Music

"We are musicians..."

Intent

At Wrington Cof E Primary School we believe that music is an integral part of everyday life and as such, it is important to provide children with as many opportunities to develop their musical skills as possible. We love music and value its power to delight, soothe, transform and enhance life in all its fullness. Music is for everyone.

At the heart of our aims, and with our dedication to upholding our school vision,  is the desire to provide inspirational musical learning experiences which promote and build confidence, cooperation and a life-long love of music. 

We are passionate about the importance of music! For the impact of music to all children, see this short film, sponsored by Churchill Music, one of our music partners, 'How music helps us to learn'.

We understand that the arts are a hugely important aspect of society and aim to help all children, regardless of race, gender, culture or class, to be given equal opportunities to develop the knowledge, skills and attitudes to ensure they obtain the cultural capital necessary to become successful, educated citizens. 

To ensure children receive a comprehensive, progressive and enriching music curriculum, we follow a clear, planned and sequenced scheme of work underpinned by the National Curriculum and augmented by some additional musical elements to enhance our provision. 

 Implementation

Through our music curriculum, we provide children with the opportunity to become actively involved through a balance of listening, appraising, composing and performing which we hope will inspire enjoyment and eager participation. Progression and continuity through the school are ensured through the adoption of a structured but bespoke music curriculum which provides the children with a wide range of opportunities for them to develop this range of skills.

The children will listen to and explore a wide variety of different styles of music to expand their knowledge, understanding and skill development. We are committed to enabling the children to develop an awareness of musical traditions and developments at different times in history and in a variety of cultures. We are currently in the process of incorporating the new Model Music Curriculum into our revised music curriculum. Since the 2021 2022 academic year, we are delighted to have had our specialist music teacher, Ms Clough, who is teaching weekly class music lessons to most classes across the school.

Our Wrington Music Curriculum comprises of the following parts:

1) A main progressive scheme - We have chosen to use Charanga for the backbone of our music curriculum as it is a high quality, well resourced and diverse scheme, flexible, with a strong practical performance element, designed for both the non specialist and specialist musician.

2)Instrumental teaching for a whole class (Year 3) for a term with a North Somerset specialist musician and specialist small group violin tuition for Year 2 (see partnerships below).

3)An introduction to some key classical repertoire (through BBC 10 pieces)

4)Singing and performance skills through participation in regional singing  celebrations such as Raise the Roof singing project with North Somerset Music Service and our annual  Arts performances to parents (Christmas KS2 production, the Christmas Nativity (KS1) and the Year 6 Leavers' production.

5)Additional special collaborations with 'Churchill Music!' society such as the Power of Music Project with Y5/6 and opportunities for children to experience live concert performances of professional musicians (sponsored by 'Churchill Music!') where possible.

6)Children engage in our weekly 'Worship through Song' sessions which are led by our Music Subject Leader and feature musical teaching points as well as being a reflective act of worship.

7) Special musical opportunities such as visiting musicians (African Harpist) or practical instrumental workshops (eg Samba)

 Music is taught as a subject in its own right with opportunities to maximise cross-curricular links also sought. This reflects the power of music as a tool to enhance learning (e.g. memorising knowledge through song lyrics) as well as it having direct links with other subjects such as history or geography cultural associations, scientific principles governing the production of instrumental sounds

We have a large stock of instruments, both tuned and untuned which are used in music sessions and our bespoke music scheme provides non-specialists with the support and subject knowledge they need to deliver a high quality curriculum. We treasure our well-stocked library as an additional source of resources and value the use of high quality non-fiction texts related to music and the Arts  in, not only the teaching of music, but also in the teaching of reading.

Partnerships

We take full advantage of the offers from our local Music Service Hub, who also provide a range of peripatetic teachers for group and individual music lessons (including percussion, woodwind, brass and piano). We value our collaborative working partnerships and are proud to take part in the Churchill Music! Violin Project in Y2 offering ten taster small group lessons with a professional violinist from the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, the Power of Music Project in Y5 and 6, with its important link with the therapeutic effect of music, and the North Somerset Music Hub Wider Opportunities Project in Y3, providing whole class instrumental lessons which have included clarinet, ukelele and recorder. Workshops, festivals, productions and concerts form part of our music entitlement at Wrington.

Extra-curricular Music

Extra-Curricular Music flourishes at Wrington. Children are able to take part in one of our two choirs and there is a junior school orchestra.   The annual school Eisteddfod provides an opportunity for any child to perform in one of the Arts categories - no formal singing or  instrumental lessons are required to qualify. The Rotary Young Musician is also an opportunity for our performers to participate in an external competition. Historically, the choir and orchestra have also taken part in the Weston Arts Festival. The KS2 choir was honoured to perform for HRH Princess Anne when she visited Bristol Airport. The School Choir took part in a world premier of a recording of 'The Same Flame' by renowned composer, Thomas Hewitt Jones. See us online performing!

Music in the wider school community

In recognition of the importance of music in our community, we welcome our parents, past pupils and staff to engage with practical music-making at the school. We have a staff and parent Christmas Choir for the school Carol Service, and the Staff Chime Bar Group is always a seasonal favourite! Past pupils and parents also augment the orchestra for this event. We were delighted to welcome a Wrington community choir to sing at the recent PTA fair. Parents offer to share their musical skills in school from time to time. Some members of staff also take part in musical activities out of school.

Impact

Through the delivery of our music curriculum, we want all children to have the self-belief to see themselves as musicians, have secure musical understanding and be inspired to continue their musical learning journey. 

Some of our alumni have even studied at the Royal College of Music or sung in Oxbridge Choirs. While we are proud that so many of our past pupils continue their musical studies at secondary school and even beyond, through participation in choirs, orchestras, ensembles and as soloists (such as the Churchill Young Musician Competition), what is of greatest importance in terms of impact is that all children leave Wrington Primary school secure in the knowledge that they are musicians and that they will derive pleasure from music throughout their lives.

“Music enhances the education of our children by helping them to make connections and broadening the depth with which they think and feel. If we are to hope for a society of culturally literate people, music must be a vital part of our children’s education.”  – Yo-Yo Ma

Please click here for a summary of our Music Development Plan