'Leaders have developed topics or themes to capture pupils’ interests and engage them in their learning. Wherepossible, subjects are linked together. This helps pupils to make meaningful connections in their learning’- OfSTED 2019

Curriculum Intent

At St Faith's our aim of teaching music is to enable children to respond creatively through an active involvement in listening, composing, performing and appraising. They will acquire and develop musical concepts and skills, which will contribute to learning across the curriculum whilst appreciating and developing awareness and understanding of traditions and music styles from a variety of cultures, times and places.

The St Faith's curriculum for Music aims to:

• Enable children to express ideas and feelings through music and experience personal satisfaction through making music together.
• Ensure that the national curriculum objectives are met through the provision of carefully planned differentiated activities to ensure progression of all pupils.
•  Offer opportunities to perform, compose, listen, and appraise.

Curriculum Implementation:

At St Faith's our music curriculum teaches:

Performing Skills

Children will be taught to listen to a wide range of songs and to use their voices expressively.

They will have the opportunity to play a variety of tuned and un-tuned instruments with increasing control, and rehearse and perform with others, with an awareness of audience.

Composing Skills

Children will create music patterns and will be shown how to explore, select and organise musical ideas. They will record their own music in a variety of ways (e.g. Using ICT or written notation)

Appraising Skills

Children will be given the opportunity to explore and explain their own ideas and feelings through music, through dance, expressive language and musical vocabulary. They will analyse and compare sounds and will be become confident at suggesting improvements for their own work and others.

Listening and Applying Knowledge and Understanding

Children should be able to listen with concentration and to internalise and record sounds with increasing aural memory. They will develop a growing awareness of the seven musical elements: pitch, duration, tempo, dynamics, tempo, texture, timbre and structure.

We seek to challenge our pupils both to be inspired and to inspire others with their music – to try out new ideas with interesting harmonies or rhythms. As part of the children's learning, they have started to learn Music Theory so that they can deepen their understanding and appreciation of Music and learn to use the vocabulary to explain their aspirations, reflections and experiences.

Music contributes to many subjects within the primary curriculum and we establish cross curricular links wherever possible e.g. Maths, English, Art, D.T. Science, RE, PE and PSHE. Throughout the school all pupils have weekly music lessons. Within these lessons there is be a good balance between whole class teaching and group work. As well as music lessons in class, whole school music sessions take place weekly as part of our Collective Worship.

Music is an integral part of our daily whole school Worship and also as part other school celebrations such as the Early Years Nativity and KS1 Nativity or the Year 6 Production and Graduation ceremony and the termly Class Worship. 

In addition, group lessons are offered through 'Let's Rock', a community focussed project which brings rock band lessons to local schools in Wandsworth. This gives children have the opportunity to be part of a band and try a range of instruments and vocalisations.

As well as this, individual instrumental lessons are available where we have specialist, peripatetic teachers who visit the school for 1:1 or small group work. Currently, there are a number of pupils who have 1:1 piano lessons during the school week.

We have a specialist Choir for those who want to take their singing to the next level – specifically looking at more challenging pieces, both classical and contemporary from countries and cultures around the world. Choir regularly perform both in school during our Worship time and also at others celebrations at St Anne's church, at School Fairs and the local care home. 

In Year 3 and Year 4, we are fortunate enough to have Music specialists giving weekly lessons to teach the recorder (Year 3) and the trumpet (Year 4) and at the end of each term, parents and carers are invited in to the school to enjoy the children's learning and performance.

Here is what some pupils say:

"Choir is so much fun and we sing at different places. I always enjoy singing at St Anne's Church in front of the whole school, our families and friends. I have learnt how to increase my range of pitch and how to create different harmonies. My favourite moment in Choir was this Christmas when we sang the Calyspo Carol."

"It's fun that we learn about different facts about the composers and where they come from. I enjoy that we have fun singing lots of different songs from various countries!"

"We get to play the instruments and it's active and everyone gets a turn. It's not just solos."

Resources: 

We use www.SingUp.com for our planning and skills progression which follows the National Curriculum.

A range of instruments are available throughout the school and we look for regular opportunities to utilise these, which the children really do enjoy! Music is also brought into other lessons, such as History, Maths and French, to help memorise key vocabulary or facts.

If you would like to know anything further about Music at St Faith’s please do not hesitate to get in touch with us.