Intent
The learning and teaching of music at St Paul’s aims to enrich children’s daily lives and understanding of the world around them. Music nurtures spiritual wellbeing, self-confidence, community, skills, self-expression and an increasing understanding of time and place. In an ever changing world, music provides an avenue for exploration and discovery of past, present and future. Our intent is that the teaching of music will help pupils to express themselves and gain a coherent knowledge and understanding of music as a universal language.
The key aims for music at St Paul’s are:
- To foster children’s curiosity, interest, understanding and enjoyment of music through exposure to the cultural history of music and how music has changed and continues to evolve through time.
- Explore how music reflects history, different cultures and the rich diversity of the world around them.
- Give children the opportunity to develop personal preferences through song, instruments, discussion, self-expression, composing and reflecting their own thoughts and ideas within different contexts, making links and enriching understanding of the wider curriculum.
- To develop children’s understanding of the inter-related dimensions of music: pitch, tempo, dynamics, rhythm, pulse, duration, texture, timbre, through listening, making and creating music.
- To have the opportunity to learn to play instruments, taking part in solo and group performances.
Implementation
Music at St Paul’s threads through cross curricular topics as well as music specific focusses. Our curriculum is designed to inspire pupil’s curiosity about the world around them, helping them to engage in and make sense of the music in their lives. Facilitating memorable first-hand experiences is key to developing skills and subject knowledge demonstrating breadth and depth. Whilst the foundations reflect the National Curriculum, are informed by the Model Music Curriculum (March 2021), music at St. Paul’s aims to enrich learning, nurturing connections holistically whilst being guided by our progression of skills document. This document focusses on development of a secure foundation in the architecture of music.
All children have one hour of music per week.
Early Years Foundation Stage
Music lessons are based upon the Kodaly approach and involve multi- sensory, physical and interactive activities designed to enable the children to feel pulse and rhythm, find their voice, learn to listen and develop aural memory.
Key Stage 1
The skills learned in EYFS are embedded in Year 1 in preparation for beginning to apply them in Year 2 with First Access descant recorder. Whole Class Ensemble work is nurtured and developed with clearly defined progression of skills throughout each academic year.
Key Stage 2
Cross curricular topic work provides the foundation to broaden horizons, make cross cultural and historical connections and understand how music reflects time and place, whilst being a universal language across the globe.
In addition, extracurricular music clubs: recorder (descant, treble, tenor) clarinet, cornet and ukulele take place before school or during break times, free of charge. We offer peripatetic, fee paying, lessons for piano and guitar, provided by Surrey Arts instrumental specialists. We are an ABRSM Music Medals Partner and have taken individual children through Bronze to Platinum within the recorder medals.
Impact
The impact of our music curriculum is to ensure that children at St Paul’s are equipped with musical skills and knowledge that will give them the opportunity to reach their potential in Key Stage 3 as well as enrich their enjoyment and understanding of the creativity, diversity and universal language of music for their role as global citizens.
Music reflects time and place historically, it is a reflection of times in which we live and it provides a potential avenue for exploration into the future.