Music at St Monica
Music Statement
Music Intent
At St Monica Primary School, we believe a high quality Music education should enable all children, including SEND, to develop a love of music, whilst increasing self-confidence, creativity and a sense of achievement. Our aim is to provide a high quality music education that engages and inspires all pupils to develop a love of music and nurtures their talent as musicians. Teaching should equip pupils with the skills to sing in unison or in parts with others, play a range of instruments, both tuned and untuned, improvise using body percussion and vocals, compose their own music using graphic and standard notation, and listen and respond to a range of live and recorded performances. Underpinning all these skills should be the developing skill to understand the effect of the music they are listening to or composing.
Implementation
Through our scheme ‘Music Express, pupils have the opportunity to perform, listen to, review and evaluate music across a range of historical periods, genres, styles and traditions. They learn to sing and to use their voices, to create and compose music on their own and with others and also have the opportunity to learn a musical instrument. Through curricular and extra-curricular activities, children are given the opportunity to sing for enjoyment and to perform on the stage with other schools.
In EYFS, music is delivered through holistic practice as an integral part of early development and that music development matters. The children are taught musical skills in weekly class activities. These incorporate all areas of Musical Development Matters: hearing and listening, vocalising and singing, moving and dancing, exploring and playing. Through Continuous Provision, children are able to further explore the activities taught in the class lesson. Adults use planned opportunities for questions and musical conversations to move learning on.
Throughout Key Stage One and Key Stage Two children receive weekly music lessons taught by specialist teachers and class teachers. Music is embedded and woven into an extended learning journey where appropriate to support children to know more, remember more and understand more. Music is planned on a progressive spiral curriculum where skills and understanding are frequently revisited through the three pillars that develop musicianship (technical pillar, constructive pillar and expressive pillar). Lessons are planned to develop all learners needs with equal access for all. Musical learning is planned for through the acquisition of procedural knowledge, declarative knowledge and tacit knowledge to enable children to develop musically. We have a close working relationship with Southampton Music Hub enabling us to access high quality wider provision.
Music is at the core of our school celebrations and allows children the opportunity to perform and sing with their friends and families. Music brings the community together at key moments throughout our school year.
Singing
All children have a weekly singing assembly in separate key stages to allow for development of appropriate vocal skills with frequent opportunities to sing together and experience being part of a larger sound.
Groovy Tunes is an after-school music club offered to all children in Year 1 and Year 2. They meet together weekly to explore their voices and to use tuned and untuned percussion instruments to rehearse and perform accompaniments to the songs. They build on the skills taught in Singing Assembly and in their class music lessons. They perform regularly to parents at the end of every term.
Choir is an after-school club offered to all children in Year 3, Year 4, Year 5 and Year 6. They meet together weekly to sing and to build on the skills learned in Singing Assembly. They help in Singing Assemblies by leading parts in rounds and partner songs and singing harmonies to some songs. They have opportunities to perform at larger events such as The Guildhall Christmas Concert and have even experienced working with a professional composer and opera singer to record a part in the Riders to the Sea opera.
Sing and Sign is an after-school club offered to all children in Year 1, Year 2 and Year 3. They meet weekly to sing well-known songs and to learn the Makaton signs for the lyrics. They perform to parents at the end of each term and use their skills in Singing Assemblies.
Listening
Our listening curriculum allows children to experience different genres every half term throughout the year. The school focus allows for reflective conversations throughout the school and covers a range of music from different historical periods, genres, styles and traditions including great composers and musicians. Children experience live high quality musical performances throughout the year, often to bring alive an area of learning and allow children to experience the sound first-hand either at school or in local concert venues. This critical engagement with music allows children to listen with discrimination. Listening is woven through musical units as an integral part of learning allowing for active listening and development of aural memory.
Playing
Music lessons are rooted in sound and playing. Our music room is full of quality instruments which are used daily. Children use a wide range of tuned and untuned instruments as well as recorders during these lessons.
All children in Year 3 experience learning to play the recorder as preparation for First Access in Year 4.
All children in Year 4 experience learning a woodwind, brass and string instrument for a year with a specialist teacher as part of their first access provision. Children experience instrumental skill lessons, improvising and composing with their instruments, listening to their instrument and performing as part of an ensemble in school.
Instrumental lessons are offered to all children in Key Stage 2 with specialist teachers from Southampton Music Hub. They benefit from free instrument loan and specialist weekly tuition in their chosen instrument. Reduced costs are offered to children who learn in a group and to those children with an EHCP or who are eligible for Pupil Premium
All children are offered the opportunity to learn to play either keyboard, electric guitar, drums or singing through the Rocksteady programme. They perform in their rock band every term, performing to peers and parents.
Recorder Club is an after-school club offered to all children in Year 3 and Year 4. They meet weekly to play together and improve the skills learned in their Year 3 music lessons. They perform to parents as an ensemble at the end of each term.
Music is frequently used as part of celebration events with parents.
Improvising & Composing
All musical learning involves creativity. Children improvise and compose their own music within every musical journey. They work in a range of different groups allowing for discussion, critical reflection while developing leadership and group skills.
Understanding
Discussions around understanding are rooted in the musical elements and language associated with them. These discussions enable children to make links between their learning and build on prior knowledge.
Impact
We want to develop confident happy musicians who have the self-confidence and belief to use their musical skills, knowledge and experience to involve themselves in music in a variety of different contexts outside school and following their time at St Monica Primary School.
Music Statements
MUSIC AT ST MONICA PRIMARY SCHOOL
** Photo's coming soon **
