Music is all around us. It allows children to connect with an ever-changing world. It encourages creativity, collaboration and intellectual challenge. At St Bartholomew’s, we use music to bring together our school and wider community through shared singing, performing and playing. We encourage an atmosphere of trust and support, where pupils are free to express themselves and to experiment with sound.

The school has adopted the National Curriculum for Music as laid down by the Department for Education. We aim to provide a quality music education which ensures our children develop a life-long love of music and performance.  Our music is progressive, skills-based and encompasses listening, singing, playing, improvising and composing.

Purpose of study – National Curriculum (NC), 2014

Music is a universal language that embodies one of the highest forms of creativity. A high-quality music education should engage and inspire pupils to develop a love of music and their talent as musicians, and so 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.

Follow this link for a more detailed coverage of the full NC ‘Programme of study’.

 National curriculum in England: music programmes of study - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

At our school, we place emphasis on singing and the teaching of musical elements through a well-resourced scheme of work. The curriculum is taught through cross-curricular topics and through learning to play a range of instruments:

• ocarina is learnt as part of the curriculum in Key Stage 1.
• recorder is learnt as part of the curriculum in Year 3.

In year 4, we then provide children with the opportunity to learn a musical instrument with a teacher from Leicestershire Schools Music Service and pupils have the option to progress this learning if they wish.

The music curriculum is also enriched with extra-curricular opportunities. Key Stage 2 children can sing in an after- school choir and Year 5 take part in “Young Voices” - a massed choir event (held in the Midlands), with children from other schools. We also take part in more local community singing events. School provides space for after-school music lessons taught by peripatetic music teachers.

The documents listed below, build on the National Curriculum and summary information here and provide a more detailed view of our expectations and intent for the provision of this subject, including curriculum coverage.