Music

At St Leonard’s Lower School, we are growing and learning together with God’s Love and our Christian values are embedded in all that we do.

We recognise that every child is a unique individual within God’s creation and it is our aim is to provide learning opportunities that enable our children to develop deep roots to enable them to flourish and succeed.

Our Music curriculum is ambitious and inclusive for all, enabling each child to learn and develop the skills and knowledge they need to thrive. It is a relevant, creative, exciting and challenging curriculum planned to support all learners to achieve their full potential, to know more and remember more, and to be prepared for their next steps in learning.

Our aim is to promote spiritual, moral, social and cultural understanding through appropriate curricular opportunities with particular reference to equality and diversity.

We believe that the development of musical skills is important to the wellbeing of our children and the creation of balanced young people. We encourage enjoyment and understanding of music through listening, composing and performing. Children are taught a wide range of songs and introduced to a variety of instruments.

We work closely with Bedfordshire's Inspiring Music service, who provide KS2 whole class instrumental tuition (recorder, ocarina, ukelele), support and CPD and we use the Charanga scheme of work to support high quality music teaching and to ensure progression of skills throughout the school.

The children sing daily in collective worship. We produce a Harvest, Christmas and Easter musical each year and participate in local and national musical events when possible. We run extra curricular clubs including a choir and provide piano tuition during school time. Rocksteady Music School also offers children the opportunity to become part of a band and perform to an audience. (Charges apply)

https://www.rocksteadymusicschool.com/

Intent: What we want to achieve

To provide an inclusive education for all, enabling each child to learn and develop the skills and knowledge they need to thrive.
To develop the wellbeing of our pupils, which is important for the creation of balanced young people.
To encourage enjoyment and understanding of music through listening, composing and performing.
To expose the children to a wide range of songs and a variety of instruments.

Implementation: How we will achieve this

We will use a progressive scheme of work (Charanga) which is rooted in the National Curriculum and Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum and which is regularly reviewed and developed to ensure it motivates children and builds on previous experience.
The children will be able to listen to a wide range of music across the wider curriculum including that from other times and cultures. This will be built on further by carefully chosen music used during Collective Worship.
The children will be taught a range of musical vocabulary and will use these when talking about music they hear and the music they create themselves.
They will use their voices in expressive and interesting ways and use body percussion to respond to what they hear.
They will use a wide range of tuned and un-tuned percussion instruments
We will run extra-curricular clubs including a choir and Bedfordshire Music Service will provide opportunities for whole class musical instrument lessons which may include ukeleles in year 4 and recorders in year 3.
The school will support events including performances in school, instrument demonstrations and singing in the church.
We will produce a Harvest, Christmas and Easter musical each year and participate in local and national events when possible.
Wherever possible, we will invite musicians into school to work with the children.
Pupils will be taught to evaluate their own work and that of others in a positive, values led approach.
They will be taught to use instruments safely and respectfully to produce the best sound they can.
We will track and assess to move the children’s’ learning forward
We offer (at an additional cost) specialist music tuition including piano and Rock Steady Music School.

Impact: The intended outcomes of the music curriculum

Pupils will develop a love of learning and enjoy listening and talking about music from a range of cultures and times.
Pupils will enjoy working together to create interesting and imaginative sounds including using their voices, body percussion and tuned/un-tuned percussion instruments. They may also make their own instruments in linked lessons such as Science or DT.
Pupils will leave our school with a very positive attitude of music and any will go on to learn instrument in middle and upper school and as adults.
Pupils will work hard, strive to meet challenges and will become resilient learning, using a growth mind-set approach
Pupils will learn to work independently and will also be able to contribute effectively to a partner, group work or whole class creations.
Pupil will develop as considerate, tolerant and empathetic citizens, particularly when learning about work from other times and cultures.