Intent:

Our vision for music is that we provide every child with high quality music experiences which engage and inspire them. We provide opportunities for all children to create, play, perform and enjoy music and to appreciate a variety of music styles. We aim for every child to leave St. Walburga’s Catholic Primary School with a range of musical skills, knowledge and an understanding and love of music which they can carry with them for the rest of their lives.

Our pupils learn that music is a universal language that embodies one of the highest forms of creativity. They  are inspired and engaged by music education. Music lessons engage and inspire pupils to develop a love of music and develop their talent as musicians, and in turn increase their self-confidence, creativity and sense of achievement. As pupils progress, they should develop a critical engagement with music, allowing them to compose, and to listen with discrimination to the best in the musical canon.

 The Charanga scheme of work is used from F2 to Year 6 to ensure a wide exposure to different genres of music, with lots of practical opportunities to explore and develop as musicians and singers.

Implementation:

At St. Walburga’s Catholic Primary School, we encourage children to participate in a variety of musical experiences through which we aim to build up the confidence of all children. Singing is an integral part of our school life and our teaching focuses on developing the children's ability to sing in tune, developing their expression and ability to listen to others. Pupils’ understanding of music will be developed through activities which bring together the requirements of performing, composing, listening and appraising. Children are taught to make music together with tuned and untuned instruments and to compose pieces. They are also taught to sing and play in time, controlling the sound and pace. They are taught different ways to represent sounds graphically and symbolically. 

We have a professional, peripatetic recorder teacher who visits Year 3 & 4. The children are taught to play various pieces with increasing musical skill development as these sessions progress.

The school also avails of a peripatetic singing teacher from The Schools Singing Programme, in the Diocese of Leeds who visits throughout the year and works with Years 5 & 6 on whole class technical vocal training and learning new songs.

The school is very proud to have an extra- curricular chorister group. They meet weekly and they gradually build up an excellent repertoire of songs and technical skills to enhance whole school performances such as the annual Carol Concert etc 

Impact:

All pupils will benefit from a high-quality music education which engages and inspires them to develop a love of music and their talent as musicians. It will increase their self confidence, creativity and sense of achievement. As pupils progress, they will develop a growing musical vocabulary that allows them to critically engage with music. Teaching and learning of music is a reflective process for the children as they are given the opportunities to assess themselves and their peers. The children also celebrate their success and skills with their peers and wider audiences. We assess through teacher assessment, pictures and video evidence which captures each child’s progress throughout the year.