Intent
Music is a way for us all to express ourselves in the music we listen to and the music which we create. Experiencing music is very subjective and music sessions aim to allow for openness, collaboration and evaluation through the opinions that children share on the music that they listen to. Experiences in the music lessons enable children to become fully human by exploring themselves as a person in the music that they enjoy and as a learner in the chances they have to develop their musical knowledge and skills. The appraisal and creative processes in music result in different responses from all children involved while allowing them to enjoy success and expressing themselves as the individuals that God created them to uniquely be.
Music at St Catherine’s allows for collaborative learning to ensure that all children achieve their full potential whilst supporting each other to achieve that very thing. Listening to and appraising a range of music from history up to the current day allows us to enrich our learning with the music of different times, places and cultures therefore helping us to stimulate our personal, emotional and intellectual development. Building on our musical knowledge and the progression of skills in music throughout the school allows all children to be suitably challenged while putting no limits on any child to flourish in this subject. We believe that children are inherently musical, in the right conditions and our goal is to awaken the creativity inside every child. Creating music allows us to bring the community of our school together and share in our thoughts, feelings as well as our praises to God through these interactions.
The music and lyrics of songs which children are exposed to provide inspiration in the messages they hold and stories they tell. Learning about great musicians through history will open up children’s aspirations to follow in the footsteps of those who have achieved in the world of music. The experiences of a broad variety of music will allow our children to consider the voices of all, listening to each and every one and not just their own – a skill which will contribute to the rest of our wider curriculum to make the children at St Catherine of Siena learners for life.
Implementation
The music curriculum at St Catherine’s ensures that children sing, listen, play, perform and evaluate. This is embedded in the classroom through the structured music programme Charanga Music which all classes follow in order to deliver our Music Curriculum. These sessions allow children to do the following:
As well as the Music lessons which take place in class, children have the opportunity to practise skills which they learn in music through weekly assemblies and collective worships, concerts and performances, musical clubs and teaching from specialist music teachers.
Impact
Music at St Catherine’s enables children to develop an understanding of culture and history, both in relation to children individually, as well as ethnicities from across the world. Children are able to enjoy music in as many ways as they choose – either as listener, creator or performer. Children have the opportunity to discuss and share their own thoughts, opinions and ideas, acknowledging and respecting that these may vary and differ from those of others. They can dissect music and comprehend its parts while developing a rich musical vocabulary and skill set which goes beyond things which can be tested in the classroom.
Our children have equal access to a relevant and accessible music curriculum and a range of pedagogy which support them to achieve their full potential with regards to their SPIRITUAL, MORAL, EMOTIONAL, INTELLECTUAL, SOCIAL AND PHYSICAL development. They see Music as embodying some of the highest forms of human creativity and they are engaged, inspired and challenged to experiment, invent and create their own pieces of Music. Our music curriculum allow children to know how Music reflects and shapes our history, and contributes to the culture, creativity and wealth of our nation.