Music plays an important role in children’s academic and social development and improving the ethos of the whole school. The joy of music making can enhance and support the well being of the whole school community, enriching each student, while strengthening the share bonds of support and trust which enrich the whole school. Our aim, at Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School, is to develop and encourage whole-school singing, ensemble playing, experimenting with the creative process as well as listening to fellow pupils performing.
Every child at Sacred Heart School will have equal access to a wide range of high quality, professional musical tuition, including:
- Ukulele
- Piano/keyboard skills
- Classical Vocal training
These are embedded into the whole musical curriculum, giving the students as many opportunities to enjoy and access the curriculum through real life, relevant musical experiences.
Within the music curriculum, children study Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Holst and Greig as well as looking at modern composers such as BB KIng, Duke Ellington and John Williams. In Year 6, when studying electronic music, they look at the work of Delia Derbyshire, who re-worked the Doctor Who theme.
In Key Stage One pupils are taught to:
- use their voices expressively and creatively by singing songs and speaking chants and rhymes
- play tuned and untuned instruments musically
- listen with concentration and understanding to a range of high-quality live and recorded music
- experiment with, create, select and combine sounds using the inter-related dimensions of music.
In Key Stage Two pupils are taught to sing and play musically with increasing confidence and control. They should develop an understanding of musical composition, organising and manipulating ideas within musical structures and reproducing sounds from aural memory.
Key Stage Two children are taught to:
- play and perform in solo and ensemble contexts, using their voices and playing musical instruments with increasing accuracy, fluency, control and expression
- improvise and compose music for a range of purposes using the inter-related dimensions of music
- listen with attention to detail and recall sounds with increasing aural memory
- use and understand staff and other musical notations
- appreciate and understand a wide range of high-quality live and recorded music drawn from different traditions and from great composers and musicians
- develop an understanding of the history of music.
At Sacred Heart we have a wide range of extra-curricular music and drama classes available to children in our extensive peripatetic provision including:
- Piano
- Guitar
- Singing
- Drums
- Performing arts
Music helps bind pupils into the wider life of the school. When young people make music together, they work towards a common goal that has the potential to change lives profoundly for the better.