Our Vision for Music

At Christ Church Primary School, we seek to ensure that every child enjoys the life-changing benefits that come through music. We aim for all pupils to develop a deep understanding of music where all children, including those with special education needs and disabilities flourish, fostering a lifelong appreciation and love for the subject.  Our curriculum inspires pupils to develop a love of music and enables them to connect both emotionally and intellectually with the subject.  

Music plays an important part in the life of our school. Throughout their time in school, pupils develop their talent as musicians, engaging with a wide range of music through composition, performance, listening and appreciation, and evaluation. 

Our Music Curriculum

Following the ‘Model Music Curriculum’, we have progressive, well sequenced music lessons throughout school, carefully designed to enable children to develop secure, deep and fluent knowledge and skills.  Our curriculum follows the National Curriculum Music Program of Study and promotes the following areas: 

• Understanding Music: We support children in their understanding of duration, pulse, rhythm and pitch, these areas are revisited and embedded throughout our curriculum.

• Listening and Responding: Through listening and responding, children gain an understanding of music’s design and cultural place while learning about and feeling the impact music has on us. They also learn historical and cultural contexts of music.

• Singing: Children have opportunities to practise and rehearse their singing skills and focus on learning to read music.

• Playing Instruments: Through playing instruments, children make musical connections and apply their learning. All children learn to play the glockenspiel.

• Improvising: Children are taught to improvise with instruments and experiment with musical ideas.

• Composing: Children have opportunity to experiment with different combinations of rhythm and pitch to create simple melodies.  

Pupils learn about the work of great composers and musicians and have regular opportunity to listen to and appreciate the best of musical canon.  Our music curriculum spans across a range of historical periods, genres, styles and traditions. 

Through singing, composing and performing, pupils experience the power and influence that music can have on their lives. They learn to communicate, enjoy a sense of unity and develop their self-confidence. 

You can read our Music Development Plan using the link below. 

Key Information

• Charanga: We use the ‘Charanga’ music platform which offers a broad playlist of music, exposing children to a range of musical genres.
• Music Mark Award: Recognition for our high quality, varied and inclusive music education for all pupils has been made through our achievement of the Music Mark Award. 
• Specialist Teaching: All children in Year Two learn to play the violin and participate in a fully-funded, weekly, whole class lesson with a Dudley Performing Arts specialist teacher.
• Instrumental Tuition: Within Key Stage Two, children have opportunity to play either a violin, flute, clarinet or a brass instrument, participating in weekly lessons taught by a Dudley Performing Arts peripatetic teacher. 
• Music Exams: For those children that wish to gain music qualifications, we offer preparation and entrance into graded music exams.
• Choir: Our after-school choir, open to children in Years 1 to 6, is a vibrant part of our wider music curriculum and has a waiting list due to its popularity. Choir perform with our wider Diocesan Learning Trust community and are an integral part of leading Church Worship for our school community.
• Public Performances: Children have the opportunity to perform at public events such as our local church, ‘Christ Church’, for various services throughout the year, giving children the chance to experience being part of a larger musical community.
• Worship: Daily, children may sing during their phase or class worship.

Developing Literacy through Music

We develop literacy through all areas of our curriculum, including music in the following ways:

• Using an increasingly broad vocabulary in music lessons to extend children's language.
• Encouraging high quality oracy for example, through listening and responding; improvisation and compositing with peers.

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