At St.Michael’s Primary School learning about music, developing sensitive and critical listening skills, creating and performing music, and understanding the role of music in history and contemporary society are all vital ingredients in the education of every student.

Through exploring music students can find natural connections to mathematics, science, reading, writing, and performing arts. Great music helps the left side of the child’s brain to develop, which is also responsible for processing language. Children can learn new words from songs, its repetition and movement also help them understand their meanings better.

Children learn in many different ways. Music allows them to express themselves in a unique way, which motivates their learning and helps build their self-confidence. Music provides an outlet for creativity that is crucial to a child’s development.

Music lessons can be exciting but challenging at the same time. It gives them something to strive for and to keep developing. It also gives them the experience of teaching others, for instance when they discuss their skills with peers or parents, or show others how to read music or play their instrument.

Pupils have the option of having peripatetic instrumental lessons.  At present we offer guitar and violin lessons.   Also, as part of our curriculum, all of Year 3 learn to play the recorder during the year.  This is a fantastic opportunity to start the children learning to read music.  We are then able to build on the children’s understanding of notation across Key Stage 2.

We celebrate the children’s music learning in praise assemblies.  The children have opportunities to play to the school their compositions and instrumental pieces that they have learnt in class or at home.  They can also sing songs that they have learnt in class.   This allows the children to inspire others, give them a sense of achievement and develop confidence in performing in front of an audience.  Staff, parents and other musicians also perform to the whole school during praise assemblies.  This widens the children’s experiences of live musical performances.

We mostly follow the ‘Charanga’ schemes of work but each music unit is adapted and linked to our whole school progression overview.

Every term the children have many opportunities to listen, reflect and appraise a wide range of recorded music drawn from different traditions and from great composers and musicians.  This diverse range of music offers the children a deeper understanding of the history of music and enriches their cultural expression.