Music
“Music is the universal language of mankind.”
Our subject leader for music is Miss McKenna.
Class teachers teach music and we use the Charanga Music Scheme. This is a wonderful scheme that enables all staff to deliver a progressive music curriculum.
There is a programme of music in all Key Stages and the Early Years Foundation Stage, where every child has the opportunity to learn to play a musical instrument, Year 1 children play ‘Boomwhackers’, Year 2 learn drumming, Ukulele in Years 3 and 4, Woodwind (clarinet) in Year 5 and in Year 6. There are opportuities for children to join the St Helens extra curricular music provision at weekends, play in a band or orchestra and or a choir. Some of our pupils have gone on to sing in the St Helens Youth Choir.
Performing is a huge part of the curriculum, our children love to sing, in school and to perform their songs to our community, inside and outside of school.
Our music curriculum is enriched through children having the opportunity to watch live music performances through visits to see the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and participate in Peace Proms, the cross border orchestra of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
Below are some details about the scheme and, with the Charanga Scheme in place, you can be sure your children will be receiving an exciting and relevant music curriclum!
Charanga
How the Scheme is structured
Each Unit of Work comprises the of strands of musical learning which correspond with the national curriculum for music:
- Listening and Appraising
- Musical Activities
- Warm-up Games
- Optional Flexible Games
- Singing
- Playing instruments
- Improvisation
- Composition
- Performing
Charanga Musical School Units of Work enable children to understand musical concepts through a repetition-based approach to learning. Learning about the same musical concept through different musical activities enables a more secure, deeper learning and mastery of musical skills.
Musical teaching and learning is not neat or linear. The strands of musical learning, presented within the lesson plans and the on-screen resources, are part of the learning spiral. Over time, children can both develop new musical skills and concepts, and re-visit established musical skills and concepts. Repeating a musical skill doesn’t necessarily mean their progress is slowing down or their development is moving backwards! It's just shifting within the spiral. Mastery means both a deeper understanding of musical skills and concepts and learning something new.
All musical learning in this scheme is built around the Interrelated Dimensions of Music: pulse, rhythm, pitch, tempo, dynamics, timbre, texture, structure and notation. These dimensions are at the centre of all the learning.
From Reception to Year 6, the learning consists of six half-termly Units of Work. The final unit in each year - Reflect, Rewind and Replay - allows for revision and more extension activities.
What is included in each Unit of Work?
- Listen and Appraise
- Musical Activities include Games, Singing, Playing, Improvising and Composing
- Perform/Share
Please see the scheme overview, this will inform you what the focused song is for each year group.
