Music
Music is about being creative, expressing ourselves and learning about the world through music.
Music is all around us. It is the soundtrack to our lives. Music connects us through people and places in our ever-changing world. It is creative, collaborative, celebratory and challenging. In our schools, music can bring communities together through the shared endeavour of whole-school singing, ensemble playing, experimenting with the creative process and, through the love of listening to friends and fellow pupils, performing. The sheer joy of music making can feed the soul of a school community, enriching each student while strengthening the shared bonds of support and trust which make a great school.
(Model Music Curriculum March 2021)
The above statement encompasses all that we believe about the importance of music in our school. This is reflected in the children’s enthusiasm and participation in weekly music lessons. We have a large number of children who choose to take part in additional music activities. Currently 25 children take part in Peripatetic lesson. Some children are members of a band with Rock Steady,others learn drums, guitar, piano, flute and saxophone. In additional, our school singing club, Sing Thing, meet once a week during a Friday lunchtime. Between 40 and 50 children attend this evey week.
IMPLEMENTATION:
EYFS
The teaching of music is taught through a variety of ways in EYFS. Children are exposed to music everyday through listening to music, singing and playing music. Children are exposed to music activities through continuous provision daily and can be within different areas of the Early Years Framework. For example, children may be counting beats in maths, listening to music in communication language or we may be playing and creating music linking to the topics we are teaching in class. Singing is vitally important in EYFS as we sing nursery rhymes daily linking to different areas of the curriculum. We attend singing assemblies as a whole school weekly, children are exposed and join in with singing iSing Pop songs and we also learn a variety of new songs including songs for our Christmas Performance. As the year progresses, children are encouraged to create simple pieces of music using instruments, they will then be encouraged to perform these to their peers.
Yr 1 - Yr7
The National Curriculum is followed at St Barnabas through discrete music lessons (KS1 30 mins, KS2/3 1 hr per week) and through weekly singing in whole school Prayer and Praise sessions and music appreciation through Music of the Day in Soft Start. The Music Express Scheme of Work is used with yr 1 to Yr 6 which takes it’s objectives directly from the Model Music Curriculum (2021). Additional units for whole class tuition for Yr3 - Yr 7 have been written by the music lead, incorporating NC objectives. In addition Yr 2 (in Computing lessons), 4 and 7 complete a unit of work based on Digital technology. The DFE Model Music Curriculum sets out sequences of learning in the following key areas which, when taken together, all contribute towards the steadily increasing development of musicianship:
• Singing
• Listening
• Composing
• Performing/Instrumental Performance
Music opportunities outside of the classroom:
In addition to our music lessons within class, there are many more opportunities for children to take part in musical activities:
Prayer and Praise - once a week the whole school gather to celebrate and sing together.
Sing Thing - a weekly singing club where children from Yr 3 - Yr 7 come together, share lunch and sing their hearts out. As part of the club children have the opportunity to perform at Young Voices every year. There are currently over 60 children from Yr3 - Yr 7 who attend every week.
iSingPOP - Bi-annually, the iSingPOP organisation come into school and run one of their projects, teaching songs, recording a CD with the children, and hosting a grand concert by the children for the parents.
Peripatetic lessons:
There are currently over 40 children from Reception to Yr 7 who take part in a wide range of peripatetic lessons. Instruments the children can learn include: piano, violin, flute, saxophone, electric drums and guitar.
A large group of children work in small bands with the Rock Steady organisation for 30 mins per week, learning modern songs on keyboard, guitar, drums and singing. They perform a concert to the school and parents at the end of every term.
In addition to Rock Steady, children can learn a range of instruments provided by private peripatetic teachers.
Christmas Fair - All children are invited to take part in a Christmas Song sing-a-long at the Christmas fair each year to open and close the event.
Christmas performances, including a nativity service and Christingle celebration.
School productions - in the past few years children from Yr3 - Yr 7 have taken part in a drama and musical production. the two most recent productions have been Alice in Wonderland and Beauty and the Beast.
Music of the day - Each class listens to’ Music of the day’ during Soft Start sessions. Each week the children are exposed to a wide range of different genres of music which includes Rock, Boy Bands, Sounds of the 90’s and many others.
