from the Friends of St. Joseph's, the school has been able to purchase glockenspiels for use in music. The children have been having a wonderful time learning how to play these exciting new instruments.
Class 5 were visited in their music lesson by Mr Alan Sagar who demonstrated his amazing guitar skills. The children had the opportunity to see how an electric guitar is played and to have a go themselves.
Choir visit to St. Joseph's Luncheon Club
The choir visited the luncheon club at St. Joseph's Community Centre and sang a selection of Christmas carols for the members who were having their Christmas lunch.
Choir, Minnie Vinnies and ECOol club visit to Cravenside.
The Minnie Vinnies, members of the ECOol Club and the school choir visited Cravenside, where they delivered gifts for the residents and sang a selection of Christmas songs.