Music

"Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything" 

Plato

Music is not only a National Curriculum Primary subject but it is an integral part of life at St Lawrence Catholic Primary School. From class worship to class assemblies, from hymn practice to school concerts – music is everywhere! Music opens pathways for all pupils from Nursery to Year 6: to gain self-confidence, grow their creativity and develop a sense of achievement.

We enable pupils to perform, listen to, review and evaluate music - both the works of composers and musicians and the works of themselves and their peers. Pupils are also enabled to learn to sing and to play musical instruments both on their own and with others through improvisation and composing. Our teaching of Music encourages pupils to not only gain a lifelong love of, and interest in music, but to support cross-curricular learning in other National Curriculum subjects too, in particular Mathematics (e.g. number rhymes) and Literacy (e.g. days of the week song).

From Reception to Year 6, we teach weekly Music lessons using the ‘Charanga’ scheme. Charanga is a highly interactive and modern online resource which supports the National Curriculum aims for Music and enables excellent teaching. The scheme allows pupils to engage in games which teach pupils to understand and explore music through the inter-related dimensions: pitch, duration, dynamics, tempo, timbre, texture, structure and appropriate musical notations.

Each unit of work, for each year group, gives pupils access to a wide range of music across a range of historical periods, genres, styles and traditions. The scheme encourages pupils to express themselves through their voices and movements and through playing both tuned (e.g. glockenspiels) and untuned (e.g. maracas, tambourines) instruments. Children in our Early Years phase follow the Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum, and explore Music through Communication and Language, Physical Development and Expressive Arts and Design e.g. singing nursery rhymes, playing instruments, making up their own songs and playing sound games.

Children in Year 3 have the amazing opportunity to learn Ukulele through the Hounslow Music Service in which they have weekly lessons. Pupils in KS2 are given the opportunity to learn Guitar in school and they have enjoyed performing in school assemblies. Also, pupils in Year 6 enjoy attending our weekly Music club where they: sing a range of songs, play boom whackers, read musical notation and have fun with their friends.